Something Unique

The Jamaican Satyr Calisto zangis
This is the most common butterfly in the area. The false “eyes” on its wings are amazingly realistic.

Botany Tree
There is an old mango tree in Lancaster on the way to the ruins. It is very interesting because it supports an unusual variety of epiphytes including mosses, several lichens, a fungus, three species of bromeliad, two species of orchid, a mistletoe, a cactus and several creepers.

Maroon Drumming and Dancing
The Maroons have used drumming and dancing to communicate with their ancestors, calling them consultation and healing, commonly known as ‘business’ in Maroon circles. The Kromanti dancing, which accompanies the drumming, originates from the Kromanti tribe in Ghana. During the dancing, the ancestors enter and take over the dancers’ bodies. It is felt that the ancestors communicate through the movement of the dancers.

St. George’s Anglican Church
The oldest building in the Buff Bay town, the church started off as a chapel in the late 1750’s. By 1802, the first church was built. However, it was severely damaged by earthquake in 1813. The church was later rebuilt in 1815. As the size of the population expanded and the community prospered, there was need to enlarge and enhance the appearance of the edifice. The expanded building was completed in 1859. The church again suffered earthquake damage in 1907, and was restored 11 years later.

Notwithstanding its aesthetic appeal, however, the Church and its few remaining gravestones are mute witnesses of an era of opulence that was sustained by the perpetuation of race and class injustices against blacks during and after the period of plantation slavery. Although the doors of the Parish Church were opened not only to whites, but the wider community which included the Maroon, the religious institution also profited from the labour of enslaved Africans as it too was a slaveholder. Further, in the post-slavery period the church sought to entrench class distinctions by classifying seats and offering them for rent. First class seats were proposed for 12 shillings, second class for 8 shillings, and third class for 4 shillings.