Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Afrikan culture,
Christianity
and the Drum
By Corey Harris
We know that the majority of Black people in North America today
are largely the descendants of people taken from regions now
associated with the modern nations of Senegal, Mali, Gambia,
Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia (aka upper Guinea); the southern
regions of Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and eastern Ivory Coast
(aka lower Guinea); and the western regions of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and Angola (Central Africa). When we
consider the size of the continent, these areas represent only about
%15 of Afrika’s total area. Each of these regions produced empires
rich in cultural traditions as well as smaller kingdoms and city
states. There is a common misconception that slaves were taken
from Afrika. No, people were stolen, sold and then later enslaved.
They were not dull brutes or blank slates lacking culture, waiting
for white people to write upon them. These were individuals skilled
in arts and trades that colonial whites knew nothing about, such as
brick making, rice cultivation. Though a great number of slaves
performed back-breaking manual labor on large and small planta-
tions, many others were highly valued for their skills, even to the
extent that they were often hired out by the slavemaster to work for
other whites in the area. (This was the status of the great skilled
and literate revolutionaries of the 19th century such as Gabriel
Prosser, Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner; this made them a real
threat to the established order. Perhaps this explains why slave
revolts were so common, and why travel was forbidden during
slavery: white security and the maintenance of the system demanded
it.) Slavery was a system with a clear process on how to break,
maintain, and breed free labor. (Though the now famous ‘Willie
Lynch letter’ has been exposed as a hoax, the practices it describes
were most definitely part and parcel of the enslavement process.)
Those who survived the middle passage were then subjected to the
brutal process of enslavement which began when they were chained
in Afrika to be sold off to Europeans to be regarded as nothing more
than livestock. So we are talking here about people of diverse
origins and trades, with differences in status and age. These are
people who were loved members of a community, parents, sons,
daughters, uncles, aunts, cousins. They knew their family history
and their cultural identity was intact. In short, they were civilized
peoples with their own languages, faiths, traditions, and concepts of
law. They were enslaved because of the need for cheap, skilled labor.
Their rich and highly developed cultures did not die out just because
of a change of venue. But it did bear the scars, the whips and the
chains as it developed into a new branch of that same old Afrikan
tree from which it sprung. It was this Afrikan culture, taken from
diverse groups from a relatively small area that is the soil from which
Black culture grew into what it is today.
are largely the descendants of people taken from regions now
associated with the modern nations of Senegal, Mali, Gambia,
Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia (aka upper Guinea); the southern
regions of Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and eastern Ivory Coast
(aka lower Guinea); and the western regions of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and Angola (Central Africa). When we
consider the size of the continent, these areas represent only about
%15 of Afrika’s total area. Each of these regions produced empires
rich in cultural traditions as well as smaller kingdoms and city
states. There is a common misconception that slaves were taken
from Afrika. No, people were stolen, sold and then later enslaved.
They were not dull brutes or blank slates lacking culture, waiting
for white people to write upon them. These were individuals skilled
in arts and trades that colonial whites knew nothing about, such as
brick making, rice cultivation. Though a great number of slaves
performed back-breaking manual labor on large and small planta-
tions, many others were highly valued for their skills, even to the
extent that they were often hired out by the slavemaster to work for
other whites in the area. (This was the status of the great skilled
and literate revolutionaries of the 19th century such as Gabriel
Prosser, Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner; this made them a real
threat to the established order. Perhaps this explains why slave
revolts were so common, and why travel was forbidden during
slavery: white security and the maintenance of the system demanded
it.) Slavery was a system with a clear process on how to break,
maintain, and breed free labor. (Though the now famous ‘Willie
Lynch letter’ has been exposed as a hoax, the practices it describes
were most definitely part and parcel of the enslavement process.)
Those who survived the middle passage were then subjected to the
brutal process of enslavement which began when they were chained
in Afrika to be sold off to Europeans to be regarded as nothing more
than livestock. So we are talking here about people of diverse
origins and trades, with differences in status and age. These are
people who were loved members of a community, parents, sons,
daughters, uncles, aunts, cousins. They knew their family history
and their cultural identity was intact. In short, they were civilized
peoples with their own languages, faiths, traditions, and concepts of
law. They were enslaved because of the need for cheap, skilled labor.
