Redemption Song

"Redemption Song"

Old pirates yes they rob I

Sold I to the merchant ships

Minutes after they took I from the

Bottom less pit

But my hand was made strong

By the hand of the Almighty

We forward in this generation triumphantly

All I ever had is songs of freedom

Won't you help me sing these songs of freedom

Cause all I ever had redemption songs, redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery

None but ourselves can free our minds

Have no fear of atomic energy

Cause none of them can stop the time

How long shall they kill our prophets

While we stand aside and look

Some say it's just a part of

We've got to fulfill the book

Won't you help to sing, these songs of freedom

Cause all I ever had, redemption songs, redemption songs,...

Bob Marley

Legendary musician Bob Marley diverged from his characteristic reggae style music in the above song to record this mournful spiritual, "Redemption Song." Recorded in 1980, this reflective piece was on the last album recorded by Marley before his death in 1981. In this song, Marley sings in the first person, taking on the role of a slave, "singing the songs of freedom" (Papa, Gerber and Mohamed: Fall 1998). Marley was known for creatively blending the sounds and thoughts from religious slave spirituals with his own native Jamaican music to give rise to a new and celebrated musical style. Marley also recorded many other songs with elements of original African American slave folksongs such as "Go Down Moses", "Buffalo Soldier" and "Amazing Grace" to name just a few. It is possible that my fondness of his music is what led me to choose the topic of my research, "Slavery and Religion".

I have always wondered how the enslaved Africans were able to endure the ugliness of the institution of slavery. How did they maintain any hope? How did they cope with being separated from their families? How did they survive the physical and emotional cruelty cast upon them? What kept them sane? What kept them going day to day? The only answer that I can fathom is, they acquired an inner strength obtained by an immeasurable faith in a power greater than that which walks this earth; a power greater than that which inflicts the pain on the down trodden. I believe that through their deep spirituality, the enslaved African Americans not only survived, but also used their religion, their spirituality, as a form of resistance against the institution.

For most Europeans, whom brought the Africans to America, religion was neatly placed in a particular category in society. For the African people, religion, God in particular, was at the center of life. Through this centralizing of religion, the peoples of Africa fused their concepts of God and religion into their daily lives and routines, thus giving rise to an incredibly spiritual people. Their spirituality was visible in their music, dance, and story telling. Unfortunately, like everything else in their lives, once the Africans became the "property" of the white man, they were stripped of the freedom to practice their religions. The slave owners knew that by stripping them of their African names, their African traditions, their religion, their music, their heritage, their entire identity, was a resolute way to master over the slaves. So that is exactly what they did. The African slaves were not permitted to retain anything that would be reminiscent of who they were or where they came from.

The spiritual practices of the enslaved Africans have ancestral origins from various parts of Africa, Dahomey, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, the Congo, and other West African nations. These different regions practiced a range of religions, from Voodoo (Vodoun), Akan, Ifa, Orisha, LaReglas de Congo, and Mami Wata. Small percentages were even African Muslims, incorporating ancestral veneration and family deities into their ritual practice (Mamissii "Zogbe`" Vivian Hunter-Hindrew, Hounon Amengansie: 2002). There were even some West Africans who came to America with an extensive history of pre-Christian Talmudic (biblical) ritual knowledge and practice. The people of this religion were familiar with the legend of Moses, though they did not recognize him as "the chosen one" who led the Jews to the Promised Land, but rather they believed him to be "the great conjurer" and the "bringer of the law".

Common to most African religions were various forms of drumming, dancing, clapping, and chanting. The Africans from whom the slaves had descended lived in a world of sound; a world in which the chanted, sung, or shouted word was not only a primary source of communication, but also of prayer. Additionally, the idea of spirits and conjuring was also fairly widespread among many African religions. It has been confirmed through archaeological research that the concepts of conjuring and the belief in good and evil spirits are just a few of the traditional ideals that the enslaved people of Africa managed to sustain.

In Williamsburg, Virginia, historical archaeologist, Maria Franklin found a collection of drilled spoon handles while excavating Rich Neck, a tobacco plantation from the eighteenth century which used enslaved African labor. Franklin and her team unearthed a slave quarters that dates back to the middle 1700s. She believes that these spoon handles were worn as charms by the slaves to attract good spirits, a practice, which if discovered by the slave owners, would have earned the slaves a severe beating. The masters did not want the slaves to practice any form of religion, but especially their native religions because they were viewed as idolatrous and savage by the white slave owners.

The slave owners did not allow the slaves to formally gather for fear that they would communicate with each other and formulate an insurrection, hence they were not permitted to gather for religious worship. If