Le Marron Inconnu Explained

Monument Name:	Le Marron Inconnu (Nèg Mawon) The Unknown Maroon (Maroon Man)
Location:	Place du Marron Inconnu, Champ de Mars, HT6110 Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Designer:	Created by Haitian sculptor Albert Mangonès
Height:	3.6m (11.8feet) and 2.4m (07.9feet) tall
Complete:	22 September 1967^[1]
Coordinates:	18.5446°N -72.3377°W
Dedicated To:	Abolishment of slavery and freedom of all black people

Le Marron Inconnu de Port au prince,^[2] shortened as Le Marron Inconnu (in French pronounced as /lə ma.ʁɔ̃ ɛ̃.kɔ.ny/, "The Unknown Maroon"), also called Neg Marron or Nèg Mawon (in Haitian; Haitian Creole pronounced as /nɛɡ ma.ʁɔ̃/, "Maroon Man"), is a bronze statue of a runaway slave, better known as a maroon, standing in the center of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Completed on September 22 1967 by Haitian architect Albert Mangonès, the statue is regarded as a symbol of black liberation;^[3] commemorating in particular, the rallying cry that sparked the Haitian Revolution and the abolishment of slavery. Situated across from the National Palace,^[4] it is the nation's most iconic representation of the struggle for freedom.^[5]

Description

Mangonès completed the statue on 22 September 1967.^[6] It measures 3.60 metres long by 2.40 metres high.^[7] It depicts in bronze a near-naked fugitive black man, kneeling on one knee, his torso arched, his opposite leg stretched back, and a broken chain on his left ankle. He holds a conch shell at his lips with his left hand, his head tilted upward to blow it, while the other hand holds a machete on the ground by his right ankle.^{[8] [9] [7]}

Mangonès chose a passage from 1 Maccabees 14:3-9 of the Jerusalem Bible to be set in copper letters on one of the two concrete panels that protect the "eternal flame" of freedom in the square surrounding the statue.^[7]

Recognized usage

In 1989, the United Nations adopted the statue as a central icon on postage stamps commemorating Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that states, "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."^{[10] [5] [11] [12]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1979-2009 - Les 30 années de l'ISPAN . 6 . Press . 1 January 2010 . 8 . Bulletin de l’Ispan (UNESCO) . 9 March 2016.
2. Book: Freedom as Marronage . 12 . Roberts, Neil . 2015 . 9780226201047. University of Chicago . 9 March 2016.
3. Web site: Embassy of the Republic of Haiti - Haiti's Landmarks. . 2016-03-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160310095554/http://www.embassyofhaiti-rsa.org/index.php/visit-haiti/touristic-attractions/haiti-s-landmarks . 2016-03-10 . dead .
4. Book: Philippe R. Girard. The Slaves Who Defeated Napoleon: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian War of Independence, 1801-1804. 2 November 2011. University of Alabama Press. 978-0-8173-1732-4. 191.
5. News: Albert Mangones, 85; His Bronze Sculpture Became Haitian Symbol . Press (Obituaries, PASSINGS) . 27 April 2002 . LA Times . 9 March 2016.
6. Web site: Le Marron inconnu vandalisé et la flamme éternelle éteinte . Alphonse, Roberson . 15 May 2012 . Le Nouvelliste . 9 March 2016.
7. Le Marron Inconnu (The Unknown Runaway Slave) . Lorraine, Mangones . 62 . Directions . 27 March 2015 . 4. 1 . 9 March 2016.
8. Book: Fault Lines: Views across Haiti's Divide . Bell, Beverly . 32 . 2013 . Cornell University Press . 9780801452123 . 6 April 2016.
9. Web site: History May Be Haiti's Greatest Resource . Mukherjee, Jola Dr. 20 March 2010 . Huffington Post . 7 April 2016.
10. http://www.esclavage-memoire.com/lieux-de-memoire/statue-du-marron-inconnu-27.html Comité National Pour La Mémoire et l'Histoire de l'Esclavage - Statue du Marron Inconnu
11. https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/ United Nations - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
12. Web site: Le Marron Inconnu d'Albert Mangonès . Mangonès, Fréderick . 8 July 2014 . Le Nouvelliste . 9 March 2016.