Their rich and highly developed cultures did not die out just because
of a change of venue. But it did bear the scars, the whips and the
chains as it developed into a new branch of that same old Afrikan
tree from which it sprung. It was this Afrikan culture, taken from
diverse groups from a relatively small area that is the soil from which
Black culture grew into what it is today.
Historical records tell us that Virginia was once known for the
predominance of Igbo descendants among the enslaved population,
and it is well known that the Gullah people of the Sea Islands are
the descendants of Mande speaking peoples from the Senegambia
region who were prized for their expertise in rice cultivation. Records
from 18 century Louisiana have revealed the presence of a large
population of Yoruba as well as Bambara peoples from Mali.
Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, in her book, Africans in Colonial Louisiana,
revealed that the municipal court of law in New Orleans paid
interpreters to translate between Bambara and French. The Igbo
were also numerous, second only to the Bamana in Louisiana. Prior
to the British ban on slavetrading in the early 19th century, colonial
America witnessed large populations of fully acculturated Afrikans
who remembered everything from their previous lives as free,
sovereign human beings in Afrika. It was this memory of freedom
that first had to be beaten and terrorized out of existence in order
to make a good slave. Though it has been often said, it still is true
that we didn’t get the blues until after we walked off the slave ship
and into chattel slavery. Leroi Jones writes in his masterpiece, ‘Blues
People’, “Undoubtedly, none of the Afrikan prisoners broke out into
‘St. James Infirmary’ the minute the first of them was herded off the
ship.” The blues came later as the culminations of the reactions of
Black people and their culture to a series of traumas beginning with
captivity and enduring through slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow,
lynching, discrimination and abuse by the dominant culture. These
first Afrikans surely had their own lamentations in their own tongue.
Even though the despair was surely there, there was no blues form
to express it in this early period. This would take generations to
manifest, as the old generation of Afrikans died out and was replaced
by those born into bondage in America who had no direct memories
of the Motherland. We can well imagine that the first trauma was of
being captured, kidnapped and chained in Afrika, which led to the
second trauma, the hell of the ma’afa (aka the ‘Middle Passage’). It is
clear that the ultimate trauma that welcomed these Afrikans was
reaching the shores of the Americas. For it was at that instant that
the Afrikan was immersed in a foreign land, surrounded by aliens
whose only intent was to use and abuse her. At least on the ship
there was the possibility of mutiny or at least suicide by jumping
overboard. In fact, the historical record shows that many ships were
lost at sea and stories of noble Afrikans such as Cingbe and his
comrades on the Amistad who overcame their captors to reach for
freedom were not unheard of.
predominance of Igbo descendants among the enslaved population,
and it is well known that the Gullah people of the Sea Islands are
the descendants of Mande speaking peoples from the Senegambia
region who were prized for their expertise in rice cultivation. Records
from 18 century Louisiana have revealed the presence of a large
population of Yoruba as well as Bambara peoples from Mali.
Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, in her book, Africans in Colonial Louisiana,
revealed that the municipal court of law in New Orleans paid
interpreters to translate between Bambara and French. The Igbo
were also numerous, second only to the Bamana in Louisiana. Prior
to the British ban on slavetrading in the early 19th century, colonial
America witnessed large populations of fully acculturated Afrikans
who remembered everything from their previous lives as free,
sovereign human beings in Afrika. It was this memory of freedom
that first had to be beaten and terrorized out of existence in order
to make a good slave. Though it has been often said, it still is true
that we didn’t get the blues until after we walked off the slave ship
and into chattel slavery. Leroi Jones writes in his masterpiece, ‘Blues
People’, “Undoubtedly, none of the Afrikan prisoners broke out into
‘St. James Infirmary’ the minute the first of them was herded off the
ship.” The blues came later as the culminations of the reactions of
Black people and their culture to a series of traumas beginning with
captivity and enduring through slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow,
lynching, discrimination and abuse by the dominant culture. These
first Afrikans surely had their own lamentations in their own tongue.
