Why Do We Jump The Broom?

[AKAtude]

***Found this one on eurweb.com***


WHY DO WE JUMP THE BROOM?
Author suggests maybe we should investigte slave customs
by Kwaku Person-Lynn, Ph.D
(Nov. 8, 2001) After attending a very beautiful, happy and loving American Afrikan wedding, there was a practice exercised during the ceremony that raises some questions. It seems that jumping the broom, after being pronounced husband and wife, has recently reached new popularity. Many attribute this to the ever-popular “Roots” television series by Alex Haley, further reinforced by the movie “The Best Man.”
On the surface it seems an innocent, fun, traditional thing to do. It is a way of bringing heritage, as many perceive, into the wedding ceremony. But as psychiatrist Dr. Frances Cress Welsing has stated many times, “We are surface addicted.” Looking deeper into issues or traditions to find their origins is not a common behavior and may cause many to continue doing something that may have had negative connotations in its inception.

It is almost like celebrating Juneteenth. Many celebrate it without having a clue what they are celebrating. When asking a college student what it meant, the reply was, “I don’t know. It’s just something black people do.” Since most do not know the origin of jumping the broom, while there are questions if the origin can be found, we can at least look at what others who have looked into it have to say. One thing we do know, it was a practice heavily used during slavery. It signified the joining of a couple, simulating marriage, since religious and civil marriages were prohibited and outlawed during most of slavery. When researching this subject, some of the best sources to investigate are slave narratives, which recorded the lives of slaves in their own voice.

In her book, Jumping The Broom by Harriette Cole, one of the best books on the subject, Tempie Durham, in her slave language style, recounts the practice during her marriage ceremony (Marse means master). “After Uncle Edmond said de las' words over me an 'Exter (the groom), Marse George got to have his little fun. He say, ‘Come on, Exter, you an' Tempie got to jump over de broomstick backwards. You go to do dat to see which one gwine be boss of your househol'.’ Everbody come stan' roun' to watch. Marse George hold de broom 'bout a foot high off de floor. De one dat jump over it backwards an' never touch de handle gwine boss de house, an' if bofe of dem jump over widout touchin' it, dey ain't gwine be no bossin'; de jus' gwine be 'genial.”

A view that supports this account comes from Judith Hunter, owner of Jumping the Broom Bridal Shop in Columbia, Maryland. She says, “Broomstick ceremonies in this country began on pre-Civil War plantations whose owners prohibited Christian or civil weddings among slaves. The desire of couples to bond for life in a sanctified ceremony won out, however, as slaves created their own ceremonies, which included an eclectic mix of rituals from different African tribes. Tradition says that whoever jumps the highest will make the decisions in the family. If one doesn't jump, the other wears the pants.”

However, there are those who do not participate because they feel it is a continuance of a slave tradition. There are customs and traditions practiced today that started during slavery. People of Afrikan descent continue these practices without knowing that they came from slavery, and in some cases, were started by slave masters.

For instance, many people of Afrikan descent do not realize that most of the European names given to Afrikans during slavery was a way of identifying which plantation a slave belonged to. If the plantation owner’s last name was Smith, all of his slaves, especially those allowed off the plantation for various reasons, would have the same last name. We continue to give our children these slave-given European names, because people of Afrikan descent do not know their original names. Thus, beginning around the 1960s, parents and individuals who were aware of this began giving their children, and themselves, Afrikan names.

As far as jumping the broom, we are saddled with a slave tradition that was sanctioned by the slave master, since religious or legal marriages were not allowed. Not only that, the slave master had to give permission for a couple to do so. Ms. Cole cites this in her book, "With the master's permission, a couple was allowed to stand before witnesses, pledge their devotion to each other and finally jump over a broom, which would indicate their step into married life."

As people of Afrikan descent redefine their existence: customs, traditions and rituals that perpetuate any aspect of slavery must be investigated to determine if it is harmful. One individual, when asked about jumping the broom, stated “It’s a fun thing to do.” What are sometimes called continuing and retaining Afrikan traditions, may well be something started right on a slave plantation. Of course, serious research is required so as not to duplicate something we thought was part of Afrikan or American Afrikan heritage, no matter what movie it appeared in.

[straightBOS]

What's so bad about the endurance of traditions started in slavery?

The "jumping the broom" thing (something I have never heard of before) is as much a part of your African American History as your present. It should not be shunned or discontinued simply because of its origins.

