~~ :'.~:- ~,-. ..,.~ ~~ ,."'l .. 4. '~-i6r -:,-~ 't ~'- . JOSEPH E. HOLLOWAY The Origins of African-American Culture The history of the New World is a story of cultural interaction, integration, and assimilation. The rediscovery of the New World by Columbus in 1492 opened the gate to world powers and prompted colonialists and private individuals to search for wealth. The fertile land attracted farmers, especially from Spain, Portugal. France, and England. The new immigrants needed cheap labor to mine precious metals and to work on plantations. Their desire led to the transatlantic slave trade, in which millions of Africans were brought to the New World to meet this new labor demand. The transatlantic slave trade established a permanent link between Africa and North America as Africans sold into ~~ery.Jr:~n.spli1~fed their .<:l}l!ur.~s 10 the New World. The la'rgesClorced migration in history, the.•slave trade biougfilaii·e~ti.I1l'H-ea-half-mf[liQn·AfI:i~ariS to'wlIatis now the .!1niJi~~:s.·ta~s qversome two hundred years. This total is thought to represent about 7 percent of the entire transatlantic slave trac'::, thollgh the c:xact figures are in dispute and the total volume of the slave t'ade illaV1cver ;~e known. If one considers those who perished in the slOc:.c2de5 2~'; 0n :r·~ cargo ships in estimating the volume of traffic to the New worId, tr.: totall:ldY well be over forty million. So great was this tTaffic that lhir'; of the people of v Arrie'an descent lived outside of /bJrica.'" /es cc:·ne from d~.~s_e 1 I regions of Africa but particularly from thos,,, ; aiong the coast ;t. tiiiouSh West Africa to Central Africa (set map on r~age 2 ..' .. Scholars over the years, in their endeavo:s tc cef an .~tncan-American culture separate from European-America~ (ult":.,,,, jscov·.::ed a significant number of cultural and linguistic propert';:5 C' ;;.:"-, can or:gin and labeled them Africanisms. Until recently schoiars 'JS<C'; ;.I:. :e;:-rl.14fricanisms syn­ onymously with West AjricanisrtE, impiyir[. 71-:'2 'i;,t:J.J heritage'Jf the majority of the North American :::!.ave POpt·;at:; -West hJrican in origin and that this culture was hOII,ogeneoU5. Tn'., ar",Jes against the assumption of West African cultural hom0t-cenei:·;. I:.stead j:. sees the culture as conglomerate and heterogeneous. Focusing on the example of S.JUth Carc.i;:-;2 its overview to that state, this essay also sheds light on the :he· ,'~ticaj .:ontroversy that arose from scholars' attempts to identify the r:v.;c7' ·,[ricar cultural groups that contributed to the deveIopmuH ofAfr;;~,>/i' . 11 c;,i.ure. twill_show t!Iatalthough the.West Africans arrived in l~orL.'1 A:11f. in g{eat~LnumQ~r,5, The Origins of African-American Culture The history of the New World is a story of cultural interaction, integration, and assimilation. The rediscovery of the New World by Columbus in 1492 opened the gate to world powers and prompted colonialists and private individuals to search for wealth. The fertile land attracted farmers, especially from Spain, Portugal, France, and England. The new immigrants needed cheap labor to mine precious metals and to work on plantations. Their desire led to the transatlantic slave trade, in which millions of Africans were brought to the New World to meet this new labor demand, The transatlantic slave trade established a permanent link between Africa and North America as AiE!~~ns s?,~~ !nt<:>, ,~~~~e.ryJ.r(ln.spl.3.n~~d their~lJI!ur~sJo the New World. The largesCr2~<:~d migration in history. the sJav.~_ trade biougniaii'e~tiIIiat~ nalf-miflign Afti~aris to wl).at ;;; now the ,!J.ni.!~sts,'tq~S Qyer some two hundred years. This total is thought to represent about 7 percent of the entire transatlantic slave trac'::, tholig'l the exact figures are in dispute and the total volume of the slave t ade ma V 1everx known. If one .. considers those who perished in the siOc>adc5 a~,: 0" 't,' cargo ships in estimating the volume of traffic to the New World, tr ',' total11ay well be over forty million. So great was this t;-affic that "'Jy : ;~S(' .; lhin: of the people of v African descent lived outside cf Africa,'" ,\~; ;G'~ 5 ,'cs c.,ne from diveZ'se regions of Africa but particulariy from ths:;\' ar(~s i ';:>U~i;-; ~ aiong thecoast y( thioll&h West Africa to Central Africa (set ma;;: 8D cage :.' ' ' Scholars over the years, in their endeavo,:s tc ee:' '<: an J. tncan-Amer:can culture separate from European-Americar cult":(c"iscoV( :.-ed a significant number of cultural and linguistic properi.·~s 0: A~~can m:gin and labeled ~. them Africanfsms. Until recently scholars :JSt>~. ll-: ....er::n 4(ricanisms syn­ onymously with West Africanism.:. implyir:[. 