Slavery is a scheme whereby individuals are taken as commodities that can be sold and bought like other goods. After being purchased, the individuals are forced to carry out certain workloads to their owners. This can be done against the slaves consent, beginning from the moment they are captured, their rights taken away, and when bought. The slaves have no right to refuse, to undertake the work given to them or to ask for compensation because of the services they offer to their owners (Ramey, 12).
Slavery entails many journals that were written and kept according to different cultures. Many of the slaves used to work in large plantations that needed an intensive labor work. The slaves used primary sources such as songs and music has to give a hidden meaning and to encourage each other while working. The songs, in a long period of time, overlooks by the slave masters, as they never understood the importance of the songs.
At the start, the slaves composed songs that helped in encouraging them and boosting their morale while in the plantations. The songs would help them in passing time as the worker and to boost their spirits. The songs requested for Gods strength and at times, they were used in giving praise to God. The slaves in order to acquire help in their journey and to get hope sang the primary source that I will use. The song asked their God, to walk with them through their tedious journey. They sang the song during difficult situations. Many of the individuals taken for slaves were of the Christian religion, and these songs were a major source of strength and faith to them. If the white men were pleased with the songs sung by the slaves, they used to reduce their time as slaves (Ramey, 52).
During the slave trade era, formal education had not spread into the African region. Many slaves did not know how to read or write. They composed songs to convey their messages. The songs were also used in keeping data as it was passed from one generation to another. The songs composed were also toughing on different occasions, as there were songs for celebrating, funerals and those that were sung during the period of hardship such as during their period as slaves. The songs were a key source of lifting the spirits of distraught slaves and also in passing time,
The source was originally produced in the year 1856 in the state of Florida. It bases its theme in the African American history. The document has been reviewed over the period to its current edition that was reviewed and produced in the year 2008. The content contained in the journal is a song journal that tries to preserve the rich historical culture of the slaves as it explains the challenges faced and how they used to encourage themselves in order to overcome these challenges. The author conveys a message to the slave masters on the great importance that was accompanied by the songs and narratives that the slaves used.
Work Cited
Ramey, Lauri. Slave Songs and the Birth of African American Poetry. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2008. Internet resource.
