Saint Domingue [ Trade / Politics & Society ]
… tendency of sociability, divisions existed along social, racial and gender lines. Forms of sociability discussed include dance and voodoo on plantations; the culture of maronnage; the mediating role of free women of colour in marriages and … provided occasions for enslaved people to gather. Various African traditions were combined to make spiritual, epic-like dances that told stories of ‘fear, hope, disdain, tenderness, caprice, pleasure, refusal, frenzy, evasion, ecstasy, prostration’ (Fick 40). The calenda was the most popular dance. It lasted many hours and involved people of all ages, even toddlers. Despite the ban on non-Catholic religions, …
France | Marronage | North America | Slavery | Theatre | Women
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