The Abeng

When you arrive at the Maroon Village in Charles Town, expect to be greeted by a man blowing on a cow's horn, sending a loud signal to the other villagers. The horn is known as an abeng.

For centuries, the Maroons used the abeng to communicate across Jamaica's mountain valleys, sending a wide variety of complex messages, though it's not hard to imagine one of the more common messages was, "The British are coming! The British are coming."

As your guide at the maroon Museum will tell you when the abeng is sounded for your visit, another message is, "We have visitors, and we're having a good time."