Framing Question Two

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Howard University *

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Anthropology

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Apr 3, 2024

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1 Framing Question Two Name Institution Course Professor Date

2 How did Africans Preserve and Affirm their Ways of Life and Use their Identities and Experiences as Means to Resist Enslavement? Introduction Africans were held as slaves throughout a disastrous and terrible period of human history that left a permanent mark on the globe. Even though many African cultural practices, beliefs, and languages were lost due to enslavement, some Africans could maintain and reinforce their way of life by using their identities and experiences to fight against it (Armah, 2006). This paper explores how Africans resisted slavery by preserving and announcing their traditional ways of life in the framework of the six Conceptual Categories of Africana Studies. The chosen framing question for this paper is "How did Africans preserve and affirm their ways of life and use their identities and experiences as means to resist enslavement?" In answering this question, the paper will consider the social structures, governance, ways of knowing, science and technology, cultural meaning-making, and movement and memory of the Africans under enslavement. Social Structures Depending on the location, the African communities under study throughout the enslavement era were either agrarian societies or urban cultures. Most Africans who were removed from the continent came from rural areas; thus, they were accustomed to an agricultural lifestyle (Eyerman, 2001). They had prior agricultural, livestock-raising, hunting, and fishing expertise. Africans living in the Americas had to adapt to a new, slavery-based social order. The European settlers who wanted to take advantage of the land and its riches for their gain were the ones who designed this system of slavery (Armah, 2006). Africans were treated more like commodities to be purchased, sold, and traded than as actual people. Africans' lives underwent a

3 significant transformation due to this new social order since they were compelled to give up their traditional lifestyles to fit into the new one. During enslavement, African people were placed in social structures that required forced labor. Africans were uprooted from their nations, and European and American invaders took advantage of their labor and skill sets (Armah, 2006). The power was unequally distributed in the enslaved society, with the slave owners having complete authority over the Africans they held as slaves. A participant in the interview, Benjamin Chavis, illustrated that the institution of slavery was about power and exploitation, not about the well-being of the slaves (Tucker, 2005). Africans had to establish new social structures to survive and oppose enslavement because they were forcibly removed from their homes and made to work on foreign soil. Governance Most Africans sold into slavery came from societies with family-, village-, or state-based forms of government. Based on their cultural customs and beliefs, they had their own set of rules for internal communication (Armah, 2006). A new kind of government, run by the European slave owners, was imposed on the Africans who were being held as slaves. From their jobs to their free time, the slave owners had total authority over every area of their life. Africans were denied the right to use their forms of government, and their cultural traditions and beliefs were repressed (Eyerman, 2001). Despite this, Africans were able to preserve some type of governance by developing their own social networks that allowed them to engage and communicate with one another, although covertly. Africans had to create new internal communication protocols throughout the time of enslavement. Africans who were enslaved had their communities, rules, and traditions (Harding, 1981). Robert Hill, who participated in an interview, explained that enslaved Africans created

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4 their own governing structures, which included leaders, judges, and mediators who settled disputes among the enslaved community (Tucker, 2004). To challenge the power of the slave owners, these governmental systems were developed. The development of communication networks by Africans in slavery was essential for the success of the resistance activities. Ways of Knowing The Africans who were sold into slavery had their systems of knowledge that they had created to address existential and social issues. Their cultural practices and beliefs were the foundation for these modes of knowing. For instance, African societies have created unique knowledge and educational institutions for many years (Armah, 2006). These educational systems strongly emphasized the overall growth of both people and society. The European educational system, in contrast, was created to produce a workforce that would support the interests of the European colonizers (Harding, 1981). Despite this, Africans could preserve their knowledge systems by developing their educational systems passed down from one generation to the next (Eyerman, 2001). These oral tradition-based educational institutions allowed Africans to preserve their history and culture. During the time of slavery, Africans developed a variety of knowledge systems to address existential and behavioral questions. Religion was one such method. Africans in slavery turned to Christianity to maintain their African identity and fight against their captivity (Harding, 1981). The keeping of oral traditions was another method of knowing. Africans who were enslaved transmitted their tales, customs, and culture orally to preserve and transmit their identity to the next generations.

5 Science and Technology The slaved Africans had their ways of observing natural phenomena and coexisting with the natural world (Harding, 1981). These techniques were created to comprehend and engage with the physical world. African societies have manufacturing, animal husbandry, and agricultural/crop development technologies, among other things. Africans were subjected to slavery by European settlers who had a different perspective on science and technology based on exploitation and extraction (Eyerman, 2001). Without acknowledging the contributions of Africans, they used the knowledge and skills of the continent to build their economies. Africans have historically made major contributions to science and technology despite being exploited. For instance, the ancient Egyptian culture was renowned for highly developed engineering, medicine, and mathematics skills (Armah, 2006). Other civilizations later adopted the irrigation methods, paper, and ink that the Egyptians had invented. Enslaved Africans had a profound awareness of their physical surroundings and used this insight to develop sustainable agriculture methods tailored to the region's soil and climate. Africans who were held as slaves also used their metalworking skills to construct tools and weapons to help them resist and escape. They created strategies like crop rotation, intercropping, and using natural fertilizers to improve soil fertility and boost crop yields. Because they offered a source of food and revenue, these practices were essential to their survival and resistance efforts (Armah, 2006). Africans who were held as slaves were skilled in both agriculture and animal husbandry. They reared and trained animals for food, transportation, and hunting. Horses were necessary for plantation work and transportation, and enslaved Africans were particularly good at breeding and training them. They also understood fish husbandry, which they exploited to add fresh fish to their diets.