'J::2 ::;:c, 'lIt:..;,,' heritage of the majority of the North American ',;ave popt-o ;at;::; , ",",' West .~drican in origin .. and that this culture was homogeneous Tn:) e. ,'iY ar;_~ies against the assumption of West African cultural homogenei:y, L~tead L sees the culture as conglomerate and heterogeneous. Focusing on the example of S.1Uth Carr jG.2 ')0' " jirwing its overview to that state, this essay also sheds light OD the:hc" I~tical.:ontroversy that arose from scholars' attempts to identify the m;;;o;- .,Jricar. cultural groups that contributed to the developm:.m of Afri: > • P .;, me:, 'lure, I will show thatalthough the.West Africans arrived in I'iorLl, f";;TIC lea in :.;reatei:' nU.IlJ.Q~i,s, .. :;; . 0; ., ..?~:k. 2 AfRICANjSM~ IN AMERICAN CULTURE The Origins of African-American Culture 3 NORTH AMERICA Goree "'~\~ ~ ~i"" .9"'- Sudanlc ~... Susu "'- Hausa c;:. ~~Manda !.jano RI ~\,e( ~,,~ '?~!~ ver Cape Mount:?'Q Akan Fon c Kru 0", 0'/ l Coast -1/- Coas Slave Ril/ er (-1 Coast III .:-./~ -1-/- ~ <t /c ~ "-t SOUTH a <§> 0 ~~ <;:¢$ AMERICA Culture Clult... lor vO South C.rDlln. Luba t. Mande 25'10 The Guinea Coast 2. Mano River 7'1. 3. Akan 11'10 (l °c Cabmda ­ Malamba 4. Sudanic ~-1 5. Niger Cross River 0 500mlles -1­ 6, Niger Delta 1'10 ?- ~. 7. Bakongo/Bantu 11'10 ~ ~ Ndongo 8. Ovlmbundu/Bantu 28'10 Hausa EOthnic Groups • Slave factories ~.. ~'::! 9. Luba Lunda/Bantu ­ ~ Not.: t7'M1lrom unknown .... 01 origin ~. the Bantu of Central Africa had the largest homogeneous culture among the iqwOited Afiicansand"ihe "sfiiiiigesnmpad' CHi tfiedeveI6pm.~.~J()(A~­ coast of the present-day Republic of Ghana. Slave Coast designates what is American culture. I will also address the problem ofmuliiplidty in the origins currently Togo and Benin and a small coastal portion of Nigeria. Bight of of Africanisms in North America by identifying the contributing African Biafra refers roughly to the Niger Delta. cultural areas. CULTURAL AREAS GEOGRAPHIC AREAS Herskovits was the first scholar to identify the cultural zones of Africa.4 His The historical literature shows little agreement on regional and coastal names model is usefuL but his cultural regions are too large to apply to specific along the West African coast. Melville J. Hcrskovits used the term Guinea cultures?'thus the cultural areas from which the slaves came must be revised Coast to include the southern portions of the Gold Coast (Ghana), Dahomey into smaller ailtural c1uSterS:Manae.M~2-:,g:rY!!L.Akan, Suaanic, Niger (Republic of Benin), and the Bight of Benin (the Niger Delta).2 Philip Curtin CiossRrver;'-Nfger-m~1f(Cana 'BaniU'-'The Bantu cluster is further divided into noted that Guinea as a geographical designation was always an unstable B'akongo, 'Ovimbunclli-;-andliiba Lunda. The cultural map on this page shows concept, changing in usage with each century. Early in the sixteenth century these areas in relation to the percentage of Africans arriving in South Carolina it referred to the whole western coast of Africa from the Senegal River to the from each cultural cluster. Orange River. Later it included the coast from Cape Mount to the Bight of According to Herskovits the areas that furnish~J.he_.&~~~~f B~nin. Curtin concluded that during the eighteenth century Guinea roughly slaves were the ':~asrn-ortlie'Selleg~l,Ri~, ."~}ljI!~,~,~~~~r~j!~ng designated present-day Gambia, Senegal, and Guinea-Bissau. 3 especially the southern portions of what are today known as Ghana and the 1/ For clarity I will follow Curtin's definition of Guinea, roughly designating Republic of Bentn), and the Niger Delta. Herskovits nci'iedtliat'AfrlcanSfrom r the area between the Senegal River and the Sherbro estuary, including the t~t§lne:~'c'o~ih§.~~I~Q.I.!~ibe!1!!....the IVQry Coast, the Bight of Benin, Canary and Cape Verde Islands, Guinea-Bissau, and present-day Gambia, tl:!.~., q"?l? CO~s,tL,~@,9.l!!~X,_~n.£J!1£.~~gast.Ql ggllS of Nigeria were mQst often Senegal, and Sierra Leone. The term Grain Coast refers to what is known today cited: in the historicalliterC!.ture of slavery. He identified these cultural zones as as Liberia. Windward Coast represents all of present-day Sierra Leone. Ivory the mostsigniflcant in the formation of the patterns of New World "Negro" Coast represents all of present-day Ivory Coast. Gold Coast identifies the coastal behavior.5 stretch from Assini in the west to the Volta River in the east, equivalent to the While historical documents are vague in terms of precise ethnic distribu­ -o~ '\. ;susu -.. ~~ ~ " 4l Menoe Mano River Hausa AFRICA G';. v~ . ~ ~\,,0\ """ ~f,~o Akan Fon Cape Mount Kru Co 0>"" -'11' Slave Riyar (-'1 Coast <9 <0 ~ ~ i;i>~ '1-'1' SOUTH /c IJ .§>~ ~ ~~ ~o AMERICA Cui"'.