Looking For Some Good White People (Memories Of A Black Girl)

Written by Azizi Powell

I wrote these two comments as part of a discussion thread on an astrology forum in which some of the comments were about the non-indictment of Darren Wilson for shooting to death the unarmed Black teenager Michael Brown, Jr.

http://starlightnews.com/wordpress/2014/11/israels-angry-mood/#comments

Comment #1: Azizi, November 27, 2014 at 10:19 pm
...When I was in my teens (in the mid 1960s), I went through a time when I was desperately looking for some good White people. By “good White people” I meant White people who weren’t prejudiced against Black people and other People of Color. Of course, it shouldn’t have been that difficult to think of examples of good White people, since there were White people who helped with the Underground Railroad, and there were men such as Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman who were killed along with James Chaney because they were trying registering Black people in the South. President Obama just posthumously awarded these two White men and one Black men a medal of freedom.

But I only knew a few White people who I was sure weren’t prejudiced. I’ve known more since my teen years, but it still helps a lot to read comments on this blog from non-Black people who “get” how AWFUL the continuous murder of Black males and the lack of lawful redress and accountability is. And because this issue affects us all, it’s good to see White people joining in peaceful no justice no peace & Black lifes matter/All life matters marches throughout the USA and elsewhere.

Here’s a link to a post that I wrote about a part of Darren Wilson’s testimony to that Grand Jury:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-did-darren-wilson-mean-when-he.html What Did Darren Wilson Mean When He Said That Michael Brown Jr Was Like Hulk Hogan?
-snip-
Although the wrestler Huck Hogan is White, his ring name “Hulk”, comes from the comic book character “the Hulk”. And Wilson’s comment that he thought that Michael Brown Jr was “bulking up to run through the bullets” is very similar to Hulk Hogan’s term “hulking up”.

In my opinion, when Darren Wilson’s referring to Michael Brown Jr as “it” and a demon, and saying that Michael Brown Jr reminded him of Hulk Hogan, he raised centuries old stereotypes of Black males as devil, animals, buck, and brutes...

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Thanks again.

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Comment #2: Azizi, November 28, 2014 at 8:35 am
"Thank you Anne’s Aunt, Lorrie U, and shoalsister for responding to my comment, and sharing your personal stories.

My search for “some good White people” was so that I wouldn’t believe that all White people were bad (i.e. not only racist but also evil). I may have started that search after realizing that I wasn’t told the whole story about “how the West was won” and instead learned that scalping was started by some White folks and other White folks gave Indians blankets with smallpox or some other disease. My search for “good White people” really became critical when I was 14 years old in 1963 and 3 Black girls my age and a Black girl 11 years old were killed when racists bombed their church. [Read the story how the police didn’t pass on tips and at first the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover refused the case saying that winning it was remote:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/justice-story/justice-story-birmingham-church-bombing-article-1.1441568
-snip-
It took 37 years to bring to justice those KKK members who planted that dynamite under that Baptist church

My three sisters and I attended a Baptist church every Sunday – so I could really relate to those girls who were killed.

I recall that in 1964 my pastor, a woman active in the church, and I were part of a weekend integration project in the Newark, New Jersey area. We lived in Atlantic City. The purpose of that project was to provide opportunities for Black people and White people to talk to each other and share everyday experiences – Black people staying with White families overnight, and (at least presumably, White people staying with Black families. Also, Black and White people attending sessions together and Black people attending a White church, and White people attending a Black church for their Sunday morning service.

During the drive to that weekend project I recall my pastor and the church woman sharing their memories about growing up in the South. I particularly remember both of them saying that they had played with White children until a certain age, and then those children refused to play with them anymore, and began treating them badly. (My experience was different than theirs. I didn’t have any White playmates, and didn’t go to school with any non-Black people until junior high school (around 12 years old).

I also remember my pastor’s and the church woman’s concern about whether it would be safe for us to sleep overnight at a White family’s house. And I recall them saying something like we would leave or we could leave if things got bad. The woman and I stayed in one home, and the pastor in another home. I recall sleeping in a pull out bed and eating some food that I wasn’t familiar with, and didn’t really like.

But I particularly remember being in a gym with a few White teenagers and casually talking about our experiences growing up (This was when the adults were in another room, presumably doing the same thing.) I also remember attending the church service at a White church. I admit that I liked the music in my church better, but I preferred the way the minister preached. I even remember that the sermon was built around the Edwin Markham poem:
“He drew a circle that shut me out —
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.”
-snip-
That poem was written in 1913, and I first heard it in 1964. I remember that date because the next year I enrolled in a college in a city that was right next door to Newark, New Jersey.) In retrospect, that experience with that integration project, may have been the reason why I chose that college and not another one that I had been accepted to...

But decades later part of the problem between people of different races, ethnicities etc is that we usually don’t share experiences, and don’t really talk to each other in anything but surface, proscribed manners.

In a small but still meaningful way, exchanges like these on this forum help to bridge those communication/experiences gaps.

-end of comment-

ADDENDUM
I don't want to give the impression that after my teen years I stopped looking for some good White people (people who aren't prejudiced against Black people and other People of Color.) I'm STILL looking, and I've certainly found some.

And some White people who grew up not knowing any Black people are probably searching for some good Black people. But I think that for them "good Black people" are likely to be those that don't act like the negative stereotypes that they have consciously and/or unconsciously been taught. In my opinion, the difference between that and my search (and probably other Black people's searches) is that we're not trying to refute stereotypes of White people. We're trying to find examples of White people who don't kill people and discriminate against people, and shun people and otherwise mistreat people just because of their race.

But personal racism is only a part of the disease that threatens to destroy the United States [and other nations]. Both the root cause and the manifestation of that disease is institutional (systemic) racism such as that found in Fergurson, Missouri and throughout much of the United States.

I'm not going to repost the comments from the bloggers that I named in my second comment. However, I definitely believe that those comments are worth reading.

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What Did Darren Wilson Mean When He Said That Michael Brown Jr Was Like Hulk Hogan?

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post includes an excerpt from an article about the Grand Jury testimony of Darren Wilson, the White Ferguson, Missouri police officer who shot and killed unarmed Black teenager Mchael Brown, Jr on August 9, 2014 as well as further comments about that excerpt.

From http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/11/the_demonization_of_michael_brown.html

How Darren Wilson Demonized Michael Brown

For Michael Brown, the stereotypes that Darren Wilson believed proved to be deadly. By: Sophia A. Nelson, Posted: Nov. 25 2014 6:00 PM
"Stereotypes are dangerous. And for Michael Brown, they proved to be deadly.

"Of all that we heard Monday night about the St. Louis County grand jury’s decision not to indict Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing Brown, what kept me awake for hours after the announcement was made was Wilson’s testimony.

Testimony in which Wilson said that Brown “had the most intense, aggressive face. The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon; that’s how angry he looked.”

It was rife with imagery that dates back hundreds of years as it relates to how white men often perceive black men. His use of vivid language, describing Brown like “Hulk Hogan” while describing himself, in comparison, like a small child holding on for dear life, is troubling. This is the power and danger of racial “stereotypes.” "

Read a December 6, 2014 Update below from a blog post about "Giantg Negroes".

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INFORMATION ABOUT HULK HOGAN
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk_Hogan
"Terry Gene Bollea[6] (born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American professional wrestler, actor, television personality, entrepreneur, and musician currently signed with WWE.

