The "maroon sounds" on the enclosed audiotape include samples of music, storytelling sessions and oratory, and other verbal art of Maroon communities from Suriname, French Guiana, Jamaica, and the United States and Mexican border, which are featured in the exhibition Creativity and Resistance: Maroon Cultures in the Americas. The recordings were made during fieldwork for the Smithsonian 1992 Festival of American Folklife, as well as at the festival itself.

AUDIOTAPE - SIDE A :

I. Suriname and French Guiana Maroons

1 - Saramaka awasa pei
        This song, recorded in November 1992 in Akisimau, Suriname, accompanies a women's social dance called awasa.

2 - Ndjuka and Aluku storytelling songs
        Sung stories, called Mato, were performed at a session at the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife in June 1992. Mato is usually performed at celebrations which commemorate deceased members of the Ndjuka and Aluku community. The session is introduced by anthropologist Richard Price.

3 - Aluku & Ndjuka Aleke Dance Party
        Aleke is a popular social music in Suriname and French Guiana created by Aluku and Ndjuka Maroons. Ndjuka and Aluku musicians and dancers performed together at this Aleke dance party recorded at the 1992 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. This session is introduced by anthropologist Kenneth Bilby.

4 - Drum music performed during the greeting ceremony of the Maroon Program at the Smithsonian Institution 1992 Festival of American Folklife. During this greeting ceremony, Guianese and Saramaka cultural leaders Papa Adwingie Aboikoni and Aniekil Awardie, announce the presence of the paramount leaders of the Ndjuka, Saramaka, and Aluku Maroons.

5 - Drum music performed by Moore Town Maroons during an opening call ceremony and blessing of the Maroon program at the Smithsonian Institution 1992 Festival of American Folklife.

6 - Abeng Language of the Jamaican Maroons
        Colonel George L. Harris, leader of the Moore Town Maroons in Jamaica, playing the abeng, a side-blown cow horn used to communicate with the community.

II. Jamaican Maroons

7 - Excerpt from Drums of Defiance, recording produced by the Smithsonian Folkways which includes several selections from Windward and Leeward Maroon music. The songs are sung in processions during the annual January 6th celebration of the Leeward Maroons in Accompong, Jamaica.

AUDIOTAPE - SIDE B :

8 - Windward Maroons
        On this recording from the 1992 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, Colonel C. L. G. Harris, leader of the Moore Town Maroons in Jamaica, recounts the story of the battle and victory of their Maroon Leader and Jamaican hero, Grandy Nanny.

9 - Leeward Maroon
        On this recording from the 1992 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, Colonel Wright, paramount leader of the Accompong Maroons, recounts the story of the Leeward Maroon hero Kojo (Cudjoe) and the signing of the Treaty of Peace of 1738, between the Leeward Maroons and the British authorities in Jamaica.

III. Seminoles Maroons

10 - This New Year's Eve song is traditionally sung each year by members of the Seminole Maroon community of Brackettville, Texas. The recording was made during a session at the 1992 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife.