Music And Other Cultural Expressions Help Slaves example essay topic
423 words
It is readily apparent that the slave creative talents took them beyond folktales, religion, and childhood games into other forms of expression. We will observe how much music and other cultural expressions help slaves to survive and even transcend the cruelest aspects of their bondage. They had many recreation such as shooting, running down the wild game, wrestling, cock fighting and gambling were favorite pastimes. One of the main cultural expressions is the dancing which is also known as slave recreation. The main instruments were the drum, tambourine and shack shacks. Dancing was the slaves' first love, for which they seem to have an inborn enthusiasm and a willingness to pursue it till they dropped from exhaustion. He, Skeet Bell, writing in 1889, claimed "dancing with them seems as natural as walking or eating and not one can resist the sounds of anything approaching to music, without breaking out into a fantastic pas seul. Joy or sorrow, birth or death, defeat or victory, all room pretexts with Africans for a dance of some sort of and many of these fantastic measures were introduced into the West Indies by the slaves of Africa". One of the slaves' favorite and popular dances was the Bel Air. When the French had come to Trinidad, they had brought with them their life style, the courtly dances of Europe. The slaves who worked in and around the houses copied the style and added their flavor.
The Bel Air was not the only form of recreation, but an exercise in escapism. Another way in which they gave vent to their feelings was by way of African folktales. The slaves told the old African folktales in their new language which they learnt from the master. Stories involving magic and forest and rivers were also away to express themselves and remind them about life in Africa. They were very superstitious.
They believed in "Obeah" men or women who could communicate with the spirits of the dead to solve problems of those slaves who visited them for help and advice. Art and clothing were also examples of expressions in which they gave vent to their feelings. De Verteiul A. 1992. Seven Slaves and Slavery 1778-1838.
Honychurch L. 1995. The Caribbean People: Book 2. Thomas Nelson and Sons. Ltd. Owens L. 1976.
The Species of Properties: Slave Life and Culture on the Old South. Oxford university press.
