Nanny is believed to have been born in the
Gold Coast area of West Africa (today’s Ghana) to
the Ashanti people during the late 17th century.
The nameNannyis said to be a combination of
the wordnana, an honorable title given to Ashanti
chiefs, and ni, which meansfirst mother. It is
reported that, along with her brothers Cudjoe,
Accompong, Johnny, Cuffy, and Quao, Nanny
was transported as a free woman from Africa
to Jamaica in the early 18th century. While in
Jamaica, Nanny, along with her five brothers,
abandoned the British and joined the already
existing Maroon community. The Maroons were
formerly enslaved Africans who originally escaped
from Spanish enslavement as the Spanish fought
against the British. The British eventually won
colonial control of Jamaica.
By 1720, Nanny had assumed leadership of
Moor Town or the Blue Mountain Rebel Town,
which eventually became known as Nanny Town.
Nanny Town consisted of approximately 300 free-
dom fighters under Nanny’s command. The
Maroon communities made themselves responsi-
ble for freeing enslaved Africans from British slav-
ery and colonialism as well as resisting European
cultural dominance by preserving African culture,
identity, and knowledge through African customs
and cultural practices. Nanny was known for her
leadership, military genius, spiritual prowess, and
healing abilities. She was also able to use her mili-
tary tactics and strategies to beguile and manipu-
late British soldiers, in many cases rendering them
defenseless against attacks and counterattacks
from Maroon warriors. Nanny trained Maroons
to camouflage themselves to blend in with the
trees and branches and to use theabeng, special
horns to communicate with one another over long
distances. She ordered lookouts to warn of
approaching Europeans, and she commissioned
spies on sugar plantations to find out when the
British were planning to attack them. It is said
that under Nanny’s leadership, more than 800
enslaved Africans were rescued from slavery and
brought to freedom in the Maroon communities
of Jamaica over a period of 50 years.
African spirituality had played a central role in
Maroon military struggles for freedom, and
Nanny was known for summoning the powers of
the ancestors to provide their assistance. The colo-
nial authorities referred to Nanny as an Obeah, an
Akan word signifying a person with advanced
spiritual powers. In Jamaica, the term was used to
refer to a person who practices traditional African
religion. Nanny used her spiritual knowledge to
communicate with African ancestors and protect
her community from harm. She provided the
members of her Maroon community with spiritual
training so that they could maintain their health
and protect themselves. The spiritual system
that Nanny preserved was referred to as the
Kromantee Religion, heavily influenced by the
Akan of Ghana. The word Karomantee is
the name of a particular area in Ghana. Most of
the leaders of the Winward maroons were from
Ghana. According to the legend of Nanny, her
spiritual power made her resistant to the deadly
threat of European weapons. It is said that Nanny
had the ability to catch the bullets fired by
European soldiers and redirect them toward her
enemy. Nanny was also able to use her extensive
knowledge of herbs to heal members of the
Maroon community.
After decades of resistance and freedom fight-
ing, in around 1734, it is alleged that Nanny met
her death at the hands of African collaborators
who were compensated by the British for fighting
against their African brethren in the Maroon com-
munities. This event is doubted due to an abun-
dance of evidence that she lived up until the 1750s.
Nanny vehemently opposed signing treaties with
the British because she feared they were only
attempting to subvert autonomous African com-
munities in Jamaica. However, several of the
Maroon communities eventually signed land grant
treaties with the British. The treaties allowed the
Maroons to occupy their own communities. In
exchange, the Maroons had to agree to help
the British government catch and return runaway
Africans to slavery, to keep and maintain a number
of white men on their land, and help put down
slave rebellions. It is said that, although Nanny
detested the idea of compromising with European
authorities, white planters in Jamaica consistently
surrounded and threatened to take over the
Maroon communities, forcing those who still held
territory to sign land agreements. In 1734, a land
grant treaty agreement was drawn up in Nanny’s
name, although it is doubtful that she in fact
signed the document herself, and there is no
evidence of Nanny’s compliance with stipulations442 Nanny