Essay Example on African-American Culture: From West and Central Africa to the US

The African-American people are people who came into America from West and Central Africa during the slavery. With their entry into the United States, they took with the West and Central African culture to America. Although slavery highly restricted the practice of these cultures in America, some of them were able to blend in with the European culture. The purpose of this essay is to describe a few features of African derived traditions and how they have developed in the US.

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The most common African tradition that has developed in the US is religion. The African religions that was able to enter America during slavery shared several similar features; this is they believe in a supreme god and the existence of spirits. This belief in this God allowed the people to celebrate rites of passage, people enjoyed success, and they were able to cope with hard situations like illness, misfortunes and grief. Today this African faith is evident in sacred songs that are still in existence, that are used to bring the contact between people and the spirits. The believers in these spirits are in turn cared and controlled by these spirits. In return, they offer both blood and food to these spirits as sacrifices. In America, the influence of this traditional African religion is seen through the Kwanza festival, which is held for nine days in December. Another development is the heritage of Catholicism and Afro-Caribbean traditions from Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica. The most common is vadou practice (Eck, 2018).

African -American culture is very much in practice and is well recognized around the world. Music was used during slavery to ease suffering, pass history to the next generation and also to give a message. This feature of African American music has been evident in America through the use of falsetto and melisma. To add to this, today's use of the banjo, which was the first African music instrument to be used is the US is evidence of African American tradition in modern America. The use of drums in contemporary American music is evidence of developed African culture in the US. The American National anthem, which was composed in 1900, today the song has been a popular way to remember the suffering black American went through, ethnic solidarity and to express their faith and hope. Jazz also emerged from African American(Smith,2014). Today, jazz is widely played in America, especially in corporate events. Gospel music in America is a concept that emerged from African Americans.

Conclusion

In conclusion, traditional African practices is a very vital part of today's American culture. Its practice has been made possible through its development and incorporation into the American culture. The presence of this African American tradition in today's American culture has been significant in passing and continuation of the African culture from one generation to the next in America.

References

Eck, D.L. (2018) the Pluralism Project. http://pluralism.org/religions/afro-caribbean/afro-caribbean-traditions/

Smith, P.B. (2014, January 9).Living Vodouhttps://onbeing.org/programs/patrick-bellegarde-smith-living-vodou/