Hogan enjoyed mainstream popularity in the 1980s and 1990s as the all-American character Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), and as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, the villainous nWo leader, in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). A regular pay-per-view headliner in both organizations, Hogan closed the respective premier annual events of the WWF and WCW, WrestleMania and Starrcade, on multiple occasions. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. He was signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2009 until 2013, where he was the on-screen General Manager.[7] IGN described Hogan as "the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the '80s".[8]

...Hogan frequently referred to his fans as "Hulkamaniacs" in his interviews and introduced his three "demandments": training, saying prayers, and eating vitamins. Eventually, a fourth demandment (believing in oneself) was added during his feud with Earthquake in 1990. Hogan's ring gear developed a characteristic yellow-and-red color scheme; his ring entrances involved him ritualistically ripping his shirt off his body, flexing, and listening for audience cheers in an exaggerated manner. The majority of Hogan's matches during this time involved him wrestling heels who had been booked as unstoppable monsters, using a format which became near-routine: Hogan would deliver steady offense, but eventually lose momentum, seemingly nearing defeat. Then after being hit with his opponents finishing move he would then experience a sudden second wind, fighting back while "feeding" off the energy of the audience, becoming impervious to attack—a process described as "Hulking up". His signature maneuvers—pointing at the opponent (which would later be accompanied by a loud "YOU!" from the audience), shaking his finger to scold him, three punches, an Irish Whip, the big boot and running leg drop—would follow and ensure him a victory. That finishing sequence would occasionally change depending on the storyline and opponent; for instance, with "Giant" wrestlers, the sequence might involve a body slam."
-snip-
Italics added by me to highlight those words.

Note that Hulk Hogan is a White American.

-snip-
HULKING UP AND DARREN WILSON'S USE OF THE TERM "BULKING UP"
The Hulk Hogan term "Hulking up" is quite similar to the term "bulking up" that Darren Wilson used in his Grand Jury testimony:
"As he is coming towards me, I tell, keep telling him to get on the ground. He doesn't. I shoot a series of shots. I don't know how many I shot. ... It looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I'm shooting at him." http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/26/infographic-darren-wilson-recounts-shooting-michael-brown/19538013/

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THE INCREDIBLE HULK
The name "Hulk Hogan and the terms "Hulking up" and "bulking up" probably have their origin in the comic book character "The Hulk" (also known as "The Incredible Hulk".
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk_(comics)
"The Hulk (Bruce Banner) is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). Throughout his comic book appearances, the Hulk is portrayed as a large green humanoid that possesses near limitless superhuman strength and great invulnerability, attributes that grow more potent the angrier he becomes. Hulk is the alter ego of Bruce Banner, a socially withdrawn and emotionally reserved physicist who physically transforms into the Hulk under emotional stress and other specific circumstances at will or against it; these involuntary transformations lead to many complications in Banner's life. When transformed, the Hulk often acts as a disassociated personality separate from Banner. Over the decades of Hulk stories, the Hulk has been represented with several personalities based on Hulk and Banner's fractured psyche, ranging from mindless savage to brilliant warrior"...
-snip-
Notice that the fictitious charcter Hulk is very big and is the color green.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/26/3597380/in-the-eyes-of-their-killers-trayvon-martin-and-mike-brown-were-the-same-person/ also focuses on Darren Wilson's description of Michael Brown Jr. as Hulk Hogan:
"Throughout his testimony, Wilson repeatedly referenced Brown’s size, calling him “really big,” “obviously bigger than I was,” and saying he felt “like a five-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan,” though the two men were about the same height.

Later, describing the moment right after he first fired the first bullet, he said Brown “looked up at me and had the most intense aggressive face. The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon.” In other places, he describes Brown in animalistic terms (“he made like a grunting, like aggravated sound”) and supernatural ones (“it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots”).

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THE STEREOTYPE OF BLACK MALES AS BUCK/BRUTE
Describing the Hulk in animalistic terms and as a mindless savage reminds me of the stereotype of Black males as "buck" and "brute":
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Buckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Buck
"According to popular stereotypes during the post-Reconstruction era, "Black Buck" was a black man (usually muscular or tall) who defies white will and is largely destructive to American society. He is usually hot-tempered, excessively violent, unintelligent, and sexually attracted to white women.[1] Most often, any attempt to restrain, reprimand, or re-educate the individual will fail, necessitating the individual's immediate execution (usually by lynching)."...
-snip-
From http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/brute/http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/brute/
"The brute caricature portrays black men as innately savage, animalistic, destructive, and criminal -- deserving punishment, maybe death. This brute is a fiend, a sociopath, an anti-social menace. Black brutes are depicted as hideous, terrifying predators who target helpless victims, especially white women. Charles H. Smith (1893), writing in the 1890s, claimed, "A bad negro is the most horrible creature upon the earth, the most brutal and merciless"(p. 181). Clifton R. Breckinridge (1900), a contemporary of Smith's, said of the black race, "when it produces a brute, he is the worst and most insatiate brute that exists in human form" (p. 174)...

During the Radical Reconstruction period (1867-1877), many white writers argued that without slavery -- which supposedly suppressed their animalistic tendencies -- blacks were reverting to criminal savagery. The belief that the newly-emancipated blacks were a "black peril" continued into the early 1900s. Writers like the novelist Thomas Nelson Page (1904) lamented that the slavery-era "good old darkies" had been replaced by the "new issue" (blacks born after slavery) whom he described as "lazy, thriftless, intemperate, insolent, dishonest, and without the most rudimentary elements of morality" (pp. 80, 163). Page, who helped popularize the images of cheerful and devoted Mammies and Sambos in his early books, became one of the first writers to introduce a literary black brute. In 1898 he published Red Rock, a Reconstruction novel, with the heinous figure of Moses, a loathsome and sinister black politician. Moses tried to rape a white woman: "He gave a snarl of rage and sprang at her like a wild beast" (pp. 356-358). He was later lynched for "a terrible crime."...

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DARREN WILSON'S DESCRIPTION OF MICHAEL BROWN, JR AS A DEMON AND THE DEPICTION OF THE DEVIL AS A BLACK MAN
Stereotyping Black males as brutes and savages goes far back to the early days of Christianity, and even earlier than that. I posted this inforrmation on the history of depicting the devil as a Black man in the discussion thread "Folklore: The Devil The Color Black" that I started in 2009 on the Mudcat folk music forum http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123578
:
"Here's a link to an article about Christianity & the depiction of the devil as the color black and as a Black person: http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/aah/sierichs_12_4.htm
"The Christian Origin of Racism: That Old Black Devil"
Part I by William Sierichs, Jr.

Here are some excerpts from that article:
"Christians had equated the color black with evil as early as the second century. In Satan—The Early Christian Tradition, historian Jeffrey Burton Russell said the second-century Epistle of Barnabas portrayed a war between God and Satan, with clear choices. One could follow a path to heaven, while a "road of darkness, under the power of 'the Black One,' leads to ruin. The equation of evil, darkness, and blackness, a source of later racial stereotypes, occurs here for the first time in Christian literature. The immediate sources of Barnabas' use of the terms 'black' and 'blackness' are Jewish, Ebonite, and Greek. Behind these is the Mazdaist idea of the darkness of Ahriman, and behind Ahriman is the worldwide, almost universal, use of blackness as a symbol of evil." Russell added that the Devil's dark color represented his lack of goodness and light, and did not have a racial connection—he might be black but have European features.

Some Christians from an early period, however, did depict Satan and his demons as African or in a context that linked black skin to Satan. An influential 4th-century biography said Satan repeatedly tempted the monk St. Anthony, who was living in the Egyptian desert, and once "he appeared to Anthony like a black boy, taking a visible shape in accordance with the colour of his mind. . . . ."

In a 7th-century biography of clergy in Merida, Spain, a man had a vision in which he saw "some hideous and terrifying Ethiopians, giants, most vile to behold in their darkness, so that from their restless gaze and jet-black faces he was given to understand as he saw them clearly that they were beyond doubt servants of hell." A similar linkage of the Devil to Africans also appeared in the "Passion of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity."
-snip-
It seems to me that the depiction of the Hulk was influenced by the much earlier depictions of the Black buck/Black brute and those depictions were influenced by the even earlier ideas about the devil as a Black man.

