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Dawtah of the Sun
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: in a sacred space...
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Originally Posted by Mystic Xtremist
....which has its roots in West African rituals  |
and also in European cultures as well...
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In contrast to many West African traditions, the practice of jumping the broom is a wholly American addition that developed due to the institution of slavery in the United States.(disputed — see talk page) Slaves had no legal right to marriage; slaveholders considered slaves property and feared that legal marriage and family bonds had the potential to lead to organization and revolt. Marriage rituals, however, were important events to the Africans, who in many cases came from richly-ceremonial African cultures. When faced with the loss of the right to marry, many created new rituals with what was on hand.
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Since wedding traditions differ so widely across Africa, I think the origin during slavery is more likely: slaves came from many different tribes with quite divergent marriage traditions, and in researching this phrase, I discovered that the exact same ceremony is an ancient Celtic tradition. The link here is that many slave owners were Scots-Irish immigrants (or their descendants).
From the early days of Christianity in Ireland, rituals tended to blend the pagan with the Christian. An example of this was the handfasting ceremony, a commitment ceremony held when a priest was not available. Couples who just couldn't wait until the traveling priest turned up would ceremonially tie their wrists together, then join hands and jump over a broom to guarantee children. In Celtic tradition, the broom was a symbol of fertility; Beltane (May Day) festivities often included fertility rites such as broom-jumping or broom-riding. It seems possible that the idea of this type of unofficial but sincere marriage ceremony could have been adopted by early slaves at the suggestion of their Celtic masters.
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And I've heard of the broom being used in some African traditions when the bride would sweep the mother in laws house as a sign of entering the new family. |