Cotterwood is a town in Saint Elizabeth Parish

Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica

St. Elizabeth, one of Jamaica's largest parishes, is located in the southwest of the island, in the county of Cornwall. Its capital, Black River, is located at the mouth of the Black River, the longest on the island.-History:...

, Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

. It is at latitude

Latitude

In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...

 18° 4' 60" N, Longitude

Longitude

Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....

 77° 54' 0" W and at an altitude

Altitude

Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...

 of 107 metres.

The community here was founded by Maroons

Maroon (people)

Maroons were runaway slaves in the West Indies, Central America, South America, and North America, who formed independent settlements together...

 who originally came from Cattawood Springs

Cattawood Springs

Cattawood Springs is a place in Portland Parish, Jamaica located at latitude 18 04' 00", longitude 76 26' 00".Originally this was a Maroon settlement. This name probably derives from the Twi word katá which means to cover conceal or protect....

 in Portland Parish

Portland Parish, Jamaica

Portland, with its capital town Port Antonio, is a parish located on Jamaica's northeast coast. It is situated to the north of St Thomas, and the east of St Mary in Surrey county. It is one of the rural areas of Jamaica and is known for its great beaches....

, joining forces with Cudjoe

Cudjoe

Cudjoe, also known as Captain Cudjoe, was a Maroon leader in Jamaica, and the brother of Nanny of the Maroons. He has been described as "the greatest of the Maroon leaders." In the discussion of important and outstanding leaders in history, one must include Captain Cudjoe...

 in 1730. The community has retained much of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n culture in consequence., with the names Yulie and Oli being used often. The local dialect includes several African words such as bafan which refers to someone who is clumsy, bubu, for someone who behaves stupid, buffa-buffa meaning fat, chacka-chaka for someone who is untidy and fenke fenke for feeble. The name of Cotterwood (like Cattawood) probably derives from the Twi

Twi

Asante, or Ashanti, is one of three literary dialects of the Akan language of southern Ghana, and the prestige dialect of that language. It is spoken in and around Kumasi, the capital of the former Ashanti Empire and current subnational Asante Kingdom within Ghana.Along with the Akuapem dialect,...

 word katá which means to cover conceal or protect.

Leonard Barrett, the author of several books including The Sun and The Drum comes from Cotterwood and has researched the African roots in Jamaican Folk

Folk

The English word Folk is derived from a Germanic noun, *fulka meaning "people" or "army"...

 Tradition

Tradition

A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...

.