Even though the despair was surely there, there was no blues form
to express it in this early period. This would take generations to
manifest, as the old generation of Afrikans died out and was replaced
by those born into bondage in America who had no direct memories
of the Motherland. We can well imagine that the first trauma was of
being captured, kidnapped and chained in Afrika, which led to the
second trauma, the hell of the ma’afa (aka the ‘Middle Passage’). It is
clear that the ultimate trauma that welcomed these Afrikans was
reaching the shores of the Americas. For it was at that instant that
the Afrikan was immersed in a foreign land, surrounded by aliens
whose only intent was to use and abuse her. At least on the ship
there was the possibility of mutiny or at least suicide by jumping
overboard. In fact, the historical record shows that many ships were
lost at sea and stories of noble Afrikans such as Cingbe and his
comrades on the Amistad who overcame their captors to reach for
freedom were not unheard of.
In every one of the Afrikan cultures whose members were enslaved,
the power of the word (written and spoken) was held in the highest
regard and used with reverence. Words were extemporized on the
spot (‘off the dome’) and whole ancient texts and proverbs were
memorized for recitation to music. Drums, strings, and the rhythms
played on them were central to their understanding of themselves
and the cosmos. Every song had its appropriate place and time for
its performance, and every song told a story that became more
profound the deeper one dug into its meaning. Individual vocal
styles were emotive and soaked in rhythm and the ancient call and
response conversation between the lead vocalist and the people.
The Afrikans who disembarked onto North and South American as
well as Caribbean shores were fully acculturated in every way. They
laid the foundation. In their cultures, the mark of humanity was for
them one who had been raised in the ways of their ancestors and
who acted accordingly through right words and deeds. This was the
cultural standard across traditional Afrika, before the forced intro-
duction of Islam and later western Christianity. Afrikan people
created cultural traditions that were highly developed and marked
by their civility and respect for the sanctity of human life. Even
though centuries of racist propaganda would urge us to believe
otherwise, the long period of European and Arab-imposed chattel
slavery was a massive setback for Afrikan peoples (from 800 AD
until the 19 century or even later), arresting the natural progression
of Afrikan culture as it had been developing for millennia. As dub
poet Mutabaruka says, “slavery isn’t Afirkan history; slavery inter-
rupted Afrikan history.” Afrikan civilization was invaded by alien
savages (first the Arabs and then the Europeans) who set upon a
concerted campaign to enslave, brutalize and destroy the memory
of its past greatness. Whole cities were laid to waste. Shrines and
monuments were destroyed. Sacred artifacts were stolen and
housed in large quantities in the museums of Europe. Most of
these items are still there.
the power of the word (written and spoken) was held in the highest
regard and used with reverence. Words were extemporized on the
spot (‘off the dome’) and whole ancient texts and proverbs were
memorized for recitation to music. Drums, strings, and the rhythms
played on them were central to their understanding of themselves
and the cosmos. Every song had its appropriate place and time for
its performance, and every song told a story that became more
profound the deeper one dug into its meaning. Individual vocal
styles were emotive and soaked in rhythm and the ancient call and
response conversation between the lead vocalist and the people.
The Afrikans who disembarked onto North and South American as
well as Caribbean shores were fully acculturated in every way. They
laid the foundation. In their cultures, the mark of humanity was for
them one who had been raised in the ways of their ancestors and
who acted accordingly through right words and deeds. This was the
cultural standard across traditional Afrika, before the forced intro-
duction of Islam and later western Christianity. Afrikan people
created cultural traditions that were highly developed and marked
by their civility and respect for the sanctity of human life. Even
though centuries of racist propaganda would urge us to believe
otherwise, the long period of European and Arab-imposed chattel
slavery was a massive setback for Afrikan peoples (from 800 AD
until the 19 century or even later), arresting the natural progression
of Afrikan culture as it had been developing for millennia. As dub
poet Mutabaruka says, “slavery isn’t Afirkan history; slavery inter-
rupted Afrikan history.” Afrikan civilization was invaded by alien
savages (first the Arabs and then the Europeans) who set upon a
concerted campaign to enslave, brutalize and destroy the memory
of its past greatness. Whole cities were laid to waste. Shrines and
monuments were destroyed. Sacred artifacts were stolen and
housed in large quantities in the museums of Europe. Most of
these items are still there.
Even though much was lost from enslavement, religion, language,
kinship and mythology, not everything could be erased. When
Afrikans first arrived to the New World, all of this Afrikan culture
was fully present in the minds and hearts of the people who were
to be enslaved. It took several generations for this to change. In
areas where there were large plantations, such as in the upper
Mississippi delta, Louisiana, Arkansas and elsewhere in the
Southeastern United States, Blacks greatly outnumbered whites
and did not meaningfully interact with them on daily basis if at
all. (The obvious exception would have been domestic workers.)
