Singing the Master: The Emergence of African-American Culture in the PlantationSouth [Paperback]

Roger D. Abrahams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1994

A controversial and radical interpretation of the most celebrated event on the Southern plantation: the corn-shucking ceremony. Relying on written accounts and oral histories of former slaves, Abrahams reconstructs this event and shows how the interaction of whites and blacks was adapted and imitated by whites in minstrel and vaudeville shows.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The corn-shucking ceremony, a slaves' holiday that began in the pre-Civil War American South, is the focus of this illuminating study, which opens a window on the origins of African American culture. To the white planters, this stylized entertainment full of songs and dances was an exotic spectacle, a confirmation of their sense that the black performers were part of the plantation family writ large. But to the slaves, the holiday was a platform to assert their sense of community, an opportunity for veiled social commentary. Using firsthand accounts and ex-slaves' oral histories, Abrahams, a folklore professor at the University of Pennsylvania, demonstrates how African American cultural forms emerged in the midst of oppression. He makes a compelling case that the entertainment styles of corn-shucking, Saturday-night dances and other permitted entertainments were imitated by whites in vaudeville and minstrel shows, and percolated into black prayer meetings, praise-singing poetry, religious services and rap concerts.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

In this well-researched study, folklorist Abrahams focuses on the corn-shucking contests customary to the Southern plantation. He provides a descriptive analysis of the singing, dancing, and feasting that typified this expressive event. The festival illustrates that the slaves were not only exploited for their labor, but for their entertainment abilities as well. The author further contends that the roots of popular culture performances such as minstrel shows and bluegrass bands have been significantly influenced by the African American traditions that emerged from this harvest celebration. Highly recommended for academic libraries and black studies collections.
- Eloise R. Hitchcock, Tennessee Technological Univ. Lib., Cookeville
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140179194
• ISBN-13: 978-0140179194
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Singing The Master, July 3, 2010

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Mr. M. Haymes "Mississippi Max" (Lancaster, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Singing the Master: The Emergence of African-American Culture in the PlantationSouth (Paperback)

This quite simply is THE essential book on the cornshucking ceremony and the songs sung by slaves (and freedmen) which are an assential root of the early blues during the first decades of the 20th. century. I will feature it as one of the major sources in a joint project we are calling "Slave To The Blues"(secular roots of blues from slavery times).

'Mississippi' Max Haymes