Slave Religion
When it comes to religion most people feel they have a belief in God or a "higher power". This belief helps sustain them in times of mental and emotional turmoil and many times physical pain. The slaves of North America brought with them a belief in their sacred beings, in which they didn't distinguish the living from the dead. Their belief that in death the body just slips from the physical state to a spiritual one was widely believed in and can still be seen in such places as Jamaica and Trinidad, and in United States but to a lesser degree in the form of Voodoo. A religion that incorporates Because they were very expressive in their supplications to God in their practice of their religious beliefs, their prayer sessions were stifled by the slave holders for fear of slave revolts. Because of
The African slaves brought with them the practice of laying of their hands on each other as they sang and prayed as a sign of physical support, understanding, and healing of the spirit. He was their spiritual leader, similar to the elder in the West African communities and over the course of time it has been shown that the heads of the plantation churches eventually became the spokesperson for slaves. In the US during the first one hundred and fifty years the slaves were able to practice their religion almost unobstructed with only a few occasions when the master's tried to convert them to Christianity. Now the gathering together of the slaves during "prayer meetin's", was a time for them to learn about the going on's of the day and to be rejuvenate for the day ahead. Their beliefs helped them survive the physical, mental, and emotional degradation of being humans in bondage. In response to the slaves uprising the slaves were forced to attend the white churches. When really concerned about their master's not learning of their prayer meeting (particularly their mid week meetings) to mute their voices they would turn pots upside down in the middle of the floor or the round area in the thickets that they had created for their prayer sessions. Their preacher was their first political advocate, healer, doctor, and inspiration for hope. the censorship, they generally had to wait until late at night after the head count when they could slip away to a designated location (generally a predetermined slave house) or they'd steal away into the woods for fear of being heard by their masters. Because of their exposure to the Europeans and Christianity, the slaves incorporated Christianity with traditional African spiritual beliefs and created a new version of Christianity that was uniquely African-American in context. After attending their official services in the white churches, they had their (own) prayer services lead by black preachers, where they separated the teachings of the two. Some would even resort to putting pots over their heads because they were overcome with emotions and it was forbidden to worship without the master's approval. The church was then, as is now, the one place outside of their homes that the blacks express their emotions and allow themselves the opportunity to be the men and women that they were otherwise denied. The preacher took his role as the collective leader of the slaves seriously.
Common topics in this essay:
Trinidad United,
West African,
Europeans Christianity,
SLAVE RELIGION,
North America,
white churches,
prayer sessions,
mental emotional,
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Acceptance Essays