In that same Mudcat discusson thread I shared information about the German children's game of tag that is called "Whose afraid of the Black man?" Although Darren Wilson probable never heard of that game, it certainly seems to me that his words and actions that fateful night when he killed the unarmed 18 year old Black teenager Michael Brown, Jr-who was both tall and big- were very much influenced by the stereotypes of the Black male as brute, buck, Hulk, and the devil. That Darren Wilson also referred to Michael Brown, Jr as "it" and "demon" serve as further proof of my conclusions.

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UPDATE: December 6, 2014
From http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com/2007/07/attack-of-giant-negroes.html Tuesday, July 10, 2007 "Attack of the GIANT NEGROES!!" as quoted in http://www.vox.com/2014/11/25/7283327/michael-brown-racist-stereotypes ..."In 2007, a fascinating post from blogger Undercover Black Man spread through what was then quaintly known as "the blogosphere." The post highlighted newspapers' — particularly the New York Times' — obsession with "giant negroes," superhuman in strength and impervious to normal law enforcement methods, who terrorized police and civilians. From the turn of the 20th century until the 1930s, terrifying tales of "giant negroes" popped up regularly.
Here's a sample of how this played out in the Times:
• The September 24, 1900, edition included a double whammy: back-to-back stories about criminally insane negroes of "gigantic build," headlined "Giant Negro Attacks Police" and "Big Negro Spreads Terror."
• In 1897, the paper exclaimed, "Giant negro disables 4 policemen in fight." He was eventually felled by a baton blow to the head."...

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I Don't Do Nobody Nothin (African American Prison Work Song)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases a prison work song entitled "I Don't Do Nobody Nothin".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owner.

Thanks to the unknown composer and singer of this song for putting into words what is felt when people are unjustly treated because of their race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender orientation, and/or other things that some people wrongfully consider reasons for injustice.

Thanks also to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.

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SHOWCASE SOUND FILE - I don't do nobody nothin



RosieKeepinthepromis, Uploaded on May 5, 2009

***update*** I've turned off the comments for this video. I never thought I'd have to do that since I mainly just post historical music recording on this account. However, for some reason, this particular video drew ridiculous, and some racist, bickering in the comments. I just got tired of getting notices of comments on this video from the flame war back and forth. I hope to turn the comments back on in the future. Until then, maybe a time out will give certain people a chance to grow up, or at the very least to get a life.

This is a historical recording, and I feel it is important to our (everyone's) musical history. The reason why I post these on youtube is to make them easily accessible to everyone, particularly to people who might not have ever encountered it otherwise (from what I can tell, surfing youtube is a much more popular past time that surfing the Library of Congress website). Even if you don't enjoy this kind of music, or this song in particular, I hope that you will at least acknowledge that these kind of recordings are important from a historical standpoint.


This is a recording I got from the Library of Congress AFC 1939/001 2671b1. It is a recording of Rev. Nathaniel Hawkins, a.k.a. C.W. "Preacher" Smith and some other unidentified singers. Recorded in 1939 in Arkansas at the Cummins State Farm by John and Ruby Lomax.
Photo is also from Library of Congress call number LOT 7414-E, no. N137, may have been taken at Cummins State Farm 1934.

and here's the lyrics (roughly), if you hear something different, let me know!

Refrain: I don't do nobody nothin', Jesus
But they hates me just the same (repeat these two lines,) Oh, well, well, it's among that Christian family
That They cause my heart to pain
The sinner he don't know nothin' 'bout me oh lord
He don't carry my name;

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-snip-
"State farm" is a referent for a state prison.

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The Cultural Need For The "Happy To Be Nappy" Slogan

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post explores the cultural ramifications of the African American slogan "Happy to be Nappy". This post includes excerpt from books and online articles, examples of African American children's hair insult rhymes, and videos about the "happy to be nappy" slogan.

This post is presented for cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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GENERAL OVERVIEW
"Happy to be nappy" is an African American slogan that promotes acceptance and appreciation of the natural hair texture of many but not all African Americans and other people with Black African ancestry. That slogan, which is also given as "I'm happy to be nappy", has been used as the title of books, articles, and DVDs, and has been featured on t-shirts and other products.

I've not been able to identify who came up with the "happy to be nappy" slogan. Nor have I been able to determine the earliest documented date that it was used. However, author and activist bell hooks, indicated that that slogan predates her 1999 children's book Happy to Be Nappy (Jump at the Sun) which popularized that slogan. In that passage from her 2003 book Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem, bell hooks explains why that slogan was created:
...”When the issue of self-esteem was raised in relation to black people, it just assumed that racism was the primary factor creating low self-esteem. Consequently, when black public figures, most of whom were male at that time, began to address the issue of self-esteem, they focused on the impact of racism as a force that crippled our self-esteem.

Militant antiracist political struggles placed the issue of self-esteem for black people on the agenda. And it took the form of primarily discussing the need for positive images. The slogan “black is beautiful” was popularized in an effort to undo the negative racist iconography and representations of blackness that had been an accepted norm in visual culture. Natural hairstyles were offered to counter the negative stereotype that one could only be beautiful if one’s hair was straight and not kinky. “Happy to be nappy” was also a popular slogan among militant black liberation groups."
Source: Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem, bell hooks, [Google Books], page 2.
-snip-
A video of bell hooks' Happy To Be Nappy book is showcased as video example #1 below.

I'm not sure which "militant black liberation groups" used that saying or when. For what it's worth, from 1967-1969 I was a member of the Black cultural nationalist group, Committee For Unified Newark (CFUN). Members of that organization which was headed by Amiri Baraka for some of that time and subsequently chanted a number of slogans such as "It's nation time!" and "We are an African people. And while almost all the women and men in that group wore afros, I don't recall ever hearing or reading the slogan "happy to be nappy".

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SOME ATTITUDES AMONG BLACK PEOPLE ABOUT OUR NATURAL HAIR
Numerous online articles and blog posts have been written about Black people's attitudes about our hair. In a 2012 artice entitled "Nappy Hair – The Other “N” Word?" Dianne Shaddock wrote
"There’s more than one derogatory n-word in the English language. While “nappy” may not be quite as inflammatory as the other word, it still conjures up pain for too many African Americans...

Consider yourself fortunate if you grew up with a loving adult telling you that your natural hair was beautiful, and that kinky hair was to be admired. Unfortunately, too many black girls and boys have heard the term “nappy” in a different light; it’s hurled as an insult. As a result, it’s practically considered a fighting word for many.

When it comes out of the mouths of non-black people, it’s even worse. Don Imus called an entire women’s basketball team “nappy headed” and was swiftly fired from his radio show. An elementary school teacher read the book Nappy Hair to her class as a way to teach pride to her mostly minority students. A controversy ensued and the teacher ended up having to transfer to another school due to the negative publicity."
Source: http://www.naturalhaircarenews.com/2012/08/04/nappy-hair-the-other-n-word-happy-to-be-nappy/
-snip-
Click http://www.carolivia.org/nappyhair/ for information about Carolivia Herron's 1998 book Nappy Hair.

