What survived the Middle Passage? The question is at the heart of a long debate (see “Historians’ debates”). Korieh’s and Chukwu’s chapters give examples of possible continuities, with different degrees of certainty.
Food
Chambers describes “Igboisms” in the Chesapeake: yams, black-eyed peas, greens and one-pot cooking.
Masquerade
Chambers suggests that Igbo masquerade traditions (mmanwụ, Okonko) may have fused into the Jamaican Jonkonnu. Korieh flags this as speculative, since Okonko was not pan-Igbo and masquerades are widespread in Africa.
Healing and spiritual power
Chambers links the Caribbean practice of obeah with the role of the dibia (diviner-healer).
Oral forms
Hannah Chukwu finds Igbo-style call-and-response, work songs and proverbs in Caribbean poetry (Louise Bennett, Bruce St John). She concedes that these features also occur elsewhere in Africa and in Christian worship, so Igbo transmission is argued from resemblance.
Words
Some words may come from Igbo: “pickney” (child), “foo-foo”, the pronoun “’e” (Igbo ya), and “obissha” for overseer. These etymologies are suggestions.
Sources for this article
- Korieh (ed.) 2009, ch. 13 (Korieh); ch. 15 (Chukwu), pp. 333–348