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Upon coming to America, the slaves were forced to give up all ties connecting them back Africa. If any slaves tried to retain any their culture or links to Africa, the slaves faced severe punishment from their slave master. This could be seen in the movie Roots, in which the protagonist refuses to give up his African name. Despite the consequences, many were able to preserve and practice some of their culture and beliefs. The protection and practice of cultural beliefs had to be done in secrecy to avoid chastisement. Religions, like Santeria, Candomble, and Vodoun, were practiced in Africa and brought with the slaves to the Americas. These religions exist, even today, as the result of slave preservation. The slave owners did not allow the practice of the slaves’ native beliefs. There were several reasons for the prohibition of their native beliefs. Firstly, many slave owners feared the slaves’ religions. Many, African religions were loud, seemingly wild, and occasionally involved sacrifices of living creatures. The slave owners also feared the power and capabilities of the African religions. Secondly, stripping the slaves of all cultural ties to their native land made it easier for the control and obedience of the slaves. The main reason against slaves’ cultural practices was that African religions were very different from Christianity and unfamiliar to the owners. There were many ways that the slaves were able to practice their religions without being caught doing so. In Santeria, the slaves practiced in secrecy by disguising their gods as Catholic saints (Astor, 2005). For example, “(T)he sea goddess Iemanja…became the Virgin Mary (Astor, 2005).” The incorporation of Christian beliefs was another way to mask their practice. Instead of disguising their gods with Catholic saints, Candomble and Vodoun, or Voodoo, incorporated Catholic saints into the religion and found similarities between their deities and the saints. (Pilot Productions, 2002) Candomble and Vodoun also “shroud(ed) their religion in Catholic imagery to save face with Portuguese masters (Pilot Productions, 2002).” “This allowed followers…to worship their deities in secrete behind the guise of the white man's Saints (Pilot Productions, 2002).” Also, the slaves held their practices at night, as a way to practice without being caught. All of these techniques allowed for the preservation of the slaves’ native traditions. In the Baptist church, the call and response tradition of the slaves is seen and in music, the use of drums are apart of African tradition. African Slave traditions are seen almost everywhere. REFERENCES Astor, Michael. "African-Based Religions Flourish in All Walks of Life Across Brazil." The Decatur Daily. 1 Jan. 2005. 18 Apr. 2007 "Candomble: a Spiritual Meeting." The Pilot. 2007. 18 Apr. 2007 |
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