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Here's a link for "Young Black Nappy"'s Facebook page uhttps://www.facebook.com/youngblacknappy

"Young Black Nappy shared a link [about a photography exhibition about Black hair:
November 16, 2014.
“I’m talking about how difficult is it to be a woman of color and be accepted as beautiful in terms of our hair... It’s less about a divisive body of work, where I’m criticizing hair that’s a certain way. It’s more or less about embracing that hair comes in all textures and curl patterns and can be worn in any way. Black hair is a multiplicity of things.” - Artist Nakeya Brown via For Harriet

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EXAMPLES OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN'S HAIR INSULT RHYMES
Note: I've been collecting examples of African American playground rhymes since 1985. I've found very few references to hair in those rhymes. Excluding the "bald head" references* in "Yo mama, yo daddy, yo bald headed granny" and in "Fudge Fudge Call The Judge" rhymes, and the mention of a baby with a curl in the latter rhymes, and excluding the mention of a girl with "strawberry curls" in the "My Boyfriend's Name Is" rhymes, I've only come across three examples of Black children's rhymes that mention hair. And those examples can clearly be considered taunting (insult) rhymes. Here are those examples:

*Read my comment after Example #2 about hair length preferences in the United States.

Example #1:
My husband actually taught my daughter's a song that he remembered as a child in the late 60s/early 70s.

Hey you, over there, with the nappy nappy hair.
My back is achin' my pants too tight, my bootie shakin' from the left to right
M' Gowa, Black Power, yo' mama needs a shower.
Destroy, little boys, soul sister number nine, sock it to me one more time.
Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!
-GUEST,Shamiere, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300 "Children's Street Songs", March 24, 2004
-snip-
The verse "My back is achin' my pants too tight, my bootie shakin' from the left to right" is found in the now relatively widely known cheer or hand clap rhyme "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train".

"'Gowa" is a folk processed form of the word "Ungawa". That line and the next one are found in a number of African American children's rhymes. But they may be best known now because of their inclusion in the movie Big's version of the rhyme "Down Down Baby".

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Example #2:
All: Gaaaytors
Gaaaytors

Directions:
Clap two times and and then stomp four times. Repeat this entire sequence two more times.

This cheer starts with the group facing forward. The first time the word "Gaaaytors" [an elongated form of the word "Gators"] is said, the group turns to their right while clapping two times and stomping four times. The second time, the group turns to the back. The third time the group turns to their left. And the fourth time the group turns to face the front again.

While the group is facing the front the first soloist says a two line rhyming verse. Neither the group nor the soloist steps during that recitation.

Soloist: Gator’s aint wid it
So Homewood betta quit it

[Return to the "Gators “chorus” and begin doing the step moves again. Ideally, the next soloist would chant another verse with the same pattern and with the same theme. The chorus is always chanted after each verse.

Here are three other verses that the contributor of this cheer chanted for me:

Homewood betta chill out
cause I’ll put their tracks out [tracks= hair weaves]

Homewood betta chill out
before Sha’ona come and lay ‘em out
Or
Homewood betta laugh and cheer
But they can’t really got no hair

{Sha’ona said she learned this from hearing the cheerleaders do this in 2006]
-Sha'ona (African American girl, Fort Pitt Elementary School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collected by Azizi Powell, 2007
-snip-
This is an example of a confrontational (insult) foot stomping cheer that is chanted by the cheerleaders associated with that children's community based football team. "Foot stomping cheers" is my term for these cheers to distinguish them from mainstream cheerleader cheers.

The Garfield Gators" is the name of children's football teams which are based in the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That neighborhood is predominately Black. One of the Gators' arch rivals -in football and otherwise -is "Homewood", a nereby Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania neighborhood that is also predominately Black.

Notice that it's considered an insult to say that a girl has no hair. The hair preference in the United States for females is
not just for straight or moderately curly hair, but also for long straight or moderately curly hair. That aesthetic preference results in the billon dollar hair industry for hair weaves and wigs. And, given the strong preference for and strong desire for long hair, I believe that references to "baldheaded granny" and "bald headed baby" in playground rhymes are meant to be insults and not just statements of facts. For example, here's an example that was posted to http://www.inthe00s.com/archive/inthe80s/smf/1109960765.shtml "Those clapping songs" on 03/04/05 by bratzdan78:

"hot shot baby
chicken and gravy
here comes a lady
with a bald head baby
*point to other person* THATS YOU"

****
Example #3:
bald-head scallywag, ain't got no hair in da back
gelled up weaved up, yo hair is messed up.
perm and relaxer, you betta ask her
twist and turn, it's gonna burn.
-no name given, http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/how-many-of-you-can-recallold-school-chants_topic270052_page2.html "How many of you can recall...Old School Chants", Jul 15 2010
-snip-
"Perm [permanent] and relaxer" refers to ways to straighten tightly curled [nappy, kinky] hair using chemical products. Often those products burn.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These three videos were produced to counteract negative socialization about Black people's hair and help Black females in particular, but also Black males' accept and celebrate our hair. These examples are given in no particular order.

Example #1:Happy to Be Nappy

.

Scott Nagatani, Published on Aug 17, 2014

This video is a children's book, Happy to Be Nappy, set to music.
-snip-
This is the bell hooks book that is mentioned earlier in this post. Chris Raschka is the book's illustrator.

****
Example #2: Happy to be Nappy / Sankofa Kids



Sankofa Kids, Published on Jun 4, 2012

Happy to be Nappy by Aset Brathwaite

www.sankofakids.com [no longer accessible]
-snip-
Here's that poem/affirmation as given in the sub-titles from this video:

They twist, join together and sometimes do what they want to do.

They’re not dreadful so don’t call them DREADS.

Of course they are long and grow really fast

When my mommy ties them up they always last.

I don’t need a comb or brush just catus never grease or moose* [

I love my natural hair and that’s what I choose.

What’s that?

Ohhhhhhh they are tight curls some call them naps.

I’m so amazed my hair can do that.

It’s cool to be free and to be ME!

I AM SO HAPPY TO BE NAPPY
-snip-
*moose = mouse
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_mousse
..."Hair mousse adds volume to hair and often provides both conditioning and hold, without any clumps or build-up. It is a hairstyling product which works by using synthetic resins to coat the hairs, and assist the hair in taking shape [3]. Hair mousse is purple while in the can and turns an off-white color upon coming in contact with the air."
-snip-
My guess is that the reference in this affirmation to "catus" means a type of natural oil from catus plants.

****
Example #3: Happy To Be Nappy! Natural Hairstyles



JahGydes, Uploaded on Oct 24, 2008

celebration of black hair, sistahs don't be ashamed of your hair, be happy to be nappy! one love

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RELATED LINKS
Other self-esteem videos:
I really love my hair – Sesame Street 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enpFde5rgmw

I Love My Beautiful Brown Skin by Sankofa Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oNshv4WgQo

and

I Love My Beautiful Brown Skin by Sankofa Kids [not the same video as given above]
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdpbihtpEjs
-snip-
Pancocojams posts about the rhymes and cheers that are mentioned in this post can be found by putting that title in the internal search engine or by clicking the "children's rhymes and cheers"
tag below.

Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/02/good-hair-bad-hair-black-attitudes.html for a pancocojams post about
'Good Hair & Bad Hair (Black Attitudes About Our Hair)"
****
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Visitor comments are welcome.

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Early Examples Of The Children's Rhyme "What's Your Name Puddin Tane"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents examples of the rhyme "Puddin Tane" (or similarly sounding words). These examples are date from the 16th century on.

This post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
COMMENTS ABOUT THE RHYME "PUDDIN TANE"
These comments are presented in chronological order accordint to their posting date online, with the oldest comments given first.

COMMENT #1:
From: http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0110A&L=ads-l&P=R5702 [link no longer working]
Subject: Pudding tame
From: "Douglas G. Wilson"
Reply-To: American Dialect Society <[log in to unmask]>
Date: October 4, 2001
"Of course in researching the history of "poontang" I came upon remarks to the effect that this word seems to be reflected in a children's rhyme (still current, I think) along the lines of
What's your name?
Pudding tame.
[Ask me again and I'll tell you the same.]

