An Early Observation of African Slaves Preserving Their Culture in Barbados, 1647

The English began to colonize Barbados in the 1620s. By the 1640s and 1650s, sugar dominated the landscape with a need for enslaved people from Africa. Black Africans brought their religious and cultural practices with them, and they attempted to preserve as many of their traditions as possible. Richard Ligon was a very early observer of some of the preservation attempts. He described the types of music and instruments, and he also noted their funerary practices and some of their religious beliefs. Although he never mentioned it by name, obeah developed from the preservation of traditional African practices and some of the rituals and musical practices were used in obeah.

In the afternoons on Sundayes, they have their musicke, which is of kettle drums, and those of several sises; upon the smallest the best musitian playes, and the other come in as Chorasses: the drum all men know, has but one tone; and therefore varietie of tunes have little to doe in this musick; and yet so strangely they varie their time, as ‘tis a pleasure to the most curious eares, and it was to me one of the strangest noyses that ever I heard made of one tone; and if they had the varietie of tune, which gives the great scope in musick, as they have of time, they would doe wonders in that Art. And if I had not faln sicke before my coming away, at least seven months in one sickness, I had given them some hints of tunes, which being understood, would have serv’d as a great addition to their harmonie; for time without tune, is not an eight part of the science of Musick.

[…]

On Sundaies in the afternoon, their Musick plaies, and to dancing they go, the men by themselves, and the women by themselves, no mixt dancing. Their motions are rather what they aim at, than what they do; and by that means, transgresse the lesse upon the Sunday; their hands having more of motion than their feet, & their heads more than their hands. They may dance a whole day, and neer beat themselves; yet now and then, one of the activest amongst them will leap bolt upright, and fall in his place again, but without cutting a capre. When they have danced an houre or two, the men fall to wrastling, (the Musick playing all the while) and their manner of wrastling is, to stand like two Cocks, with heads as low as their hipps; and thrusting their heads one against another, hoping to catch one another by the legs, which sometimes they do: But if both parties be weary, and that they cannot get that advantage, then they raise their heads, by pressing hard one against another, and so having nothing to take hold of but their bare flesh, they close, and grasp one another about the middle, and have one another in the hug, and then a fair fall is given on the back. And thus two or three couples of them are engaged at once, for an houre together, the women looking on; for when the men begin to wrastle, the women leave of their dancing, and come to be spectatours of the sport.

When any of them die, they dig a grave, and at evening they bury him, clapping and wringing their hands, and making a dolefull sound with their voyces.

[…]

What their other opinions are in matter of Religion, I know not; but certainly, they are not altogether of the sect of the Sadduces: For, they believe a Resurrection, and that they shall go into their own Country again, and have their youth renewed. And lodging this opinion in their hearts, they make it an ordinary practice, upon any great fright, or threatening of their Masters, to hang themselves.

But Collonell Walrond having lost three or foure of his best Negres this way, and in a very little time, caused one of their heads to be cut off, and set upon a pole a dozen foot high; and having done that, caused all his Negres to come forth, and march around about this head, and bid them look on it, whether this were not the head of such an one that hang’d himself. Which they acknowledging, he then told them, that they were in a main errour, in thinking they went into their own Countries, after they were dead; for, this mans head was here, as they all were witnesses of; and how was it possible, the body could go without a head. Being convinc’d by this sad, yet lively spectacle, they changed their opinions; and after that, no more hanged themselves.