African Studies (Volume-2) Part-4, Cultural Retention and Transformation

VOLUME II: THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE, RESISTANCE, AND THE MAKING OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA (1441–1888)

Part 4 of 5

Part Six: Cultural Retention and Transformation – Religion, Music, Language, and the Making of the African Diaspora

The Question of Cultural Survival

When millions of Africans were forcibly transported to the Americas, they did not leave their cultures behind. They brought their languages, religions, musical traditions, dance, culinary practices, healing knowledge, kinship systems, and cosmologies with them. Under the brutal conditions of slavery — where families were broken apart, African languages were suppressed, and African religions were criminalized — these cultural forms were retained, adapted, and transformed.

The result was not a “pure” African culture preserved unchanged in the Americas. That would have been impossible. The result was a new creation — a diasporic culture that drew on African roots, incorporated European and Indigenous elements, and generated entirely new forms that did not exist anywhere in Africa.

This process is called creolization. It is not a loss of culture. It is a creative response to the trauma of enslavocation and displacement. The religions, music, and languages of the African diaspora are not “survivals” — they are living traditions that have evolved over centuries.

Religion: Vodou, Santería, Candomblé, Obeah, and Rastafari

Vodou (Haiti)

Vodou (also spelled Voodoo, Vodun) is the most famous of the African‑derived religions of the Americas. It emerged in Haiti during the colonial period, drawing primarily on the religious traditions of the Fon and Ewe peoples of present‑day Benin and Togo, and the Kongo people of present‑day Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It also incorporated elements of Roman Catholicism (forced on enslaved people by the Code Noir), Taíno (Indigenous Caribbean) spirituality, and European folk magic.

Vodou is a monotheistic religion: there is one supreme God, Bondye (from the French Bon Dieu, “Good God”). But Bondye is distant and remote, not directly involved in human affairs. Humans interact with a pantheon of lwa (spirits), each with its own personality, preferences, and domains. The lwa include:

• Papa Legba – the guardian of the crossroads, the first lwa invoked in any ceremony. He opens the door between the human and spirit worlds. He is syncretized with Saint Peter (who holds the keys to heaven).
• Erzulie – the goddess of love, beauty, and jealousy. She has several manifestations: Erzulie Freda (the flirtatious, wealthy, light‑skinned aspect) and Erzulie Dantor (the fierce, protective, dark‑skinned aspect, mother of the Haitian nation). Erzulie Freda is syncretized with the Virgin Mary ; Erzulie Dantor with Our Lady of Czestochowa (the Black Madonna of Poland).
• Ogou – the god of war, iron, and blacksmithing. He is a warrior, a smith, and a drinker of rum. He is syncretized with Saint James the Greater (Santiago, the patron saint of Spain, depicted as a warrior on horseback).
• Gede – the family of spirits associated with death, sexuality, and the ancestors. The Gede are crude, humorous, and irreverent. They love rum, coffee, and hot peppers. They are syncretized with the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Vodou ceremonies involve drumming, singing, dancing, and spirit possession. The lwa “mount” (possess) their devotees, who act as their horses. The possessed person may speak in the voice of the lwa, give advice, heal the sick, or prophesy.

Vodou was central to the Haitian Revolution. The Bois Caïman ceremony (1791) was a Vodou ceremony. The revolutionaries believed that the lwa were on their side. After independence, Vodou was suppressed by the Haitian elite (who were Catholic and looked down on Vodou as “superstition”). But it remained the religion of the majority of Haitians. In 2003, Vodou was recognized as an official religion of Haiti.

Santería (Cuba)

Santería (also called Regla de Ocha , “Rule of the Orishas”) emerged in Cuba among the descendants of Yoruba‑speaking people from present‑day Nigeria and Benin. The Yoruba orishas (deities) were syncretized with Catholic saints, often with astonishing ingenuity:

• Shango (god of thunder, lightning, and fire, a warrior king) – syncretized with Saint Barbara (who is associated with lightning, because her father was struck by lightning).
• Ogun (god of iron, war, and blacksmithing) – syncretized with Saint Peter (who holds the keys of heaven – keys are made of iron).
• Yemaya (goddess of the sea, the mother of all orishas) – syncretized with the Virgin of Regla (a Black Madonna venerated in the port of Havana, associated with the sea).
• Oshun (goddess of rivers, love, and beauty) – syncretized with Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre (the patron saint of Cuba, associated with a miraculous statue found floating in the sea).