The tone of the essay seems to suggests that anything to do with "Marse" should be x-ed out as if it was never there. That, then, would mean x-ing out parts of your history, customs, etc.

Maybe its just something I cannot understand. Calypso, reggae, and Carnival and Crop Over celebrations in the Caribbean started during slavery. We still continue them today because they have become an intricate part of who we are. The was we cook, talk, what we value-- is a direct result of the slave trade. It is in fact, us.

These various African- American ceremonies that have been created during or as a result of slavery, are you. They make up who you are. They should not be shunned because of their oriigns because they are a part of your history and, as it, seems a part of your present.

or, maybe I just don't get it....

[AKAtude]

Originally posted by straightBOS
What's so bad about the endurance of traditions started in slavery?

The "jumping the broom" thing (something I have never heard of before) is as much a part of your African American History as your present. It should not be shunned or discontinued simply because of its origins.

The tone of the essay seems to suggests that anything to do with "Marse" should be x-ed out as if it was never there. That, then, would mean x-ing out parts of your history, customs, etc.

Maybe its just something I cannot understand. Calypso, reggae, and Carnival and Crop Over celebrations in the Caribbean started during slavery. We still continue them today because they have become an intricate part of who we are. The was we cook, talk, what we value-- is a direct result of the slave trade. It is in fact, us.

These various African- American ceremonies that have been created during or as a result of slavery, are you. They make up who you are. They should not be shunned because of their oriigns because they are a part of your history and, as it, seems a part of your present.

or, maybe I just don't get it....

Well, I just put this out there to see what other people had to say, and once again I find myself agreeing with you, StraightBOS.

[darling1]

i believe that it shouldn't matter what afican customs you incorporate into your ceremony, as long as you are aware of the meaning behind it. my husband and i jumped the broom. i felt that it was a nice touch to our wedding. aside from honoring our african ancestors, for us it was a tribute to the immediate family that was with us in spirit. it was also important to me because my mother wanted me to have an afrocentric wedding. i wanted a more traditional one so this was the compromise. i am proud that we jumped the broom and it will adorn our wall for all to look at.

[SoTrue1920]

There's other research that suggests that jumping the broom was initiated not as a 'genial' way of acknowledging the coupling of a male and female slave, but was created as a means of mocking the bonds that the couple had created. Seeing as how African Americans couldn't legally marry, "jumping the broom" didn't really mean anything at all -- it was just a "nice" thing for a "nice" slaveowner to do for his property. It wasn't legally binding. It wasn't even emotionally binding, because if a slavemaster decided to separate a couple he very well could, and there was precious little an enslaved couple could do to stop it.

That was the main reason I decided not to have a 'jumping the broom' ceremony during my wedding last year. A wedding is a time of deep, lasting, spiritual and emotional bonding for a couple; why would I want to introduce a tradition that makes a mockery of the love I share with my husband?

[AKAtude]

I guess it all depends on how you look at it.

[straightBOS]

Originally posted by darling1
i believe that it shouldn't matter what afican customs you incorporate into your ceremony, as long as you are aware of the meaning behind it. my husband and i jumped the broom. i felt that it was a nice touch to our wedding. aside from honoring our african ancestors, for us it was a tribute to the immediate family that was with us in spirit. it was also important to me because my mother wanted me to have an afrocentric wedding. i wanted a more traditional one so this was the compromise. i am proud that we jumped the broom and it will adorn our wall for all to look at.

If I read the essay right, it would seem to suggest that "jumping the broom" is an American creation. As such, wouldn't any wedding that incorporates this tradition be very American?

[Eclipse]

Originally posted by SoTrue1920
There's other research that suggests that jumping the broom was initiated not as a 'genial' way of acknowledging the coupling of a male and female slave, but was created as a means of mocking the bonds that the couple had created. Seeing as how African Americans couldn't legally marry, "jumping the broom" didn't really mean anything at all -- it was just a "nice" thing for a "nice" slaveowner to do for his property. It wasn't legally binding. It wasn't even emotionally binding, because if a slavemaster decided to separate a couple he very well could, and there was precious little an enslaved couple could do to stop it.

That was the main reason I decided not to have a 'jumping the broom' ceremony during my wedding last year. A wedding is a time of deep, lasting, spiritual and emotional bonding for a couple; why would I want to introduce a tradition that makes a mockery of the love I share with my husband?

