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American Slavery and Entertainment For the American slaves entertainment did not have the same sense it has to people in the 21 st century. The legislation produced by the white slave-holders never gave the slaves an opportunity to fully express themselves from the religious and cultural prospective. It was extremely difficult for the slaves to retain something that was purely African. So they started to sing songs and compose poetry. Later, when some of them became free and educated, they also wrote narratives. All of those expressions were a form an entertainment for the slaves.
So, for the American slaves entertainment, being primarily their songs and poems, was essentially an attempt to not only take a mind off the tough realities of their slave life, but also to express their cultural and religious identity, help each other, communicate hidden messages to the follow slaves. It was through such devices as poetry and slave narratives that the slaves formed an identity for themselves. However, it was through music that the slaves entertained themselves, secured their identity and culture that would belong to them. It was from the work chants and the field hollers of the slaves who formed the basis for this music: "The African slave had sung African chants and litanies in those American fields. His sons and daughters, and their children, began to use America as a reference. " (web) Eventually, the slave songs not only became a powerful form of expression and communication, but also served entertainment goals. These chants and field hollers helped the slaves to retain some pride in themselves as they were used to express the injustice they felt, albeit in a secret manner.
The lyrics to some of these work songs were worded so the slave owner did not realize the protest or mockery in them. The music that evolved from these chants was 'blues' and it gave black Americans a voice; the blues came directly from slavery and like the work songs, protested against the conditions enforced on blacks. Slaves sang songs to keep themselves busy. In those songs they talked about their lives back in Africa, their homes, their families and all the pain they had to go through. (web) The things that could not be spoken about, were expressed in the songs. The slaves also made up codes to help their fellow brothers and sisters escape and pass the information further on. Songs of the Underground Railroad were: "familiar spirituals like Wade in the Water reminded runaways to follow rivers and streams for safety, cover food and direction.
The song Let us Break Bread Together was a call for a secret meeting or gathering, and Children Go Where I Shall Send Thee alerted the community to a certain number of slaves preparing to make an escape" (web). One of the most famous songs that were sung by the slaves was Follow the Drinking Gourd. (web) This song is filled with code words that would help the slaves find their way through the strange territory they escaped through. The "drinking gourd" was a code for the Big Dipper and the North Star, which pointed their way to freedom. Also, the song says, "The river bank would make a very good road. " (web) This informed slaves that the river was a good place to travel because it was hard to find the slaves in the water because the dogs couldn't find the escapees scent. Another part of the song says, "The dead trees will show you the way. " (web) The slaves knew this, because moss grew on the North side of the trees, and this helped them find their way if it was cloudy and they could not see the Big Dipper.
For the 19 th century American slave-owners, a slaves life was not a life of a human being. It was a life of a creature, which lived to serve its master in all possible ways. However, African slaves proved themselves to be humans with deep history and culture, who could express themselves in very artistic ways, such as songs and poetry despite all attempts of the whites to deprive them of that. Slave entertainment through music has transformed into popular today music styles, such as jazz and blues.
It also makes all descendants of African slaves very proud to remember that despite all hardships of their ancestors lives, they have preserved their cultural heritage for the generations to come. Bibliography: web web web web Oral Presentation Slavery is one of the most disgraceful pages of the United States history. I think it is very important for all of us to study this issue to make sure it will never take a place again. Entertainment of African slaves is an appealing topic because it demonstrates creative side and optimism of the people who were going through incredible hardships. The only way to entertain themselves for the slaves was to sing, dance and compose poetry. Because they were not allowed to talk while working, the slaves sang instead and their songs often contained codes and hidden messages.
Mostly, however, the songs were narrations about life back home in Africa, their families, their animals, rivers, mountains, deserts, fish, birds voices and so on. It seems that the slave reality has been so horrible, that people were trying to escape it in their songs and chants. At the same time, slaves incorporated their American present into the songs and often compared it to their past. My paper briefly tells about the essence of the slave songs: These chants and field hollers helped the slaves to retain some pride in themselves as they were used to express the injustice they felt, albeit in a secret manner.
The lyrics to some of these work songs were worded so the slave owner did not realize the protest or mockery in them. The music that evolved from these chants was 'blues' and it gave black Americans a voice; the blues came directly from slavery and like the work songs, protested against the conditions enforced on blacks. My paper also argues that for the American slaves entertainment, being primarily their songs and poems, was essentially an attempt to not only take a mind off the tough realities of their slave life, but also to express their cultural and religious identity, help each other, communicate hidden messages to the follow slaves. Researching this topic gave me a deep understanding of what American slavery was like. Reading the texts on slave songs and narratives I felt the pain and hardships those people had to go through. And I think that every time Ill hear blues or jazz playing, these images will appear before my eyes.
I also started to respect black people even more for their strong optimism, creativeness and ability to overcome all life situations with dignity.
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Research essay sample on American Slavery And Entertainment
