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The Mythology of the Blues

The Mythology of the Blues The Mythology of the Blues Jon Michael Spencer In the old American South, &om the era of slavery to the early twen­ tieth century, the Bible was the principal source of religious author­ ity referred to by the people of African origin for explanations re­ garding the mythical and the mysterious. Among blacks who mixed African religious retentions into the new religion of Christianity, it was a great conjure book that documented such heroic acts of con­ juration as Moses dividing the Red Sea. The sacredness of the holy book was such that, according to superstitious belief, it was sup­ posed to be kept in a central location-as in the center of a table­ and no other books or objects could lay atop it. Even as blacks moved out of the rural South to the urban North during the great migration and as the rural residue of religion began to diminish in the new city milieu, biblical lore remained deeply embedded in the heritage and narratives of Afro-America. The scripturality contin­ ued on into the modem era of urban blues, even though biblical meanings may have been increasingly forgotten, even modified be­ yond recognition. Given the Bible's cultural interiority http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Black Sacred Music Duke University Press

The Mythology of the Blues

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Copyright
Copyright © 1992 by Duke University Press
ISSN
1043-9455
eISSN
2640-9879
DOI
10.1215/10439455-6.1.98
Publisher site
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Abstract

The Mythology of the Blues Jon Michael Spencer In the old American South, &om the era of slavery to the early twen­ tieth century, the Bible was the principal source of religious author­ ity referred to by the people of African origin for explanations re­ garding the mythical and the mysterious. Among blacks who mixed African religious retentions into the new religion of Christianity, it was a great conjure book that documented such heroic acts of con­ juration as Moses dividing the Red Sea. The sacredness of the holy book was such that, according to superstitious belief, it was sup­ posed to be kept in a central location-as in the center of a table­ and no other books or objects could lay atop it. Even as blacks moved out of the rural South to the urban North during the great migration and as the rural residue of religion began to diminish in the new city milieu, biblical lore remained deeply embedded in the heritage and narratives of Afro-America. The scripturality contin­ ued on into the modem era of urban blues, even though biblical meanings may have been increasingly forgotten, even modified be­ yond recognition. Given the Bible's cultural interiority

Journal

Black Sacred Music – Duke University Press

Published: Mar 1, 1992

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