Houses scattered across the hills. - photos by Robert Lalah

It's a cool community, high in the hills of St Catherine that's as quiet and beautiful as you could ever hope for. Now Sligoville has a rich history and is well-known for being the first 'free village' occupied by ex-slaves in Jamaica. It came to be that way because back in 1835, a clergyman called James Phillippo, in anticipation of the end of apprenticeship, bought a whole lot of land in the area.

Division of land

He divided the land into lots for the ex-slaves. Since then, many have visited the place just to see what it's like and are usually pleased when they get there, because there is as much history in Sligoville as there is beauty. That said, all this means little to Miss Adina, a persnickety little woman wearing spectacles with alarmingly thick frames and knee-high socks with tennis shoes, who I met as she was in the middle of what seemed a tedious journey up a rather steep hill. She was hunched over as she made the climb and I found myself quite unintentionally doing the same as I walked beside her and attempted to strike up a conversation. It was then that I learned that Miss Adina spends little time contemplating things of the past.

"Look yah nuh man, mi tired fi hear bout dat now. Afta mi never deh deh. Ask mi bout what a gwaan now and mi will tell yuh," she said. I obliged as we continued up the hill. Between panting, I asked her what the community is like today. "Well, di peope dem round here funny bad. Dem kip to demself more time. But dat alright though! Mi caan badda wid di neggeh neggeh inna mi ears more time," she said. Miss Adina straightened up now. To my great relief, we had finally made it to the top of the hill. I feigned a coughing fit in a desperate attempt to get the woman to slow down, so I could catch my breath.

The plan failed miserably however, as the 70-something-year-old woman lumbered on, still speaking. I had to scurry to catch up with her again. "Now dat is what come from the slavery days. Dat much mi know. When di slave dem did free up and come here come live, dem did come from different different tribe, so dem never did like dem one aneda. So dem woulda kip to demself. Is dat same thing come until now. Is just old time something come back again," she said, finally stopping for a moment to adjust her spectacles.

Crime in the community

I asked Miss Adina if the residents of Sligoville had trouble with crime these days. "Well, thank Jeezas wi nuh really trouble wid di crime still. Sligoville people is not like dat. We nuh have time fi dem something deh. Dat is di good thing wid around here," she said. Miss Adina was on her way home to get a pot boiling. She had walked down the hill to one of about five shops in the community to buy a piece of pumpkin, which, surprisingly, she promptly deposited somewhere near her bosom. She pointed to her left and said she was going home now to get some soup boiling and politely asked if I would like some. To be honest, I fancied a cup of soup, but when I looked over at where Miss Adina was pointing, I quickly changed my mind. It was another hill! The house wasn't even in sight, so I declined in light of recent breathing difficulties and bade the woman farewell right there at the bottom of the hill. "Alright, walk good!" she said and was off. I stood there for a moment in intrigue as the woman shot up the hill and out of sight in what seemed like record time.

I looked around for sign of someone else to speak with and noticed three women sitting in the shade of a tree some distance away. I hadn't noticed them before, but they were already looking in my direction, so I headed over there.

Interesting people

"Hello please," one of the women shouted as I approached. I returned the greeting and introduced myself to the trio. They were Ingrid, Shernette and Imogene. Imogene was looking at me the way a fat man looks at a bologna sandwich. I felt uncomfortable, until Ingrid broke the silence. "So what is yuh business around here?" she asked. I explained that I was interested in finding out more about the community.

"Well, we deh yah a tek it easy. Sligoville people nuh trouble nobady," said Shernette, a round woman with protruding eyes. She was perhaps close to 30 years old. "Things haffi keep cool around here because we was the first free village. We caan come let down wi self," said she, chuckling.

Imogene was still looking me up and down.

I asked Ingrid if many people lived in Sligoville. "Hoo hoo! Yes man, whole heap! We have about three different section of Sligoville. Many, many people." she said.

Ingrid said something after that, but I didn't hear it. I was busy eyeing Imogene, who had now moved a step closer to me.

"You married?" she queried. I responded in the negative and she started feeling my arm. I struggled to change the subject. "Er ... ah ... what do the people around here do?" was all I managed to come up with. "We have everything here, man. We have doctor and lawyer and everybody. Lots of farmers too," said Shernette.

'Nice likkle place'

A sign at the entrance to Sligoville.

Ingrid chimed in. "We have a nice likkle place here, man. No crime and dem ting deh, really. Nuff niceness and thing. Remember we haffi keep it cool because of the history of the place," said she.

By now, Imogene had successfully manouvered her hands all over both my arms and back. To prevent her from exploring other areas, I decided to bid the women goodbye and make a hasty retreat. The last thing I heard as I headed down the hill was Imogene shouting: "How you a leave and mi nuh get yuh number?"

robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com