- published: 11 Apr 2012
- views: 197114
Exuma is a district of the Bahamas, consisting of over 365 islands, also called cays. The largest of the cays is Great Exuma, which is 37 mi (60 km) in length and joined to another island, Little Exuma by a small bridge. The capital and largest city in the district is George Town (permanent population 1,000), founded 1793 and located on Great Exuma. The Tropic of Cancer runs across a beach close to the city. The entire island chain is 130 mi (209 km) long and 72 sq. mi (187 km²) in area. Great Exuma island has an area of 61 sq. mi (158 km²) while Little Exuma has an area of 11 sq. mi (29 km²).
Between 2000 and 2010, the population of Exuma more than doubled, reflecting the construction of large and small resort properties and the related direct air traffic to Great Exuma from locations as distant as Toronto, Canada.
Exuma was settled in or around 1783 by American loyalists fleeing the Revolutionary War. The expatriates brought a cotton plantation economy to the islands. George Town was named in honour of George III, to whom the settlers maintained their loyalty. A few smaller cays still remain partially or wholly privately owned, albeit they are still referred to as part of the Exuma–Bahamas Cays. They are distinguished by a three-digit suffix number. The best known ones are adjoined cays Exuma 642 and 643, whose lifespan has been shortened in the recent years by the receding shorelines.
I came down on a lightning bolt,
nine months in my Mama's belly
When I was born the midwife
screamed and shout
I had fire and brimstone
coming out of my mouth
I'm Exuma, I'm The Obeah Man
Exuma was my name when I lived in the stars
Exuma was a planet that once lit Mars,
I've got the voice of many in my throat
The teeth of a frog and the tail of a goat
I'm Exuma, I'm The Obeah Man
When I've got my big hat on my head
You know that I can raise the dead
When I got my stick in my hand
You know that I am The Obeah Man
If you got a woman and she ain't happy
Come see me for camalame
Take that camalame and you make her some tea
and she will love you all the time
And when she got you running
like a train on a track
take some flour and you make some pap
that will give you strength in your back
I'm Exuma, I'm The Obeah Man
I've sailed with Charon, day and night
I've walked with Hougaman, Hector Hippolite
Obeah, Obeah, Obeah, Obeah's in me
I drank the water from the firery sea
I'm Exuma, I'm The Obeah Man
Tony McKay was my given name
given on Cat island when my mother felt the pain.
Creatures of the Earth, Space, Sea, and Land,
I'm Exuma, I'm The Obeah Man
I'm Exuma, I'm The Obeah Man