In a nutshell, a Negro spiritual is actually a worship song that was created by the African slaves when these people were captured by the Americans and the British. The term came out when many slaves were mistreated by their colonizers and many have longed to be free. Here is a brief history on how these kinds of songs came to be.
Now the Africans first learned about this term from the Bible as the Bible kept on talking about singing praises and spiritual songs to God. Since the black slaves did not have a personality of their own at that time, they only followed what their masters told them to do. The slaves even adapted the religion of their colonizers and soon every slave was converted to Christianity.
Of course when the Africans first reached the land of their colonizers, they still carried on their usual African rituals and religious practices even though the colonizers discouraged them from doing so. Since their oppressors were becoming more and more wary of these activities, they banned these religious ceremonies. It was then that the Africans had to continue their rituals in secret.
As the years went by, Pagan religions were eventually permanently banned. People who still carried on strange rituals were to be punished by death in public. That is why although almost all of the slaves converted to Christianity, they still retained the same music and beats that they used during their old rituals whenever they sing praise songs.
Now the spirituals that these slaves made were not only limited to just hymns and slow worship songs. They even made upbeat songs that were made for the people to dance to. This type of rhythmic music is known as the spiritual shout where in people dance and scream their lungs out while they sing. Many slaves enjoyed it when spiritual shouts were being played because it allowed them to express themselves in their own way and their own style.
Although their songs did contain worship messages and verses that praised God, they also expressed their pain through the lyrics. Included in the lyrics are the woes of all African slaves that have it hard. It was their way of praying out to God to save them from persecution.
Because of the lyrical content, many authors have actually speculated that there were hidden messages in the songs. Song writers would deliver instructions to the slaves through these songs so that the slaves could escape from their masters or arrange for a rebellion. Sometimes even directions were hidden inside these songs.
So after seeing the entire history of the Negro spiritual, everyone can see how it affects the African Americans today. Now based on the history, one can see that Negro spirituals actually came from the ritual songs. It is through this medium that they rebelled against their colonizers because of the unfair treatment. Even though they were brought to another land, they will never let go of their identity and culture.
Now the Africans first learned about this term from the Bible as the Bible kept on talking about singing praises and spiritual songs to God. Since the black slaves did not have a personality of their own at that time, they only followed what their masters told them to do. The slaves even adapted the religion of their colonizers and soon every slave was converted to Christianity.
Of course when the Africans first reached the land of their colonizers, they still carried on their usual African rituals and religious practices even though the colonizers discouraged them from doing so. Since their oppressors were becoming more and more wary of these activities, they banned these religious ceremonies. It was then that the Africans had to continue their rituals in secret.
As the years went by, Pagan religions were eventually permanently banned. People who still carried on strange rituals were to be punished by death in public. That is why although almost all of the slaves converted to Christianity, they still retained the same music and beats that they used during their old rituals whenever they sing praise songs.
Now the spirituals that these slaves made were not only limited to just hymns and slow worship songs. They even made upbeat songs that were made for the people to dance to. This type of rhythmic music is known as the spiritual shout where in people dance and scream their lungs out while they sing. Many slaves enjoyed it when spiritual shouts were being played because it allowed them to express themselves in their own way and their own style.
Although their songs did contain worship messages and verses that praised God, they also expressed their pain through the lyrics. Included in the lyrics are the woes of all African slaves that have it hard. It was their way of praying out to God to save them from persecution.
Because of the lyrical content, many authors have actually speculated that there were hidden messages in the songs. Song writers would deliver instructions to the slaves through these songs so that the slaves could escape from their masters or arrange for a rebellion. Sometimes even directions were hidden inside these songs.
So after seeing the entire history of the Negro spiritual, everyone can see how it affects the African Americans today. Now based on the history, one can see that Negro spirituals actually came from the ritual songs. It is through this medium that they rebelled against their colonizers because of the unfair treatment. Even though they were brought to another land, they will never let go of their identity and culture.
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