In fact "pudding tame" and variants (pudding/puddin' [and] tame/tane/tang) are used today with the sense "I won't tell you my name" (e.g., often as a 'handle' or pen-name on the Internet, = "Anonymous"). The expression was used in the "X-files" TV program in 1999.

The rhyme appeared in the US by 1895, when it was cited in "Dialect Notes". Already we're out of the "poontang" milieu, I think; but in case there's any doubt, I find quoted from 1861 a version supposedly from ca. 1825 (apparently from Sussex?):
What's yer naüm?
Pudding and taüm.

Back a little further (ca. 1590), I find reason to believe there was approximately:
[What is your name?]
Pudding of Thame.

Now at least the expression has some surface sense, maybe. Thame is a place-name -- in particular a town in Oxfordshire, I believe. So "pudding of Thame" might have been the name of a food, perhaps similar (or at least analogous) to Oxford sausage, say. Still the expression is meaningless in the context, and I wonder whether

(1) it might even earlier have been something else ("pudding at home"? "Pudding Tom"? "pudding time"?) which maintained the rhyme in some early or regional pronunciation, and whether
(2) there is some recognizable double-entendre or other joke here in16th-century (or earlier) English.

Any ideas?
-- Doug Wilson
-snip-
This is the complete post from that site. It was referenced in a discussion of the word "poontang" by the "take my word for it" website http://www.takeourword.com/pt.html "The Etymology of Slang Sexual Terms." That take my word for it page included a hyperlink [that is now broken] to the comment that's given above along with this statement: "He [linguist Doug Wilson ] concludes that the two [poontang and Puddin Tane] are not related, and he gives some good evidence."
-snip-
I've re-formatted this post to make it easier to read

****
COMMENT #2:
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034 Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky, posted by Jim Dixon, April 11, 2009
The quote from McDougal* reminds me of a parallel smart-alecky reply:
"What's your name?" – "Puddentain. [However you spell it.] Ask me again, I'll tell you the same."
I learned that from a "Little Rascals/Our Gang" comedy that was shown on TV when I was a kid in the 1950s. (Who said it? Stymie?)

– but it goes back at least to –

From The Beulah Spa (a play) by Charles Dance (London: John Miller, 1833):
MAG. ... What is her name?

HEC. Pudding and tame—if you ask me again I shall tell you the same.
-snip-
The words "the quote from McDougal" refer to a blogger's comment that is unrelated to this subject.

****
COMMENT #3:
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=104417 "Folklore: Puddin Tane & Other Rhyming Sayings" [hereafter known as Mudcat: Puddin Tane]
- posted by Lighter, September 16, 2007
Alice Kane was born in 1908 and grew up in Ulster. Her book, Songs and Sayings of an Ulster Childhood, written with Edith Fowke, includes the following:

"What's your name?" - Mary Jane.
"Where do you live?" - Down the lane.

Her mother knew,

"What's your name?" - Curds and cream' (pronounced crame)
"What they call you?" - Pudgy dolly.

I suppose "call ye" sort of rhymes with "dolly."
-snip-
“Uster” is a province in the northern part of Ireland.

****
COMMENT #4:
From Mudcat: Puddin Tane, posted by kytrad*, September 15, 2007
Well I'm older than all of you, and our KY mountain village was quite isolated until just after the turn of the last century, early 1900s, thereabouts. We had never heard the word 'poontang,' but we did have the rhyme under discussion. Here's how it goes:

What's your name?
Puddin & Tame
Where d'you live?
Up the lane
Where d'you go?
Go to school
What d'you sit on?
Sit on a stool
What d'you look like?
Look like a fool!

There may have been one or two other rhymes in there- can't remember it all just now. It was said only for the fun of the rhyming, and sometimes for tricking someone into saying, "look like a fool," when all the gang would laugh at the joke.
-snip-
*”kytrad” is the Mudcat forum screen name for the acclaimed American folk singer Jean Ritchie

****
COMMENT #5:
From Mudcat: Puddin Tane, posted by Azizi, September 1, 2007

The following examples are from this resource: Western Folklore, Vol. 13, No. 2/3 (1954), pp. 190-198 - "Children's Taunts, Teases, and Disrespectful Sayings from Southern California," by Ray B. Browne.

{h/t to Joe Offer for pointing out this article in his post on Mudcat's "Depression Era Children's song" thread}

[Note: the numbers ascribed to these examples by the article's author]
27a.
What's your name?
Pudd'n Tame.
Ask me again
And I'll tell you the same.

27b.
What's your name?
Pudd'n Tame.
Where do you live?
Down the lane.
Ask me again
And I'll tell you the same.

[footnotes: from California, also from Alabama, ca. 1935; cf. Musick, 432; for one version same, and one: "What's your name / John Brown / ask me again / and I'll knock you down."]

27c
What's your name?
President Monroe
Ask me again
And you still won't know.

****
COMMENT #6: From Mudcat: Puddin Tane - These words were first posted by Snuffy and the ending rhyme was added by Bryn Pugh who indicated that he remembered that entire rhyme from 1949

What's your name?
Mary Jane
Where d'you live?
Down the grid
What house?
Mickey Mouse
What number?
Cucumber
What street?
Pig's feet
What shop
Lollipop

****
COMMENT #7
From Mudcat: Puddin Tane, Azizi Powell, remembrances from my childhood [Atlantic City, New Jersey,in the 1950s]
What’s your name?
Puddin Tane
Ask me again and I’ll tell you the same. [mid to late 1950s?]

[also]

What’s the word?
Thunderbird. [early to mid 1960s?]
-snip-
"Thunderbird" was (is?) a brand name for a cheap bottle of drinking alcohol.

****
[Note: The last three commenters don't include any dates in their remembrances of these rhymes.]

COMMENT #8: From Mudcat: Puddin Tane, posted by Guest, Young Buchan, October 7, 2007
As children in Suffolk, if someone asked 'What's your name?' we always eplied Puddeny Crane, from a rhyme which I always assumed was widespread, but may not have been, since I tried googling various bits of it and didn't get a huge response:
What's your name? Puddeny Crane
Where do you live? Down the lane
What do you keep? A little shop
What do you sell? Candy floss [or sometime lollipops]
-snip-
I think this blogger means Suffolk, UK.

****
COMMENT #9: From Mudcat: Puddin Tane, posted by Guest Schuyer, October 11, 2010
I remember this from a song my sibling, friends, and I sang when we was in a kid. It went:

What's your name?
Puddin' Tane.
Where do you live?
Down the lane.
What's your phone number?
Cucumber.
What'd you eat?
Pigs feet.
What'd you drink?
A bottle of ink.

I believe there was also a part after saying "A bottle of ink" where we said "to make you stink" or something like that

****
COMMENT #1O: From Mudcat-Puddin Tane , posted by Guest Patience, September 7, 2011

When I was a child, my Dad would teach me to say:

What's your name? Puddin' Tane.
Where do you live? Down the lane.
What's your number? Cucumber.
What do you eat? Bread and meat.

Hence, my Dad and one of the next door neighbors always used to call me "Puddin'".

****
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An Overview Of Foot Stomping Cheers, Part II - Cheer Examples

Edited by Azizi Powell

[revised November 20, 2014]

This is Part II of a post on foot stomping cheers. This post provides examples of foot stomping cheers from four different categories of those cheers.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/an-overview-of-foot-stomping-movement.html for Part I of this post. Part I provides a general overview of the textual structure and performance of foot stomping cheers. Part I also includes my theories about the sources of this children's recreational activity.

I coined the term "foot stomping cheers" in 2000 to distinguish examples of that category from other cheerleader cheers. However, it appears from my direct collection and from my online collection that girls usually referred to these examples as "cheers". Sometimes they were called "chants" or "steps".

