Black culture (Jes Grews and Voodoo) viewed by White judgement
I wanted to analyze the "trends" found in each book and specifically look at the cultural significance and origin of voodoo. In Ragtime, we see that many men joined "the coalhouse" because they felt a sense of connection with the struggles Coalhouse faced. The majority of the men in this organization are black because they can understand the racial separation and hatred directed towards them in society, as seen with the way the police and government deal with Coalhouse. Mother's Younger Brother finds this community excepting and seems to almost idolize them. He wants to fit in so bad that he does blackface and shaves his head.
This community or group is also seen in mumbo jumbo but in a larger sense. Jes Grew, a term coined to represent the lust and happiness people felt in this society, presents itself it the best of ways. An onlooker could stare in disgust and confusion but then join the crowd moments later. Jes Grew was not officially written down in history, but the organization "Coalhouse" has not been either. Both of these episodes originated from black people and hold important meanings to the culture and the roots of black heritage. Coalhouse defended himself and showed the white people that he should not be looked upon as inferior because he found the power that few, if not any, were given at the time period. Jes Grew, likewise to the Coalhouse originated from African culture.
The dance moves, the beats, and the music all represent the ways in which people want to find themselves and their culture. This movement was finally a way for black citizens to find something that wasn't taken by Americans.
Another idea came from African roots that the people in the book did not appreciate, which was voodoo. I was interested in finding out how voodoo had come to be in the United States and what significance this ideal was for people of African descent.
Voodoo was not always portrayed as scary witchcraft ritualistic belief. "Voudon refers to 'a whole assortment of cultural elements: personal creeds and practices, including an elaborate system of folk medical practices; a system of ethics transmitted across generations proverbs, stories, songs, and folklore... voudon is more than belief; it is a way of life,' wrote Leslie Desmangles, a Haitian professor at Hartford's Trinity College", writes Dhwty in Ancient Origins. This shows that this African culture carried so much more meaning than what people label as. If this form of belief was a "lifestyle", then why did people hate it so much in mumbo jumbo? Could dislike of voodoo originated from racism?
It's interesting to see white people interact with black people's culture and shows some serious flaws of the people living in those time periods. These beliefs may have shaped the way others portray foreign cultures later on in life as well.
I find your comparison of the group "Coalhouse" and the Jes Grew group interesting. I didn't think of comparing the two, but I do see some similarities. In both groups, members seem to have a certain devotion. They are also both, as you mentioned, not recorded in history. But there are also somewhat different, considering there weren't members joining "Coalhouse" left and right like some sort of illness as Jes Grew is portrayed.
ReplyDeleteI agree, this is a connection I hadn't thought of before this post. While I see the ways in which these groups give power to Black people at the time, I find it interesting the large population Jes Grew seems to affect, in comparison to Coalhouse's smaller band of "followers". In both cases its clear the people are taking back power and overtly challenging the racial hierarchy of life at the time, however I wonder if the Jes Grew "epidemic" will face the same fate as Coalhouse did. Part of me sees this strength in numbers, in addition to the voodoo spiritual aspect, a sign that the book will take a more interesting turn separating these tow groups from each other; however, only time will tell.
DeleteAnother key difference between Jes Grew and Coalhouse lies in tone. Coalhouse was a militant band of people who assumed they were going to die fighting. They were... grimly efficient? Whereas Jes Grew is all about irreverence, dancing, movement, and sex, Coalhouse was much more subdued and traditionally Atonist in tone, even as they subverted and went to war with Western civilization through their actions.
DeleteThe ways in which White history represents black militancy is very similar to its portrayal of voodoo. Mainstream historical records have sought to erase the Black Pather movement while failing to acknowledge the US government's violent acts against Black Panther leaders, and scholars discredited voodoo as "superstition" or "evil magic" until very recently, thanks to Zora Neale Hurston and other revolutionary anthropologists. This demonstrates how empiricist ideas about crafting a "master narrative" of history are so harmful: the mainstream narrative has a tendency to devalue or blantantly misrepresent the histories of marginalized groups.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't previously thought of the similarities between Coalhouse and Jes Grew until you mentioned them, but I think it's a really good point. Both authors are definitely trying to make a statement about race relations through their respective storylines, and it's really interesting to see how the white characters in their novels react to the aspects of black culture surrounding them.
ReplyDeleteI think your comment about the fear of voodoo is interesting. Since Voodoo is a way of life/religion that originated from the African descent, how did it become something that we feared? It might have come from the fact that because that white want to vilify African culture, but how did the fear of curses and stuff? And I wonder how people vilify one religion and not the other? How can voodoo be black magic and superstitious and not Christianity?
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