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Orality was the grease that allowed the African slaves to slide along the Underground Railroad into the freedom that Canada offered. From their origin in Africa to their haven in Canada, the African American slaves of the South held on to the culture that was passed down to them from their ancestors. These slaves could not rely on an ability to read or write due to their status in the US at that time. Since it was the law that slaves were not allowed to be taught to read or write, other methods were needed to ensure successful efforts for escape. The plantation grapevine was well known to white planters, who feared communication among blacks. Laws were passed to curtail communication between slaves, including laws preventing the education of blacks, the congregation of blacks unless supervised by whites, and drumming, since it was feared to be a means of secret communication. Little did they know, the African slaves were a very inventive and creative people that could easily find other ways of communication. This, in conjunction with ancient African symbols and praise songs allowed for the slaves to communicate in broad daylight in front of the whites while leaving the whites without a clue was to what was occurring. What started as a fleeting hope became the major mode by which slaves escaped into the North. It was to be known as the Underground Railroad Quilt Code. Because African mothers had passed down to their daughters the methods and symbols of quilt making, the slaves were able to create a symbol based language inherited from an entirely oral culture. They were used as visual maps to freedom that conveyed sayings that even if the whites decrypted them, would still mean nothing more than jargon. However, to the slaves, it was a language rich in imagery and earnest in message. The images and their meanings are a hybrid of African folklore and the everyday encounters of slaves in the south. The nature of secrecy necessary for escape meant that almost nothing was put down on paper. Most information regarding escape had to be committed to memory and passed on only by word of mouth, using codes, signs, songs, and signals created by slaves and shared only with those who could be trusted. |
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