Also note that these posts on foot stomping cheers aren't about stomp cheers "stomps". The structure (words) and performance (movements) of stomp cheers may be the same as, slightly different from, or very different from the structure (words) and performance (movements) of foot stomping cheers. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/11/how-stomp-cheers-differ-from-foot.html "How Stomp Cheers Differ From Foot Stomping Cheers".

****
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
PART II: CATEGORIES OF FOOT STOMPING CHEERS
I've identified four main categories of foot stomping cheers.
These categories may be combined in various cheers. Those categoriess are
Introductory cheers
Confrontational (bragging, insult) cheers
Other bragging cheers
and
Dance style cheers
-snip-
Here's information about and examples of those cheers:

INTRODUCTORY CHEERS
These cheers serve the purpose of introducing members of the group -one at a time- to their imaginary audience. In these cheers girls state their name and/or their nickname, and may also state other personal information such as their favorite color, what they want to be when they grow up, their astrological (sun) sign, their boyfriend's name etc.

Two example of an introductory foot stomping cheer:
Group: Hey, Shaquala!
Soloist #1: Yo! *
Group: Innn-TRO-duce yourself.
Soloist #1: No way.
Group: Innn-TRO-duce yourself.
Soloist #1: Okay.
My name is Shaquala.
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1:They call me Quala.
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1: My sign is Aries
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1: I like to dance
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1: I wanna be a dancer for the rest of my life.
-T.M.P.; Pittsburgh, PA mid. 1980s; transcribed from audio tape by Azizi Powell, 1997
-snip-
*"Yo" was changed to "What" when that vernacular word became outdated.

Notice that there are no confrontational (threatening) or insult lines in this example.

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWG4AX09mqQ
for a video example of "Introduce Yourself" (prom scene) from the 2006 American cheerleader movie Bring It On: All Or Nothing (Note that the performance movements of this cheer have been significantly modified.)

**
CONFRONTATIONAL (bragging/insult) foot stomping cheer
These cheers focus on the chanters confronting (saying threatening words to) an unnamed opponent or opponents. The chanter brags about herself, and also may insult (dis) that opponent

Two examples of confrontational foot stomping cheers:
Example #1: HULA HULA
Hula hula
Now who thinks they bad
Hula hula
Now who thinks they bad
I think I’m bad
‘Cause Acie my name
And toys is my game
Take a sip of my potion
And dance in slow motion
Uh-huh
She thinks she bad
Baby baby don’t make me mad
Un-huh
She thinks she cool
Baby baby don’t act a fool
Uh-huh
She think she sweet
Sweetest person you ever meet
Uh-huh
She thinks she fine
Baby baby I’ll blow your mind
-Barbara Michels and Bettye White, Editors: Apple On A Stick, The Folklore of Black Children (Putnam Juvenile; First Edition November 11, 1983)
-snip-
"Bad" here means "very good".

****
Example #2: CALL REPUTATION (also known as "Razzle Dazzle")
my name is yonnqa
i'm number one
my reputation has just begun
so if you see me
step a side
cause i don't take no jive
oh think she cool
correction baby
i no i'm cool
i no karate
i no kunfu
you miss with me
i co it on you*
rasasol o dazzo o ox2 **
-yaya, cocojams.com, 2/23/2007
-snip-
*"co" here is probably a typo for "do"
**"ox2" probably means "repeat two times.
-snip-
"Shabooya Roll Call" is another example of a confrontational foot stomping cheer. Here's a video of that cheer from the 2006 Bring It On: All Or Nothing:

Bring It on: Shabooya Roll Call



Angel Arrieta, Published on Jun 9, 2013

shabooya roll cal from bring it on all or nothing
-snip-
"Shabooya Roll Call" is included in Spike Lee's 1996 movie Get On The Bus, it is best known from the 2006 cheerleader movie series Bring It On: All Or Nothing.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/right-rhyming-pattern-for-shabooya-roll.html for a pancocojams post on Shabooya Roll Call.
-snip-
The cheer entitled "U.G.L.Y" that was in that same Bring It On movie and was also in the 1986 movie Wildcats doesn't have a call & response structure. Instead, it is said in unison. Therefore, "U.G.L.Y"it's not a foot stomping cheer. Click http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/childrens-taunting-rhymes-m-z.html for the words to that cheer.i

****
OTHER BRAGGING FOOT STOMPING CHEERS
In some examples in this category, the chanters brag about their group (their athletic team or school). In other examples the chanters brag about their boyfriend/s. These cheers have less insult content then confrontational foot stomping cheers.

Two examples of other bragging foot stomping cheers:
Example #1: L-O-V-E
All: L-O-V-E. L-O-V-E. L-O-V. L-O-V.
L-O-V-E.
Soloist #1: Well, Kayla’s my name.
And love is my game.
I got this boy on my mind.
And Lord knows he’s fine.
He calls me his girl,
His number 1 girl.
I don’t know his sign
But Taurus is mine.
All: L-O-V-E. L-O-V-E. L-O-V. L-O-V.
L-O-V-E.
Soloist #2 : Well Tamika's my name.
And love is my game.
I got this boy on my mind.
And Lord knows he’s fine.
I got his name on my shirt.
And don't call it dirt.
All: L-O-V-E. L-O-V-E. L-O-V. L-O-V.
L-O-V-E
Soloist #3 : Keisha's name.
And love is my game
I got this boy on my mind
and he sure is fine.
Blue is my color
Don't you worry 'bout my lover.
All: L-O-V-E. L-O-V-E. L-O-V. L-O-V.
L-O-V-E
Tazi M. Powell (remembrance of Pittsburgh, PA. in the mid 1980s), Collected by Azizi Powell, 2/1996

****
Example #2: FLY GIRL
All: Fly girl
Fly girl
Fly girl One
Fly girl Two
Pump it up Teresa
See what you do.
Soloist #1:(Oh) my name is Teresa
and I’m a fly girl
It takes a lot of men
to rock my world.
‘cause I can fly like a butterfly
sting like a bee
and that’s way they call me
Sexy
-Tazi M. Powell, (African American female, memories of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mid 1980s (audio-tape made in late 1980s and transcribed in 1996)
-snip-
"Fly Girl" means an attractive, hip female (one who is up to date with the latest urban culture fashions, lingo, dances etc)

****
DANCE STYLE FOOT STOMPING CHEERS
These cheers provide opportunities for the group and its individual members to show off their dance (and/or stepping) moves. These cheers often mention one or more (then) popular dances. Dance style foot stomping cheers are much less confrontational than cheers in that other category. While dance style foot stomping cheers may include some bragging words, they
usually include little or no insults. Consequently, the cheer performers (stompers/steppers) ddn't act surly or as aggressive as they play act during the chanting of confrontational foot stomping cheers. Many of dance style cheers can be immediately recognizable by the "Hey (person's name) Show me" lines that begin those cheers.

***
Two examples of a dance style foot stomping cheer:

Example #1: GET DOWN
Group (including the first soloist) - I saida D. O. W. N
And that's the way we get down.
D. O. W. N.
And that's the way we get down."
Group (excluding the first soloist) - Hey, Shayla
Shayla - What?
Group- Hey, Shayla
Shayla - What?
Group - Show me how you get down.
Shayla - No way.
Group- Show me how you get down.
Shayla - Okay.
[Shayla does a hip swinging dance while saying]
I saida D. O. WN.
And that's the way
And that's the way
And that's the way I get down.
[Group does dance with Shayla and says]
Group - She saida D. O. WN.
And that's the way
And that's the way
And that's the way she gets down.
-T.M.P, mid 1980s, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; collected by Azizi Powell
-snip-
This foot stomping cheer starts again from the beginning with the next soloist who says the same soloist lines but traditionally isn't supposed to repeat the same foot stomping/dance routine. This pattern continues until every member has had one turn as soloist.