Santería rituals include drumming (the bata drums, which are consecrated and speak the Yoruba language), singing, dancing, and animal sacrifice. The orishas are fed with the blood of sacrificed animals (chickens, goats, sheep). The sacrifice is not “killing” – it is a meal shared between the orisha, the devotees, and the ancestors.

Santería also includes a system of divination using coconut shells (obi) or palm nuts (ikin). The diviner (babalawo) interprets the patterns to diagnose problems and prescribe solutions.

Santería was practiced in secret for centuries, hidden behind Catholic altars and festivals. It emerged into public view in the twentieth century, especially after the Cuban Revolution (1959), which tolerated Afro‑Cuban religions (though with periods of suppression). Today, Santería is practiced by millions of Cubans and by Cuban diaspora communities in the United States (especially Miami) and elsewhere.

Candomblé (Brazil)

Candomblé emerged in Brazil , especially in the state of Bahia (Salvador). It is primarily derived from Yoruba traditions, but it also incorporates Fon (Dahomean), Kongo, and Indigenous Brazilian elements. Candomblé is less syncretized with Catholicism than Santería or Vodou – in part because Brazil’s slavery system was slightly less repressive (though still brutal), and in part because the Portuguese colonial church was less effective at enforcing orthodoxy.

Candomblé is organized into houses (terreiros), each led by a priestess (mãe de santo, “mother of the saint”) or priest (pai de santo, “father of the saint”). The terreiros are communities, providing mutual aid, social support, and cultural identity.

Candomblé ceremonies involve drumming (the atabaque drums), singing (in Yoruba), dancing, and spirit possession. The orixás (the Yoruba orishas) “come down” to possess their devotees. The possessed person dances the dance of the orixá, wears the orixá’s colors, and speaks the orixá’s words.

Candomblé was suppressed for centuries. The Brazilian police raided terreiros, confiscated sacred objects, and arrested priests. In the twentieth century, Candomblé became a symbol of Afro‑Brazilian identity and resistance. Today, it is recognized as an official religion of Brazil, and its terreiros are protected as cultural heritage sites.

Obeah (Jamaica and the English‑Speaking Caribbean)

Obeah (from the Akan obayifo – a sorcerer) is a system of spiritual power, healing, and protection practiced in Jamaica and other English‑speaking Caribbean islands. It is not a single religion but a set of practices: the use of herbs for healing, spirit communication, spells for protection or harm, and divination.

Obeah was criminalized by the British colonial authorities, who feared it as a form of resistance. The Obeah Acts (Jamaica, 1760; other islands later) made it a crime to practice Obeah, punishable by death. The laws were enforced erratically, but the stigma persisted. Even today, Obeah is illegal in some Caribbean countries.

Obeah practitioners (obeah men and obeah women) are healers, counselors, and spiritual guides. They are consulted for love, luck, money, protection from enemies, and revenge. Their practice is secretive, and they are often feared.

Rastafari (Jamaica, 1930s–Present)

Rastafari is the youngest of the major Afro‑diasporic religions. It emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s, drawing on the teachings of Marcus Garvey (who preached Black pride, African redemption, and the return to Africa), the Bible (especially the Old Testament prophets and the Book of Revelation), and Afro‑Jamaican traditions (including Obeah and Revival Zion).

The central belief of Rastafari is that Haile Selassie I (the Emperor of Ethiopia, 1930–1974) is the living God – the Lion of Judah , the second coming of Christ, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. This belief was based on Garvey’s prophecy: “Look to Africa, when a Black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is near.” Selassie was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930, and Garvey’s followers interpreted this as the fulfillment of the prophecy.

