Jumping the broom: myth, memory and neo-traditionalism in African-American weddings

Thesis

The ceremonial ritual of “jumping the broom” in African-American weddings is significant due to its links to the culture’s unique history, the harsh realities of American chattel slavery, and to its wider implications concerning the performative production of identity and the ways in which communities engage with popular media to define and redefine their common understandings of history and culture. The practice has been heavily debated by folklorists in terms of the authenticity of its origins and there has been much push and pull between those who claim European origins for the practice and those who argue for West African roots. At the crux of this examination is not the search for an “authentic” or “legitimate” origin for the practice as defined by widely accepted academic and historical data, but rather the impetus behind the struggle to connect the practice to Africa, and thereby connect its practitioners to the continent, implying the preservation of cultural links not severed by the brutality of slavery. This thesis examines this practice from its post-1976 revival and the ways in which media, myth, and memory are mobilized to create cultural consciousness in its enactment. Through a review of relevant literatures, this study will address wider discourses on identity, tradition, and the politics of neo-traditionalism as they relate to the particular experiences of oppression, displacement, fracturing, and historical uncertainty of African-Americans who place importance on and continue to include “jumping the broom” in their wedding ceremonies.

Authors: Strong, IG

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-g75zbedqw
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: African American; folklore; memory; myth; neo-traditionalism; wedding rituals
• Subjects: Folklore; Ritual; Marriage (Customary law); Slavery in motion pictures; Slavery; African American rituals