****
Example #2: MOVE GIRL
You betta move
girl you betta move.
[say both lines(3x)]
Now drop it low
Drop it low.
Drop it low
Drop it low
-Shaw High School [transcription of the video given below]
-snip-
* Thanks to tknight51, lauren patton, and PrincessAmandaTVfor adding comments to this video's comment thread which indicated that the girls were saying "drop it low".
-snip-
Notice that the soloist's name isn't called. And, unlike most other foot stomping cheers, the soloist doesn't speak, but does her own dance while the others chant. "Now drop it low" means to dance down [close] to the ground, and then comee back up.

****
Here are two video examples of dance style foot stomping cheers:
Example #1: Shaw Cheerleaders "Move Girl"



Brandon Thurman, Uploaded on Jan 9, 2011

Shaw High School Cheerleaders Before the game hype
-snip-
The words to this cheer are given above.

**
Example #2: Dailey Tigers "Rock Steady"



daileytigers, Published on Nov 17, 2012

Cheerleaders
-snip-
Unlike the "standard" structure for foot stomping cheers, the cheer begins with a soloist's voice.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/rock-steady-childrens-cheer-examples.html for a pancocojams post on the "Rock Steady" cheer.

****
This concludes Part II of this post on foot stomping cheers.

Thanks to the unknown composer/s of these cheers. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, the performers who are featured in these videos, and the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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How Stomp Cheers Differ From Foot Stomping Cheers

Edited by Azizi Powell

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FOOT STOMPING CHEERS
In the early part of 2000s I coined the term "foot stomping cheers" to refer to a sub-set of American children's and teenagers' cheerleader cheers. The earliest examples of those cheers that I've found are from the 1970s, and up to at least the beginning of the 21st century those cheers appear to have usually been performed informally as part of the receational activities of two or more African American girls between the ages of 6-12 years old.

The term "foot stomping cheers" refers to the characteristic group/consecutive structure of children's (and less often) teens' recreational (informally performed) cheers. "Foot stomping cheers" also refers to the characteristic manner of performing those cheers, choreographed, synchronized, percussive foot stomps that alternate with individual hand claps, and body pats.

The words of foot stomping cheers may be mostly confrontational and self-bragging, or they may mostly focus on introducing individual nmembers of the group. Other foot stomping cheers simply provide opportunities for the individual members one at a time to show their dance moves.

GENERAL DESCRIPTIONS OF FOOT STOMPS (STOMPS)
The term "stomp cheers" ("stomps") appears to have been coined in the early 2000s as a referent for certain types of cheers and chants that are performed by children and teenagers (usually females), ages 5-18 years old, who are members of athletic teams' cheer squads. Most stomp cheer videos on YouTube feature White American female teenagers.

I believe that stomp cheers are an adaptation of - if not appropriation of- African American originated foot stomping cheers that are often combined with the African American orginated cheer/chant performance styles of stepping, and, less often, stomp and shake cheerleading. But then again, instead of an appropriation, stomp cheers could be considered a folk processed form of that performance art or performance art forms.

STOMP CHEER THEMES
Stomp cheers may focus on introduction. However, unlike foot stomping cheer, the introduction often is of the cheer squad itself and not its individual members.

The words to stomp cheers may also provide an opportunity for the squad to dance as a group or as individuals. Some stomp cheers are confrontational, but usually not as much as foot some foot stomping cheers. And the bragging that occurs in stomp cheers is often bragging about the athletic team, or the school, and not the individual members.

Stomp cheers also focus on the actual game (for instance calling for more offense or defense.) And those cheers also directly address the crowd (for instance, asking the crowd to repeat a line in a chant.) Since foot stomping cheers usually have no audience, they don't include any references to an audience.

Some stomp cheers may repeat themselves with a new soloist after one rendition of that cheer. However, unlike foot stomping cheers, every member of the cheerleading squad may not get a turn as the soloist for that cheer, or they may not get an equal turn (a turn for the same amount of time.)

In my opinion, the "attitude" and "tone" are the main differences between the chanting that's done in stomp cheers and the chanting that's done in foot stomping cheers, historically Black Greek letter fraternity/sorority stepping, and stomp and shake cheerleading. In most of the stomp cheer videos I've seen, when they are chanting confrontational/bragging cheers, the White stomp cheerleaders in those videos don't have the super-confident, don't mess with me, aggressive, come to battle demeanor (play acting or otherwise) that is integal to those cheers. Also, the foot stomping movements often seem to mechanical to me. By "mechanical" I mean that not only are the stomps and other movements in the stomp routine not crisp (tight, sharp, on point), but it often seems as though the cheerleaders are performing the movements machine like, from memory but without any spirit or energy.

STOMP CHEER PERFORMANCE MOVES
Many but not all stomp cheers include the word "stomp" and a brief stomp clap routine. However, the beat pattern of stomp cheers may differ from that of foot stomping cheers. And in some stomp cheers the same beat pattern isn't done in a metronone manner throughout the entire cheer as is the case with foot stomping cheers.

Also, it appears that the stomp cheer performances incorporate, or attempt to successfully incorporate, elements from historically Black (African American) fraternity/sorority stepping, and/or stomp and shake cheerleading.

Apart from whether stepping performances in mainstream cheerleading are done well, I think that stomp cheer squads aren't aware that it is socially incorrect (bad form) to perform, even in a modified manner, the distinctive signature step moves and/or chants/cheers that are associated with a particular historically Black Greek fraternity/sorority or a stomp and cheer cheerleading team. Those moves/chants are only performed by members of those particular organizations, or- with regard to university stomp and shake cheer squads, those cheers and their signature movements may be performed by a high school squad who were taught them by members of that particular university's cheer squad who composed and choreographed those cheers. Of course, given YouTube, it has become increasingly much easier to learn other organizations' and cheer squads' steps and cheers. But performing them instead of creating your own means that the group is considered to be lacking in creativity, and been seen as culturally appropriating cultural products, even though its not illegal to do so.

I'm not sure if cheer squads purposely incorporate the moves, and tunes (if not the actual chants) of fraternity/sorority step teams, or stomp and cheer squads because they weren't aware that there are differences between the way that foot stomping cheers, stepping, and stomp and shake cheerleading is done.

I've also noticed in almost all videos of the foot stomping cheer "Shabooya Roll Call" cheer includes swaying back and forth instead of doing foot stomps (steps). The 2006 Bring It On: All Or Nothing movie which featured that cheer as well as the "Introduce Yourself" cheer that included some "Shabooya Roll Call" lines showed two different ways of performing those cheers. In the cafeteria scene in that movie, two African American girls and one Latina girl do a foot stomp routine that changes to some motions that may have been patterned after exaggerated forms of stomp and shake cheer movements. I think that was probably because stomping was considered to be too difficult for those actresses to credibly perform. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWG4AX09mqQ for a video of the "Introduce Yourself" scene from that Bring It On: All Or Nothing movie.

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TEXT (WORD) EXAMPLES OF STOMP CHEERS

Example #1:
Cheerleaders: Hey Cherokees!
Crowd: Hey What!
Cheerleaders: Let me see you get down! Let me see you shake it!
Crowd: No way!
Cheerleaders: Jump shake your booty! Jump! Jump! Shake your booty!
Cheerleaders: Hey Cherokees!
Crowd: Hey What!
Cheerleaders: Let me see you get down! Let me see you shake it!
Crowd: Okay!
Cheerleaders: Jump shake your booty! Jump! Jump! Shake your booty!
Cherokees! We wanna see you stomp (stomp) and shake it! (repeat)
-SEXYTAYLOR17, http://cheerleading.about.com/od/collectionofcheers/l/blcheer3.htm
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/an-overview-of-foot-stomping-movement.html for an example of "Get Down".

