Book contents
- African Voices on Slavery and the Slave Trade
- African Voices on Slavery and the Slave Trade
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Foreword Beyond the Printed Word
- Introduction Finding the African Voice
- Part One Remembering Slavery and the Slave Trade
- Part Two The Verbal Arts and Everyday Objects
- 9 Introduction:
- 10 Singing Songs and Performing Dances with Embedded Historical Meanings in Somalia
- 11 Song Lyrics as Pathways to Historical Interpretation in Northwestern Côte d’IvoireThe Case of Kabasarana
- 12 Slave Voices from the Cameroon Grassfields
- 13 Silent Testimonies, Public Memory
- 14 In Remembrance of Slavery
- Part Three Documenting Our Own Histories and Cultural Practices
- Part Four Slavery Observed: European Travelers’ Accounts
- Part Five Administrative Records
- Part Six Legal Records
- Part Seven Recorded Encounters with the Enslaved: Christian Workers in Africa
- Part Eight Documents from Muslim Africa
- Part Nine Living with the Past
- Index
9 - Introduction:
Songs, Prayers, Proverbs, and Material Culture
from Part Two - The Verbal Arts and Everyday Objects
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2013
Book contents
- African Voices on Slavery and the Slave Trade
- African Voices on Slavery and the Slave Trade
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Foreword Beyond the Printed Word
- Introduction Finding the African Voice
- Part One Remembering Slavery and the Slave Trade
- Part Two The Verbal Arts and Everyday Objects
- 9 Introduction:
- 10 Singing Songs and Performing Dances with Embedded Historical Meanings in Somalia
- 11 Song Lyrics as Pathways to Historical Interpretation in Northwestern Côte d’IvoireThe Case of Kabasarana
- 12 Slave Voices from the Cameroon Grassfields
- 13 Silent Testimonies, Public Memory
- 14 In Remembrance of Slavery
- Part Three Documenting Our Own Histories and Cultural Practices
- Part Four Slavery Observed: European Travelers’ Accounts
- Part Five Administrative Records
- Part Six Legal Records
- Part Seven Recorded Encounters with the Enslaved: Christian Workers in Africa
- Part Eight Documents from Muslim Africa
- Part Nine Living with the Past
- Index
Summary
Songs, prayers, proverbs, and the material cultures of Africa constitute an often overlooked source of information about slavery and the slave trade in Africa. Songs about slavery and the slave trade are sung today in communities throughout Africa, even though both slavery and the slave trade were officially abolished more than a century ago. Their ongoing performance can be attributed to a number of factors, among them the power of the lyrics and the mesmerizing music that accompanies them, as well as their usefulness in recalling historical events and educating the youth about the past. They also serve to reinforce social identities and religious beliefs in ways that continue to be relevant for the present. If the study of proverbs, prayers, and songs is uncommon for understanding the history of slavery and the slave trade in Africa, an analysis of material culture is even more unusual.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- African Voices on Slavery and the Slave Trade , pp. 117 - 120Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013