Rastafari has no central hierarchy, no official creed, and no universally accepted practices. But common elements include:

• The divinity of Haile Selassie I – though some Rastas see him as a divine representative rather than God himself.
• The rejection of Babylon – Babylon is the Western, white, colonial, capitalist system of oppression. Rastas seek to “chant down Babylon” through music, prayer, and peaceful resistance.
• The return to Africa (Zion) – Zion is Ethiopia (or all of Africa), the promised land. Many Rastas have emigrated to Ethiopia, especially to the town of Shashamane, which was granted to Rastas by Selassie.
• The use of cannabis (ganja) – smoked as a sacrament, to open the mind, to meditate, and to draw closer to Jah (God).
• The dreadlocks – the uncombed, matted hair, inspired by the Nazirite vow in the Bible (Numbers 6:5) and by images of African warriors.
• Ital food – natural, unprocessed, vegetarian food, cooked without salt (or with minimal salt). Rastas avoid pork, shellfish, alcohol, and cigarettes.

Rastafari is most famous for its music – reggae – and its most famous exponent, Bob Marley (1945–1981). Marley’s songs (like “Redemption Song,” “Get Up, Stand Up,” “One Love,” and “Exodus”) spread Rastafari’s message of resistance, hope, and unity around the world.

Music: From the Drum to Jazz, Blues, Reggae, and Hip Hop

African music – with its polyrhythms (multiple rhythms played simultaneously), call‑and‑response (a leader sings a phrase, the group answers), improvisation, syncopation (accenting the off‑beat), and dance – transformed the music of the Americas.

The Drum

The drum was the most important African instrument brought to the Americas. In many African societies, the drum was not just a musical instrument; it was a talking drum (it could mimic the tones of spoken language), a ritual object (consecrated to the spirits), and a communication device (used to send messages over long distances).

Colonial authorities feared the drum. They knew that enslaved people used drums to communicate across plantations, to plan revolts, and to call the spirits. In many colonies, the drum was banned. In the United States, the Negro Act of 1740 (South Carolina) explicitly prohibited “the beating of drums” by enslaved people.

But the drum could not be silenced. Enslaved people found substitutes: they clapped their hands, stamped their feet, slapped their thighs, or used wooden sticks on hollow logs. The patting juba (a complex rhythm performed on the body) is one survival.

In the Caribbean and Brazil, the drum survived more openly. The bata drums of Santería, the atabaque drums of Candomblé, and the tanbou drums of Vodou are still played today, in ceremonies and festivals.

The Blues

The blues emerged in the United States after emancipation, especially in the Mississippi Delta. It is a secular, deeply expressive music about loss, love, hardship, and survival. Its characteristic form – a twelve‑bar chord progression, with three lines of lyrics (AAB) – is African in origin (call‑and‑response, with the third line as the “answer”).

The earliest blues singers were mostly men: Charley Patton , Son House , Robert Johnson (who, according to legend, sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads in exchange for musical genius). But women like Bessie Smith (the “Empress of the Blues”) were also major figures.

The blues is the root of nearly all American popular music: jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk, and hip hop.

Jazz

Jazz was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. New Orleans was a unique city: it had a large, relatively free Black population (many of whom spoke French and practiced Vodou or Santería), a tradition of brass band music (from the French and Spanish colonial periods), and a vibrant nightlife.

Jazz combined African polyrhythms, blues harmonies, European military band instruments (trumpet, trombone, clarinet, tuba, drums), and improvisation. The early jazz musicians – Buddy Bolden , Joe “King” Oliver , Louis Armstrong , Jelly Roll Morton (who claimed to have invented jazz) – were mostly Black or Creole of color.

Jazz spread from New Orleans to Chicago, New York, Kansas City, and the world. It became a symbol of Black creativity and freedom. In the 1930s and 1940s, big band swing (Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman – a white bandleader who integrated his band) was the popular music of the United States. In the 1940s and 1950s, bebop (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk) was a more complex, intellectual, and anti‑commercial style. In the 1960s and 1970s, free jazz (Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Sun Ra) broke the rules of harmony and structure entirely.