It was only because of those who resigned themselves to at least
the outward appearance of assimilation in the face of such terror-
ism, abuse and theft that the Afrikan element became subsumed
or pushed under the rug. Those who were too strong in their
Afrikan culture were simply killed. (Even in 20th century
Mississippi the common sentiment was “kill a mule, buy another
one, kill a nigger, hire another one.”) Prior to and for many
years after the outlawing of the slave trade in 1807, Afrikans who
were born in the Motherland lived alongside Afrikans whose
families had been in North America for generations. In fact, it
was the en masse introduction of western, ‘white Jesus’ style
Christianity in the early 19th century to Afrikans by slaveowners
that ultimately diluted the stronger Afrikan element in many
areas. This was in addition to native-born Afrikans gradually
dying out and being replaced by the succeeding generations.
Ultimately, it would be Black people’s music which bore all the
hallmarks of Afrikan culture that the slavemaster had so long
attempted to wipe out completely by terrorism and conversion.
kinship and mythology, not everything could be erased. When
Afrikans first arrived to the New World, all of this Afrikan culture
was fully present in the minds and hearts of the people who were
to be enslaved. It took several generations for this to change. In
areas where there were large plantations, such as in the upper
Mississippi delta, Louisiana, Arkansas and elsewhere in the
Southeastern United States, Blacks greatly outnumbered whites
and did not meaningfully interact with them on daily basis if at
all. (The obvious exception would have been domestic workers.)
It was only because of those who resigned themselves to at least
the outward appearance of assimilation in the face of such terror-
ism, abuse and theft that the Afrikan element became subsumed
or pushed under the rug. Those who were too strong in their
Afrikan culture were simply killed. (Even in 20th century
Mississippi the common sentiment was “kill a mule, buy another
one, kill a nigger, hire another one.”) Prior to and for many
years after the outlawing of the slave trade in 1807, Afrikans who
were born in the Motherland lived alongside Afrikans whose
families had been in North America for generations. In fact, it
was the en masse introduction of western, ‘white Jesus’ style
Christianity in the early 19th century to Afrikans by slaveowners
that ultimately diluted the stronger Afrikan element in many
areas. This was in addition to native-born Afrikans gradually
dying out and being replaced by the succeeding generations.
Ultimately, it would be Black people’s music which bore all the
hallmarks of Afrikan culture that the slavemaster had so long
attempted to wipe out completely by terrorism and conversion.
Afrikans were in North America for nearly two hundred years
before any white slaveowner had any interest in making them
‘christian.’ This is because for centuries, the word was used to
differentiate between the races without using the terms ‘black’
and ‘white’. It was automatically assumed that christian meant
white in an era when it was widely asserted that Afrikans were
not even human. Thus no white person who wanted to preserve
white privilege would have supported Black conversion to
Christianity. It wasn’t until the middle of the 18th century that
this began to change in what was then still the North American
colonies of Britain. Afrikans in both Virginia and South Carolina
established churches in these states by the end of the 1780s and
individual conversions were becoming more commonplace. It
was during the Great Revival of the early nineteenth century in
which we find the origins of the tent meetings that led to mass
conversions among Afrikan populations in bondage. It is not
incidental that this time period coincided with the Haitian
Revolution and immediately preceded the historic slave rebellions
led by Denmark Vesey, Nat Turner and Gabriel Prosser. Afrikan
spirituality such as represented by the mighty Boukman in Haiti
was ultimately the abiding and deciding factor in Black unity
and eventual victory in that county’s famous liberation struggle.
Slaveowners in North America were well informed about events
in Haiti and the birth of the first Black Republic from the ashes
of a slave revolution scared them to death.
before any white slaveowner had any interest in making them
‘christian.’ This is because for centuries, the word was used to
differentiate between the races without using the terms ‘black’
and ‘white’. It was automatically assumed that christian meant
white in an era when it was widely asserted that Afrikans were
not even human. Thus no white person who wanted to preserve
white privilege would have supported Black conversion to
Christianity. It wasn’t until the middle of the 18th century that
this began to change in what was then still the North American
colonies of Britain. Afrikans in both Virginia and South Carolina
established churches in these states by the end of the 1780s and
individual conversions were becoming more commonplace. It
was during the Great Revival of the early nineteenth century in
which we find the origins of the tent meetings that led to mass
conversions among Afrikan populations in bondage. It is not
incidental that this time period coincided with the Haitian
Revolution and immediately preceded the historic slave rebellions
led by Denmark Vesey, Nat Turner and Gabriel Prosser. Afrikan
spirituality such as represented by the mighty Boukman in Haiti
was ultimately the abiding and deciding factor in Black unity
and eventual victory in that county’s famous liberation struggle.