6 Africans who were in slavery were skilled in manufacturing technology. They were skilled in spinning, weaving, and dyeing, which they used to produce textiles for personal use and trade. They were skilled in metal, wood, and ceramic work, which they utilized to make tools, weapons, and household things. Enslaved Africans used their knowledge of herbal medicine to heal their wounds and diseases and those of their fellow slaves. They created treatments for various illnesses using their in-depth understanding of medicinal plants and their qualities (Eyerman, 2001). Africans in slavery learned metalworking skills and utilized them to make tools and weapons for the rebellion. Knives, axes, and other weapons made from scrap metal and other materials were used to flee plantations and protect themselves from slave hunters and other oppressors. Cultural Meaning-Making For Africans who were slaves, cultural texts and practices were crucial tools for resistance. African identity was preserved, and enslavement resistance was fought through music, dancing, and other cultural activities. As an interviewee, Alvin Poussaint, explains that African cultural practices such as drumming and dancing were used to communicate with other enslaved Africans and to preserve their African identity (Rober & Julieanna, 2005). The blues, a reflection of African Americans' experiences with oppression and resistance, is one of the new forms of cultural expression they developed. Enslaved Africans employed cultural texts and rituals to create meaning, maintain their African identity, and reject slavery (Eyerman, 2001). Enslaved Africans could make sense of their experiences and find purpose in their lives by producing and participating in cultural traditions like music, dance, storytelling, and religious events. Enslaved Africans could express themselves in ways unavailable in their daily life and connect with their past, present, and future through these cultural traditions.

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7 For instance, music was important in the lives of enslaved Africans because it gave them a method to communicate with one another and express their feelings that were not possible through spoken language. Enslaved Africans in the United States adapted and changed African musical traditions, like call-and-response singing and percussion instruments, to develop new musical genres, such as spirituals, gospel music, and the blues (Eyerman, 2001). Enslaved Africans used these new musical genres to communicate with one another and to express their anguish, hope, and perseverance (Armah, 2006). Similarly, dance was another cultural practice that allowed enslaved Africans to express themselves and bond with one another. Enslaved Africans in the United States adapted and changed African dance traditions to develop new dance genres, such as the ring shout, a devotional dance characterized by counterclockwise circling and shuffling. Africans who were held as slaves used the ring yell as a means of communication, spiritual expression, and community affirmation. Movement and Memory Enslaved Africans have used oral history and another cultural expression to preserve their recollections of particular events. As a result of the numerous migrations and displacements that Africans have experienced over the centuries, movement and memory are major topics in African culture and history (Rodney, 2019). Africans have created several customs and rituals emphasizing memory and movement to preserve their cultural history and connect to the past. The use of family and community narratives to preserve memories of particular experiences is one illustration of this (Armah, 2006). These narratives, frequently passed down orally from generation to generation, may detail the family's beginnings, migrations, and tribulations. These narratives help to keep alive the memories of ancestors and the customs they passed down, and they serve as a method for individuals to connect with their cultural identity and past.

8 Another illustration is the employment of rituals, totems, shrines, and icons to maintain cultural memory and establish connections to the past. These can take a variety of shapes, like using ancestral shrines to respect and communicate with ancestors or using totems and icons to represent significant cultural values or beliefs. For instance, in many African societies, particular animals or plants are revered and tied to particular meanings or qualities (Rodney, 2019). Some stories detail how Africans were first taken into slavery, such as the "King Buzzard" stories, which explain how some Africans were tricked and taken into slavery by European slave dealers (Rodney, 2019). Other stories clarify racial interactions and shed light on the intricate social dynamics of African communities. African culture also places a lot of emphasis on rituals for gathering maroon spaces and keeping memories. Family gatherings, Emancipation Day, Juneteenth, church and university "Homecoming" rites, and other similar occasions are examples of how Africans join together to commemorate their heritage, reaffirm their cultural identity, and form new bonds with their past (Armah, 2006). Finally, there are narratives of modern "national" identity that concentrate on how populations of African ancestry develop national identities in nation-states with preponderantly non-African populations, such as those in the United States, Europe, and Latin America (Rodney, 2019). These stories show the difficulties Africans confront in navigating the complexity of cultural identity in a globalized society, and they shed light on how African cultural traditions are still developing and adapting to new situations.

9 References Armah, A. K. (2006). The eloquence of the scribes: A memoir on the sources and resources of African literature. Per Ankh.u Eyerman, R. (2001). Cultural trauma: Slavery and the formation of African American identity. Cambridge University Press. Harding, V. (1981). There is a river: The Black struggle for freedom in America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Rober, H., & Julieanna, R. L. (2005). Finding Aid to The HistoryMakers ® Video Oral History with Dr. Alvin Poussaint. The History Makers. other. Retrieved May 3, 2023, from https://www.thehistorymakers.org/sites/default/files/A2001_058_EAD.pdf . Rodney, W. (2019). The groundings with my brothers. Verso Books. Tucker, H. R. (2004). Finding Aid to The HistoryMakers ® Video Oral History with Robert B. Hill. The History Makers. other. Retrieved May 3, 2023, from https://www.thehistorymakers.org/sites/default/files/A2004_140_EAD.pdf . Tucker, H. R. (2005). Finding Aid to The HistoryMakers ® Video Oral History with Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. HistoryMakers. other. Retrieved May 3, 2023, from https://www.thehistorymakers.org/sites/default/files/A2004_267_EAD.pdf .

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