I have to disagree with your statement that there was no emotionally binding in marriages of slaves. There are many documented cases of separated husbands/wives searching for years for their spouses after the civil war. They were definately "emotionally bound." I did some additional research on the jumping of the broom tradition before I got married. Harriett Cole's book also mentioned the Ebo traditon of giving a couple a broom when they got married as a symbol of them setting up house hold. She and other scholars have speculated that the jumping of the broom was an adaptation of this ceremony. My husband and I chose to jump the broom as a part of our wedding because we wanted to pay tribute to our ansestors, known and unknown, who honored and upheld their marital vows through all types of obstacles--including slavery and forced separations.

[Special1920]

Other then seeing this on "ROOTS" and briefly reading about it in a few novels I read, I never knew the significance of jumpimg the broom. I admit I never reserched. But I think most peole do this in an attempt to be different, add another dimension to the ceremony. I don't think many people have researched this, but it looks "cute".

[Ideal08]

After I learned what this really meant a few years ago, I said I wouldn't do it at my wedding. But then, when people say that I shouldn't eat chitterlings, b/c our ancestors were given them as scraps, I would respond, "If it was good enough for them, it's good enough for me. They lived strong, and they died strong." Now, how can I take one tradition (if you wanna call eating chit'lin's that) and continue it, then say I WON'T jump the broom? That don't seem right...

I'm going to have to agree with StraightBOS on this one, too.

[SoTrue1920]

Originally posted by Eclipse


I have to disagree with your statement that there was no emotionally binding in marriages of slaves. There are many documented cases of separated husbands/wives searching for years for their spouses after the civil war.

What I meant by 'emotional' bonds, Eclipse, was that in the eyes of slaveowners, the bonds weren't real, that the emotional ties that the slaves might have formed carried no weight.

[loviest95]

Jumping the broom is an AFRICAN Tradtion of sweeping out the old and sweeping in the new..

The bride's old life and the old life of the groom exist no more..

My understanding is that the jump was traditonally made from the outside to the inside of the couple's new dwelling-- thus leaving the old dust outside
and jumping into their new lives (and dwelling together)

In fact there are other cultures that also incorporate this tradition

In fact an Irish co worker of mine attended my wedding and stated that her grandparents did the same thing

This was interesting to me also because of the Irish hertiage that I have found in my family tree..

[AKAtude]

Originally posted by loviest95
Jumping the broom is an AFRICAN Tradtion of sweeping out the old and sweeping in the new..

The bride's old life and the old life of the groom exist no more..

My understanding is that the jump was traditonally made from the outside to the inside of the couple's new dwelling-- thus leaving the old dust outside
and jumping into their new lives (and dwelling together)

In fact there are other cultures that also incorporate this tradition

In fact an Irish co worker of mine attended my wedding and stated that her grandparents did the same thing

This was interesting to me also because of the Irish hertiage that I have found in my family tree..

Wow! Thanks, soror! That's one connection I've never heard of before.

[MS.REVLON]

Originally posted by loviest95
Jumping the broom is an AFRICAN Tradtion of sweeping out the old and sweeping in the new..

The bride's old life and the old life of the groom exist no more..

My understanding is that the jump was traditonally made from the outside to the inside of the couple's new dwelling-- thus leaving the old dust outside
and jumping into their new lives (and dwelling together)

In fact there are other cultures that also incorporate this tradition

In fact an Irish co worker of mine attended my wedding and stated that her grandparents did the same thing

This was interesting to me also because of the Irish hertiage that I have found in my family tree..

I have to agree with this one b/c I believed that was the true meaning of the ceremony.
Besides if we examine every African American tradition and some American traditions they all can be translated into whatever meaning the translator wants.
It is up to us to seek the positive from them.
I know at our wedding we will be jumping the broom as a symbol of jumping into a new life together.

[straightBOS]

Originally posted by loviest95
Jumping the broom is an AFRICAN Tradtion of sweeping out the old and sweeping in the new..

The bride's old life and the old life of the groom exist no more..

My understanding is that the jump was traditonally made from the outside to the inside of the couple's new dwelling-- thus leaving the old dust outside
and jumping into their new lives (and dwelling together)

In fact there are other cultures that also incorporate this tradition

In fact an Irish co worker of mine attended my wedding and stated that her grandparents did the same thing

This was interesting to me also because of the Irish hertiage that I have found in my family tree..

Do you know where in Africa- from which country or tribe this tradidtion supposedly originates?

I'm intrigued by this topic and I'd like to find out more.