Slaveowners in North America were well informed about events
in Haiti and the birth of the first Black Republic from the ashes
of a slave revolution scared them to death.
This fear is why the drum was outlawed in every slave holding
region in the Americas, since it was a deep connection to the
people’s recent Afrikan past and their ancestors. Drums were
literally carriers of the spoken word and could project this
information over long distances. There was a direct connection
between the tonal languages of Afrikans and the tones used to
communicate on the the drum. Thus we see the condemnation
of Afrikan traditions (spirituality, drums, language) among
politically astute whites and mentally enslaved Black Christians
as being from ‘the devil.’ (Interestingly enough, a survey of
traditional Afrikan religious beliefs show that the ‘devil’ was an
alien concept introduced by Europeans.) First and foremost,
Christian conversion of Afrikans was a strategic move to ensure
white security. Salvation of the soul had nothing to do with it.
Indeed, any Black preacher with a congregation during enslave-
ment had to be approved by a white man who also censored his
sermon to make sure he stayed on message. The more ‘Christian’
one behaved in reality meant the closer one was to mimicking the
religion, culture and values of the slaveholding class. In the
twentieth century, this same slur of being ‘from the devil’ would
be applied to the blues by Black and white Christians alike. Being
the most overtly Afrikan in its tonality, rhythms and singing style,
it was viewed as a clear threat to the established order. (I recall
my mother telling me there was a juke joint in her small town in
Texas, but she was forbidden by her devoutly religious grand-
mother to go, who called the blues ‘knocking at the back door
music.’) By circumscribing a people’s culture and identity, the
slaveholding class sought to enforce the status quo. Black
people internalized these restrictions such that even today it is
common to hear ‘educated’ Black Christians talking about
Afrikan culture and spirituality as being ‘demonic’, just as
earlier generations condemned the blues as being ‘sinful.’
Bluesman Big Bill Broonzy was right when he sang, “if you
white, you alright; if you brown, stick around; but if you
Black, get back brother, get back get back.”
region in the Americas, since it was a deep connection to the
people’s recent Afrikan past and their ancestors. Drums were
literally carriers of the spoken word and could project this
information over long distances. There was a direct connection
between the tonal languages of Afrikans and the tones used to
communicate on the the drum. Thus we see the condemnation
of Afrikan traditions (spirituality, drums, language) among
politically astute whites and mentally enslaved Black Christians
as being from ‘the devil.’ (Interestingly enough, a survey of
traditional Afrikan religious beliefs show that the ‘devil’ was an
alien concept introduced by Europeans.) First and foremost,
Christian conversion of Afrikans was a strategic move to ensure
white security. Salvation of the soul had nothing to do with it.
Indeed, any Black preacher with a congregation during enslave-
ment had to be approved by a white man who also censored his
sermon to make sure he stayed on message. The more ‘Christian’
one behaved in reality meant the closer one was to mimicking the
religion, culture and values of the slaveholding class. In the
twentieth century, this same slur of being ‘from the devil’ would
be applied to the blues by Black and white Christians alike. Being
the most overtly Afrikan in its tonality, rhythms and singing style,
it was viewed as a clear threat to the established order. (I recall
my mother telling me there was a juke joint in her small town in
Texas, but she was forbidden by her devoutly religious grand-
mother to go, who called the blues ‘knocking at the back door
music.’) By circumscribing a people’s culture and identity, the
slaveholding class sought to enforce the status quo. Black
people internalized these restrictions such that even today it is
common to hear ‘educated’ Black Christians talking about
Afrikan culture and spirituality as being ‘demonic’, just as
earlier generations condemned the blues as being ‘sinful.’
Bluesman Big Bill Broonzy was right when he sang, “if you
white, you alright; if you brown, stick around; but if you
Black, get back brother, get back get back.”