By Karen Gonzalez
Life in colonial America was certainly not easy for the enslaved. Even starting a family and caring for it was complicated in ways we don’t consider today.
Take getting married, for example.
The marriage ceremony for enslaved people was not legally recognized until after the end of the Civil War. Prior to that time, they had to employ some creativity. So over time, alternate forms of ceremonies evolved, which didn’t depend on clergy or church.
“Jumping the Broom” was such a ceremony, and there were several versions. In one, the bride and groom literally hopped together over a broom placed on the ground. Or they stood across from each other and jumped to the middle. Sometimes an elder in the community or a member of the African American clergy would participate in the ceremony, blessing their union.
Why would you jump over a broom?
“The ceremony can be traced to West Africa, where they would place a brush over the door and as a way to sweep away bad spirits,” said Rose McAphee, a historian and interpreter at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. “So it was thought that placing the broom over the doorstep and jumping over it would give you luck, keep out the bad spirits and the like.”
Instilled with West African family traditions, many enslaved people continued to practice the ceremony as a way to show respect and pride in their heritage and ancestry.
Although other types of alternate wedding ceremonies were practiced, jumping the broom was by far the most common.
Romance is in the air
The ceremony could take place anywhere and at any time. Out in the field, an elder might say: “That’s your husband and that’s your wife, and now you’re married,” McAphee said. They might give a short speech and admonish the guests to look out for the couple and their future children. Jumping the broom would likely be the ceremony’s finale before being declared husband and wife.
Children were considered a gift, a way to carry on the family name. Once in America, enslaved Africans formed close bonds. After all, their biological families were often separated from them and the community often acted as family.
This story is about the amazing resilience and strength of a people who overcome all odds in order to have family relationships. They were determined to as normal as they could under the circumstances, with family around them for support. Knowing that they could be split apart and sold at any time often made the relationships that much stronger.
Even today, you may see elements of the jumping the broom ritual in the modern wedding ceremony or reception. It reminds the bride, groom and guests that there was a time when weddings between slaves were not legally recognized.
This podcast tells you even more about jumping the broom.
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