African Diaspora In The New World Essay, Research Paper

The study of cultures in the African Diaspora is relatively

young. Slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade brought numerous

Africans, under forced and brutal conditions, to the New World. Of

particular interest to many recent historians and Africanists is the

extent to which Africans were able to transfer, retain, modify or

transform their cultures under the conditions of their new

environments. Three main schools of thought have emerged in scholarly

discussion and research on this topic. Some argue that there are no

significant connections between Africans and African American

communities in the Americas. Others argue that Africans retained

significant aspects of their cultures. Similar to this argument, some

have argued that Africans, responding to their new environments,

retained and transformed African cultures into new African-American

ethnic units.

Detailed research done on slave communities in Surinam, South

Carolina and Louisiana allow us to look deeper into the stated

arguments. Having recently addressed the same issues using Colonial

South Carolina as a case study, I will focus largely on some of the

arguments and conclusions drawn from this study. The evidence from

South Carolina, Louisiana and Surinam supports the second and third

arguments much more than the first. The third argument, that of

cultural transformation, is the argument I find to be most valid.

John Thornton’s analysis of this issue is extremely helpful.

He addresses the “no connections” arguments in chapters 6, 7 and 8. He

outlines the claims made by scholars Franklin Frazier, Stanley Elkins,

Sidney Mintz and Richard Price. Frazier and Mintz believe that the

extreme trauma and disruption experienced by Africans during the

process of enslavement and the middle passage minimized the

possibility that they maintained aspects of their cultures in the new

world. They argue that this process “had the effect of traumatizing

and marginalizing them, so that they would became cultural receptacles

rather than donors” (152).

Mintz and Price have argued the slave trade had the effect of

“permanently breaking numerous social bonds that had tied Africans

together…” (153). Another element of the “no connections” argument

claims that Africans did not receive enough associational time with

each other or with those of similar ethnic backgrounds to ensure

survival of cultural practices. Drawing largely upon the study of

Anthropology, Thornton attempts to outline conditions for cultural

survival and transformation. He contends these arguments stating that

opportunities existed for viable communities to be formed, that there

were prospects for passing on “changing cultural heritage to a new

generation through training of offspring” and that there existed

opportunities for Africans to associate with themselves (153).

Thornton finds much more evidence for cultural transformation than

cultural “transplantation.” He notes the tendency of researchers to

focus on specific “Africanisms” rather than the cultural totality and

stresses the fact that “cultures change through constant interaction

with other cultures…” (209, 207).

I agree with Thornton’s analysis. As stated in a passage from

our paper:

It would be na?ve to think that after being enslaved and

transported across the sea to a foreign continent African slaves were

able to physically transplant their cultures in this new environment.

It would be equally na?ve to believe no elements of African culture

made their way to this region… Africans were interacting with

Europeans and other Africans of different ethnic groups, adapting to

the realities of their new environments and transforming elements of

both old and new into their own African-American culture. (Bright &

Broderick 10).

Evidence exists that shows Africans were allowed enough

associational time to form viable communities, that they maintained

strong family structures and that they exercised a large degree of

control in the raising their own children.

An example for the argument of significant retention of

Africanisms could be that of the Maroon communities in Surinam. In the

film I Shall Molder Before I am Taken, we saw examples of African

descendants separated from European masters, living largely isolated

in the Jungle in a similar manner to that of their ancestors. The

community was strikingly similar to the Asante communities described

in the film Atumpan . There was much ceremonial detail in addressing

the chief or headman of the village. Just as with the Asante, citizens

and visitors had to address the headman through an interpreter.

Leadership was also determined through matrilineal lines as in Akan

societies of Ghana. In felling a tree, the Saramaka would explain to

the spirits how the tree was necessary for their survival and would be

used wisely. They concluded by thanking the spirits and the forest

for the tree and leaving an offering for its taking. The Saramaka also

used mediums such as song, dance and stories to recreate and teach

important elements of their history and culture. All of these

practices can be almost directly traced to their previous African

societies.

