Jumping the broom also fell out of practice due to the stigma it carried, and in some cases still carries, among black Americans wishing to forget the horrors of slavery. Once blacks could have European-style weddings with rings that were recognizable by anyone as a symbol of marriage, the broom ceremony wasn't required. No form of marriage was recognized for blacks during slavery, therefore jumping the broom solidified this ceremony within the slave community. Jumping the broom was always done before witnesses in order for members of the slave community to know a couple was married. It was not necessary once African Americans could have European-style marriages with rings and other identifiers. The jumping of the broom does not constitute taking a " leap of faith" because the practice of jumping the broom pre-dates the phrase coined by Søren Aabye Kierkegaard by one hundred years, if not more.Īfter the end of American slavery, jumping the broom was seldom practiced. Whoever jumped highest over the broom was the decision maker of the household (usually the man). ![]() But in the American south, the custom determined who ran the household. "Married over the besom") with irregular or non-church unions. In England, jumping over the broom (or sometimes walking over a broom), became nominally synonymous (i.e. Among southern Africans, who were largely not a part of the Atlantic slave trade, it represented the wife's commitment or willingness to clean the courtyard of the new home she had joined. "Jumping over the broom" symbolized various things depending on the culture. Jumping the broom therefore does owe part of its origin to slavery, but is also part of African culture that had survived in the United States like the Voodun religion of the Fon and Ewe ethnic groups or the ring-shout ceremony of the BaKongo and Mbundu ethnic groups. The custom, fully formed though not necessarily uniform, diffused among the different ethnic groups and was used to solidify marriages during slavery among their communities. She claims jumping over the broom was definitely a feature in both European and African wedding ceremonies, but the slave practice likely originated in Africa and not Europe. How or why an obscure Roma custom became so prevalent among African Americans is not explained.Īnother author states that it is likely both blacks and whites in the antebellum south accepted jumping the broom as a quasi-marriage ceremony since the practice or symbols used in it (specifically the broom) had similar meanings in their respective cultures. This is given some weight by the fact that slave masters and their wives assisted in the ceremony at times. He further asserts that the practice was passed along, possibly by force, on slaves by their masters. One particular scholar, Alan Dundes, claims that the practice originated among English Roma people better known as Gypsies. But even the author who points to Ghana, Danita Green Roundtree, admits there is no recognized documentation suggesting that ethnic groups in Ghana, who were prominent in the Atlantic Slave Trade, ever jumped over the broom. The prime candidate for a geographic origin of the custom in West or Central Africa is Ghana where brooms were waved above the heads of newlyweds and their parents. It is documented that brooms existed as spiritual symbols in regions where African Americans originated. However, there are no recorded instances of West African or Central African weddings that involved jumping over the broom. The commonly held belief is that the practice originates or at least has roots in West Africa. ![]() There is an ongoing debate as to the exact origin or origins of jumping the broom as a wedding ceremony. This practice dates back at least to the 19th century and has enjoyed a 20th century revival largely due to the miniseries. In some African-American communities, recently married couples will end their ceremony by jumping together or separately over a broom. ![]() Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (2000).] ] Jumping the broom is an African American phrase and custom relating to wedding ceremonies. " depicts the tradition of jumping the broom.
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