“God knows what I do”: Ritual Free Spaces
Crystal Nicole Eddins
Cambridge University Press eBooks April 14, 2022 DOI: 10.1017/9781009256148.006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Enslaved people |
| Key points | Argues that enslaved people's spiritual and ritual gatherings functioned as "free spaces" that fostered oppositional consciousness and racial solidarity, through anti-slavery rhetoric, protective "spiritual technologies" that asserted personal agency against plantation owners' power, and marronnage used to organize and recruit ritual participants. |
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the spiritual world of enslaved people and the ways in which politicized consciousness and resistance were infused in ritual practices. This chapter is theoretically grounded by insights from the social movements field related to the politicization of social spaces and the role of cultural artifacts in social movements. I frame spiritual and ritual gatherings as free spaces where participants’ oppositional consciousness and sense of racial solidarity was enhanced through holding audience to anti-slavery and racial consciousness rhetoric; employing spiritual technologies to protect oneself and attract good fortune, usurping ultimate power from white plantation owners and asserting personal agency; and using marronnage to organize and recruit new ritual participants.