Still, the Saramaka Maroons lend sufficient proof to the

argument of cultural transformation. Even after hundreds of years of

isolation in the jungle, the Saramaka showed significant examples of

cultural adaptation and borrowing. As witnessed in the Price

Literature and Film, “everything from botanical medicines to basketry

and fishing techniques was learned from the Native Americans” (Jason &

Kirschensteiner 9). Inquiring about the plants used by the medicine

man to treat tendinitus, Price found that much of the treatment of

disease and knowledge of medical plants was learned through Indians.

The Maroon Creole language, consisting of a mixture of English,

Portuguese, Dutch and African languages, is also symbolic of the

cultural transformation that had taken place.

Colonial Louisiana also provided opportunities for viable

African maroon communities. The geographic environment of Louisiana

with its bayous, thick swamps and intricate river system, contributed

to the ability of Africans to evade capture and move about with

relative freedom. Gwendolyn Hall depicts how Africans created a

network of “secret” communities in the cypress swamps surrounding

plantations. These Maroons would hide out “for weeks, months and even

years on or behind their master’s estates without being detected or

apprehended” (Hall 203). Hall describes the creolization of Africans

and Europeans in Colonial Louisiana: “Conditions prevailing…molded a

Creole or Afro-American slave culture through the process of blending

and adaptation of slave materials brought by the slaves…” (159).

Lower mortality rates among slaves, levels of freedom gained through

escape and survival in the swamps and a relatively small white

population led Hall to characterize Louisiana as creating “the most

Africanized slave culture in the Untied States” (161). Creole culture

came out of a consolidation of African, European and Native American

cultures. The dominance of African linguistic and cultural patterns

made this culture predominately an Afro-Creole culture.

Providing compelling evidence for the argument of

transformations of African culture is the study of slave life in

Colonial South Carolina. Africans contributed tremendously to the

successful settlement of the Colony and adapted and retained elements

of their roots into unique African American communities. These

communities included unique family and religious structures. Before

the Stono Rebellion of 1739, slaves were allowed a considerable amount

of freedom to associate among themselves. They were also encouraged to

have families and allowed to exercise a large degree of autonomy in

raising their children. As noted by Peter Wood, slave families;

similar to African families, would serve an important function in

passing down cultural heritage to the young. In accordance with

African tradition, South Carolina slaves relied on folk tales as the

primary vehicle for education of young. Slaves modified these tales to

fit their situation and environment in South Carolina. The traditional

“trickster”, recurrent in West African folk tales, was replaced by the

rabbit.

In religious worship Africans adapted old traditions to their

new situation. Many slaves in Colonial South Carolina became

Christians. This was not done without adding elements of their

previous beliefs systems. “Africans in Colonial South Carolina

worshipped their new Christian god with ‘the kind of expressive

behavior their African heritage taught them was appropriate for an

important deity’ ” (Bright & Broderick 11). Slaves also used African

forms such as dances, chants, trances and spirit possession in their

practice of Christianity. The call and response pattern characteristic

of West African music was adapted to this new religion. Sundays were

designated as free days for South Carolina slaves and this day was

often devoted to family, religious and community activities.

In this process of transformation there was also an element of

rebellion. After having gained elements of community and family ethnic

identity and freedom, slaves in Colonial South Carolina would not

become totally accepting of their condition and would resist attempts

to limit those freedoms they did have. An element of African culture

that was modified for the purpose of rebellion was the use of poison.

In the tradition of the West African Obeah-man, powers could be used

to cure or to punish enemies. In this respect, poison could be used in

a negative capacity. The use of poison as a form of rebellion is

visible in both the examples from Colonial South Carolina and Jamaica.

Cases of death by poison in Colonial South Carolina leading up to the

Stono Rebellion led to its inclusion in the Negro Act of 1740. The Act

made poisoning a felony punishable by death.

In conclusion, both significant African retentions and

transformations took place in the early European settlement of the

Americas. More recently, there has been a tendency to overemphasize or

even romanticize the “Africanisms.” While acknowledging “Africanisms”

did make their way into the Americas, I find the evidence from

accounts of early slave cultures and the Anthropological background

provided by Thornton on cultural transformation and change persuasive

in suggesting the formation of Afro- American rather than

“Afro-centric” communities. This approach to the slavery and the slave

era is relatively young and will have to be developed. A conclusion

that is clear after studying works of Peter Wood, Gwendolyn Hall and

Richard Price, is that the early arguments suggesting no connection of

African heritage to the Americas are entirely invalid.