Spirituals

Midterm Essay

Celene Ramdeo

Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Performing Arts, University of Trinidad and Tobago

MUSC 2661: Caribbean Music History

Dr. Leah Brown

Due: 4th April, 2022.

 Spirituals

“Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves” - Abraham Lincoln

The transatlantic slave trade began in the 15 th century, and it was the worst experience for people in
the African community. They were captured, sold and traded as enslaved and forced to work for
plantation owners. This system was so cruel, it has left.

There were different types of spirituals each sung with a different meaning for a different purpose.
Spirituals were used as a form of expression to maintain community values, to reinforce motivation,
to communicate and they were also used as a signal of protest.

These songs were used as an expression of democratic value and community solidarity. They shared
mutual traumas from enslavement and therefore reinforced close bonds and family life to establish
the structure of a community. Every member of the community was welcomed to partake in
spirituals. A popular ceremony practiced by African communities is the ring shout. These spirituals
were usually structured in a call and response format. They also used this type of spiritual as a
representation of the rights they believe they deserved. The lyrics of these spirituals were very
similar to the story of the British colonists who were fighting for their independence from England.
The songs sing about equality and each person having the ability pursue happiness just as someone
else. ‘Run Mary Run’ is an example of a ring shout song that speaks about equality. The phrase, “You
got a right to the tree of life” is repeated throughout the song and it signifies that Africans have a
right to live a life of freedom like their slave masters.

It was difficult to maintain motivation as an enslaved working on a plantation and treated poorly by
other human beings. Years passed and they lived the same lives with no sign of change for the
better. Africans wrote and sung spirituals as a form of inspiration and motivation towards freedom.
During their time as slaves, there were multiple revolts led by slaves. These stories posed as
inspiration towards victory of overcoming slavery and living a free life, and so songs were sung about
it. These types of spirituals also featured stories of heroes from the Christian bible. These stories
mirrored the concept of a group of people being led to freedom out of bondage.