Reggae

Reggae emerged in Jamaica in the 1960s, from earlier styles: ska (fast, upbeat, with a prominent horn section) and rocksteady (slower, with a more prominent bass line). Reggae is characterized by its off‑beat rhythm (the guitar or piano plays on the second and fourth beats of the bar, known as the “skank”), its heavy bass (the bass guitar often plays the melody), and its lyrical content (often political, religious, or social).

The most famous reggae artist is Bob Marley (already discussed). Other major figures include Peter Tosh (a member of the Wailers, more militant than Marley), Burning Spear (Winston Rodney), Jimmy Cliff (actor in The Harder They Come, 1972), and Lee “Scratch” Perry (a producer and innovator of dub – instrumental reggae with heavy echo and reverb, the precursor to hip hop and electronic music).

Hip Hop

Hip hop was born in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s. It emerged from the block parties of the South Bronx, where DJs (like DJ Kool Herc , a Jamaican immigrant) would isolate the “break” (the drum solo) of a funk or soul record, extend it by playing two copies of the same record on two turntables, and MCs (masters of ceremonies, like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five , Afrika Bambaataa , The Sugarhill Gang ) would rap over the beat.

Hip hop is a culture of four elements:

• DJing – the art of mixing and scratching records.
• MCing (rapping) – the art of rhythmic spoken poetry, often improvised.
• Breakdancing (b‑boying) – the art of acrobatic, athletic dance.
• Graffiti – the art of painting murals and tags on walls and subway cars.

Hip hop spread from the Bronx to the world. It became the dominant form of popular music for young people globally. It also became a form of political expression, from Public Enemy (Fight the Power, 1989) to Kendrick Lamar (“Alright,” 2015, an anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement).

Language: Creoles, Pidgins, and the Retention of African Grammar

The languages of the African diaspora are creoles – languages that emerged from the contact between African languages and European languages (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch). Creoles are not “broken” or “corrupt” versions of European languages. They are full languages with their own grammar, vocabulary, and literary traditions.

How Creoles Form

When enslaved people from different African language groups were thrown together on a plantation, they needed a common language. They could not use their native African languages (because they did not share them). They could not use the European language (because they had not learned it). So they created a pidgin – a simplified, makeshift language with a small vocabulary, no grammar (in the sense of inflections, tenses, or agreement), and no native speakers.

When children are born into a pidgin‑speaking community, they do not learn the pidgin as their native language. Instead, they creolize it – they expand the vocabulary, add grammatical rules (tenses, plurals, possessives), and make it a full, natural language. A creole is a pidgin that has become a native language.

Examples of Atlantic Creoles

• Gullah (Sea Islands, South Carolina and Georgia) – the most African‑retentive English‑based creole in the United States. Gullah preserves vocabulary from Mende, Yoruba, Igbo, and other West African languages. It also preserves African grammatical structures (e.g., “dey gone” for “they have gone” – no past tense marker, just a time word).
• Jamaican Patois (Jamaican Creole) – English‑based, with West African grammar. For example, “Mi a go” means “I am going” (the a is a progressive marker, from an African source). “Him done work” means “He has already worked” (the done is a completive marker).
• Haitian Creole (Kreyòl Ayisyen) – French‑based, with West African grammar. For example, “Mwen ap pale kreyòl” means “I am speaking Haitian” (the ap is a progressive marker, from an African source). Haitian Creole is one of the two official languages of Haiti (alongside French).
• Papiamento (Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire) – a Spanish/Portuguese/Dutch‑based creole with West African and Taíno (Indigenous) influences. It is spoken by about 300,000 people.
• Sranan Tongo (Suriname) – English‑based creole, spoken by the Surinamese Maroons and the wider population. It is also known as Surinaams (Dutch) or Taki Taki (a derogatory term).

The Significance of Creoles

Creoles are evidence of African agency in the Americas. They are not “survivals” – they are new creations. They show that enslaved people, deprived of their native languages, did not simply accept the language of their enslavers. They made something new, something that expressed their own experience and identity.

Creoles are also important for linguistics. They provide evidence about the universal properties of human language (all creoles share certain features, regardless of their European or African sources). And they challenge the idea that European languages are “superior” to African languages (creoles are not less complex; they are complex in different ways).

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