This book presents a provocatively new interpretation of one of New Orleans' most enigmatic traditions, the Mardi Gras Indians. By interpreting the tradition in an Atlantic context, Dewulf traces the " black Indians " back to the ancient... more
This book presents a provocatively new interpretation of one of New Orleans' most enigmatic traditions, the Mardi Gras Indians. By interpreting the tradition in an Atlantic context, Dewulf traces the " black Indians " back to the ancient Kingdom of Kongo and its war dance known as sangamento. He shows that good warriors in the Kongo kingdom were per definition also good dancers, masters of a technique of dodging, spinning and leaping that was crucial in local warfare. Enslaved Kongolese brought the rhythm, dancing moves and feathered headwear of sangamentos to the Americas in performances that came to be known as " Kongo dances. " By comparing Kongo dances on the African island of São Tomé with those in Latin America, the Caribbean and Louisiana, Dewulf demonstrates that the dances on New Orleans' Congo Square were part of a much broader Kongolese performance tradition. He links that to Afro-Catholic mutual-aid societies that honored their elected community leaders or " kings " with Kongo dances. While the public rituals of these brotherhoods originally thrived in the context of Catholic procession culture around Epiphany and Corpus Christi, they transitioned to carnival as a result of growing orthodoxy within the Church. Dewulf's groundbreaking research suggests a much greater impact of Kongolese traditions and of popular Catholicism on the development of African-American cultural heritage and identity. His conclusions force us to radically rethink the traditional narrative on the Mardi Gras Indians, the kings of Zulu and the origins of black participation in Mardi Gras celebrations.
By examining film and print media, along with influences of the Great Depression and WWII on public culture, this essay explores the evolution and appropriation of the Lindy Hop as it transformed from a black, working-class dance in the... more
By examining film and print media, along with influences of the Great Depression and WWII on public culture, this essay explores the evolution and appropriation of the Lindy Hop as it transformed from a black, working-class dance in the early twentieth century to a white, middle-class dance by the swing revival in the 1990s. During the revival, young people were drawn to the Lindy Hop because its heteronormative structure seemed to celebrate a simpler time when gender roles were more defined. While rejecting contemporary mainstream culture’s apparent dilution of those gender roles, swing revivalists also asserted themselves as the owners of the movement. However, Lindy Hop legend Frankie Manning’s death has catalyzed a new awareness of its African American history and engagement to the community, even as the joy inherent in the dance’s practice continues to exert a shaping force on its contested cultural place in American society.
The work looks at three layers of the cakewalk experience: 1): a black dance satire born in slavery; 2) white distortion of the satire for purposes of white supremacy at the turn of the 20th century; and 3) one black response to the... more
The work looks at three layers of the cakewalk experience: 1): a black dance satire born in slavery; 2) white distortion of the satire for purposes of white supremacy at the turn of the 20th century; and 3) one black response to the weaponization of the dance, by the North Carolina (and Ohio) novelist Charles Waddell Chesnutt.
This article argues that Pinkster should be understood as an Atlantic Creole festival in a Dutch-American context, rather than a Dutch-African festival in an American context. It claims that the syncretic character of Pinkster did not... more
This article argues that Pinkster should be understood as an Atlantic Creole festival in a Dutch-American context, rather than a Dutch-African festival in an American context. It claims that the syncretic character of Pinkster did not originate in North America and that, before arriving on the American East Coast, the essence of what came to be known as Pinkster already existed as a culturally hybrid Luso-African celebration.
Aiming to develop a curriculum that addresses the identities of diverse classrooms in general, and my African-American students in particular, I conducted an in-depth review of the literature on the developmental needs of adolescents,... more
Aiming to develop a curriculum that addresses the identities of diverse classrooms in general, and my African-American students in particular, I conducted an in-depth review of the literature on the developmental needs of adolescents, statistics on African-American students’ self-image and its implications on learning in public schools, responsible intercultural education through community building, and strategies for creating an engaging classroom experience. I also suggest we seriously consider the lack of ethnic & gender diversity amongst public school educators, and urge all educators to acknowledge the cultural assumptions we bring into our classes, our curriculum, and management strategies. The curriculum proposed in this paper offers practical application of emancipatory education for dance students. Further, it
encourages creative interactions between dances and perspectives of the African diaspora with those of the students’ home cultures and experiences. Finally, it addresses students’ previous identity-forming experiences while broadening their horizons with a global perspective.
