AMNH Hall of African Peoples: Slavery and Serfdom in Africa
SLAVERY IN NORTH AMERICA
In view of the unquestionable horror of people suffered by uprooted and deprived of their very humanity, this picture of a Carolina slave wedding makes us think about the ways slaves coped with the terrible adversity of their lives. Beneath a facade of gaiety and outward complacence toward slave owners were a deep despair and bitterness that cannot be minimized and that form part of the legacy of being African-American today.
The objects shown here are all form the Yoruba people of Nigeria and match closely the objects included in the picture. Unbeknownst to their owners, many slaves maintained the essence of their culture. While we cannot forget the horrors of slavery, it helps to remember how African traditions continue to enrich American life today.
Within the depths of misery experienced by slaves, many people nevertheless managed to find strength in aspects of African culture that could not be taken away from them. Although the practice of separating families meant that no one African tradition was transplanted intact to North America, many elements of African culture persisted. These included a strong respect for family ties; many religious beliefs; technological knowledge in the fields of metallurgy, medicine, agriculture, textile manufacture, basketry and pottery making. Because so much knowledge was preserved, even in the context of the brutal slave eras, much in American literature, the visual arts, dance and music has strong African roots.
AMNH Hall of African Peoples: Slavery and Serfdom in Africa
SLAVERY IN NORTH AMERICA
In view of the unquestionable horror of people suffered by uprooted and deprived of their very humanity, this picture of a Carolina slave wedding makes us think about the ways slaves coped with the terrible adversity of their lives. Beneath a facade of gaiety and outward complacence toward slave owners were a deep despair and bitterness that cannot be minimized and that form part of the legacy of being African-American today.
The objects shown here are all form the Yoruba people of Nigeria and match closely the objects included in the picture. Unbeknownst to their owners, many slaves maintained the essence of their culture. While we cannot forget the horrors of slavery, it helps to remember how African traditions continue to enrich American life today.
Within the depths of misery experienced by slaves, many people nevertheless managed to find strength in aspects of African culture that could not be taken away from them. Although the practice of separating families meant that no one African tradition was transplanted intact to North America, many elements of African culture persisted. These included a strong respect for family ties; many religious beliefs; technological knowledge in the fields of metallurgy, medicine, agriculture, textile manufacture, basketry and pottery making. Because so much knowledge was preserved, even in the context of the brutal slave eras, much in American literature, the visual arts, dance and music has strong African roots.