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232 Flight to Freedom
objects that they had used. Among the objects confiscated were shells, rattles,
drums, a cardboard crown decorated with seashells, statues of cows
painted red, a red hat with three feathers, and a variety of other clothing and
objects in red. Reis (1993, 57) believes that the name of the quilombo, the
colours used, and the various motifs suggest a candomblé derived from the
Sango ritual, related to the Yoruba god of war. In 1835, also in Bahia, there
was a far more extensive plot under the aegis of Islam but incorporating elements
of African traditional religions, reinterpreted and syncretized in the
Brazilian context (ibid., 73–159).
In the 1712 aborted revolt in New York City, those involved took an oath
of secrecy by sucking each other’s blood and rubbing on their bodies a powder
prepared by a Black conjurer that was believed to make them invincible
(Blassingame 1979, 216, see also 221). Similarly, Tackey, the charismatic insurgent
leader in Jamaica in 1760, and the Kumanti priests of the Saramakas are
supposed to have had obeahs that prevented the White man’s bullets from
harming them or their followers. Joaquim Nigth of Cuba was accused in 1843
of selling magical charms to make insurgents invincible, while in Haiti many
vodun priests sold charms to make their followers invulnerable to the White
man’s weapons. 21 More dramatically, according to legend, Grandy Nanny,
leader of the Windward Maroons in Jamaica in the 1730s, had the power to
catch the enemy’s bullets in her buttocks and to use the same as a propulsion
machine to return fire with those bullets. Her position among the main leaders
of these Maroons was due as much to her alleged uncanny spiritual powers
as her martial capabilities. 22
Several communities adopted elements of Christianity, such as erecting
churches, placing icons in honour of Christian saints, and donning the garments
of the Christian (usually Catholic) priesthood. In Miguel’s palenque in
Venezuela, the religious leader bore the title of bishop (Franco 1979, 36). In
the Mariscal Castellanos palenque in the same country, a Maroon, dressed as
a priest, baptized young boys (Veracoechea 1987, 79–80). The Cofre de Perote
settlement had a small chapel containing an altar, candles and images. It is
said that, during the attack that broke the back of his resistance, Yanga
remained in the chapel along with the women, offering fervent supplications
to ensure the success of his warriors. Later, one of the conditions of peace
that he made with the Mexican colonial government was that only
Franciscan friars would be allowed to minister to his people (Davidson 1979,
95, 97; Pereira 1994, 99–100; Palmer 1976, 129). Some years later, in 1769, the