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Example #2:
Irish fans in the stands,
let me hear you clap your hands.
(clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap)
Now that you've got the beat, let me hear you stomp your feet
(stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp)
Now that you've got the groove, let me see your body move
Ahuga ahah Ahuga (clap clap)
-SEXYTAYLOR17, http://cheerleading.about.com/od/collectionofcheers/l/blcheer3.htm

-snip-
"Irish" is probably part of the team name or part of the name of the high school.

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Example #3:
You may be good at Football
You may be good at Track
But when it comes to Wrestling
You better watch your Back
Cadets Attack!
(Stomp, Clap, Stomp Stomp, Clap, Stomp Stomp, Clap Clap, Stomp Stomp, Clap)
Repeat Once
Repeat Cheer and Stomp and Clap
-no name given, http://cheerleading.about.com/od/cheerschantsyells/a/cheers100.htm

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Example #4:
The one i learned when i was in 5th grade was (out mascot was an eagle so we replaced girls with eagles):

Bang bang choo choo train
Come on Eagles do your thing
Peanut better reese cup
Mess with us, see whats up
To the front to the back to the front back side side
Let me see your butterfly
And shake and shake your funky little hips
Now i want you and you too cheer with me too
-Amanda,cocojams.com, June 21, 2012

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VIDEO EXAMPLES OF STOMP CHEERS
These examples are presented in no particular order.

Example #1: Stomp Cheer



kmt122181, Uploaded on Jul 14, 2008

Stomp Cheer
-anip-
The narrator says "You have to remember that the most difficult thing about this cheer is keeping the beat". The neat pattern these girls are using for this routine as superimposed on the screen is
"stomp x stomp stomp x stomp stomp xx stomp stomp x" ["x" = clap]
-snip-
There are two standard beat patterns for foot stomping cheers. Those patterns remind consistent throughout almost all cheers. They are either "stomp x stomp stomp x" or "stomp stomp x stomp stomp x">
-snip-
I think that if these girls had raised their feet higher off the ground, they would have gotten a deeper bass tone. That bass is what steppers doing foot stomping cheers want to achieve.

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Example #2: Reno Cheerleading Stomp



Anne Goodman. Published on Mar 25, 2013
2011 RHS
-snip-
The switching movements that this cheer squad does before they begin their routine reminds me of the switching, preening movements that are a signature feature of the historically Black Greek letter sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpvlfWVYX6s

That type of female preening isn't at all a part of stomp and shake cheerleading. That switching movements also doesn't occur as a prelude to foot stomping cheers - although girls often shake their hips during
their solo portion of those cheers. Also,
for a video of those same movements by those sorors.

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Example #3: Sikeston Cheer 2014 Stomp



T&Cs Dad, Published on Apr 11, 2014
-snip-
Click for another stomp vide of this cheer squad. Both videos really remind me of the signature, distinctive step style of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. The chant in the video that is embedded in this post also is a lot like (same tune as) a Que (Omega Psi Phi) chant that is well known to those who are familiar with historically Black Greek letter fraternities.

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Example #4: Cheer Squad Stomp During Pep Rally



Shelly Tan,Uploaded on Aug 10, 2010

The 09-10 JV and Freshman Cheerleaders doing a stomp for the Bird Bowl Pep Rally! :)

i had a blast with these girls, some of my bestest friends EVER.
-snip-
I think that this cheer squad didn't convey the attitude and spirit that I believe is an integral part of foot stomping cheer performances, or that I think should be an integral part of stomp cheer performances. Also, a cheer squads performance would make the audieence be attentive. The cheerleaders don't have to tell the crowd to be quiet. Actually, in the case of stomp and shake cheerleaders, or historically Black fraternity or sorority step teams, the cheer squad wants to raise the enthusiasm of the crowd (pump them up). They don't want the crowd to be quiet.

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RELATED LINK
http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-african-american-sources-of-bring.html The African American Sources Of Bring It On (2000 & 2006) Movies Cheers

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Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to those who published these videos on YouTube.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Shirley Caesar - "Shouting John "(Hold My Mule) videos, lyrics, and comments

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases two videos of Shirley Caesar singing the Gospel song "Shouting John" (also known as "Hold My Mule". The basic lyrics to "Shouting John" and an explanation of story of that song are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for religious and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Shirley Caesar for her musical legacy. And thanks to the publisher of these videos on YouTube.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Shirley Caesar "Shouting John Hold My Mule"



chj333, Uploaded on Feb 15, 2010

Shirley Caesar "Shouting John pt1"
-snip-
Most of this video is of Shirley Caesar telling the story about this song.

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Shirley Caesar "Shouting John pt. 2"



chj333, Uploaded on Feb 15, 2010

Shirley Caesar "Shouting John pt. 2"

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LYRICS -SHOUTING JOHN*

Chorus
Lead - I'm gonna praise the Lord while I have a chance
Group -I'm gonna praise the Lord while I have a chance
All -Praise Him in the morning,
Praise Him all day long,
I feel like praising, praising Him.

Verse
Lead -Come on help me praise Him while you have a chance
Group -Come on help me praise Him while you have a chance
All -Praise Him in the morning,
Praise Him all day long,
I feel like praising, praising Him.

Verse
Lead -If you don’t want to shout, don’t bother me
Group - If you don’t want to shout don’t bother me
Lead -If you don’t want to shout don’t bother me
Group -If you don’t want to shout don’t bother me

All - Praise Him in the morning,
Praise Him all day long,
I feel like praising, praising Him.

If you don't wanna praise him, don't bother me
[same pattern as the verse given above]


* These are basic lyrics. Other verses can be improvised to fit the song's theme and its structural pattern.

****
THE STORY BEHIND THE "SHOUTING JOHN" (HOLD MY MULE) GOSPEL SONG
A man named John belonged to a "dead church". A dead church is one that doesn't believe in people shouting. The church tried to stop John from shouting, but he said that he would shout anyhow.

In its religious sense, "shouting" means to show that you are feeling the Holy Spirit (The Holy Ghost) by dancing, moving, speaking in tongues, and/or other actions. People who feel the Holy Spirit say that it is like fire in their system, and they can not help but move. Note that "shouting" doesn't have to have anything to do with yelling (speaking loudly).

In the song "Shouting John" (Hold My Mule), John didn't necessarily have a mule. "Hold my mule" means to rid yourself (remove) anything that interfers with you being able to worship God by shouting.

Read my comment below about what I believe is a possible source of the phrase "hold my mule".

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

(Letters S - Z) Videos Of Traditional Music Instruments

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is the sixth in a series of seven posts on traditional music instruments throuighout the world. This post features one or two videos of and information about various traditional instruments whose names begins with the letter "S" - "Z".

To access other posts in this series, click the "traditional musical instruments" tag below.

In the context of this series, with a few exceptions such as pan ("steel drums"), vibraphone, and vuvuzelas, my definition of "traditional music instruments" are those instruments that were created prior to 20th century and which are largely unfamiliar to people in the general public (including me).

My thanks to the musicians and vocalists featured on these videos and to all the publishers of these videos.

DISCLAIMER
This series does not purport to include examples of all "traditional music instruments" worldwide.

I love listening to music & I enjoy watching music videos. Unfortunately, I don't play any musical instrument and I've never studied ethnomusicology anywhere but informally online. I'm definitely not an expert on the subject of traditional music instruments.

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LIST OF FEATURED TRADITIONAL MUSIC INSTRUMENTS THAT BEGIN WITH THE LETTER "S-"Z"
Sabar
Sakara
Shamisen
Shofar
Sitar
Sekere (also spelled shekere)

Tabla
Taiko
Tama
Talking drum (also known as dun dun, dunun; konkoni, kenkeni, sangban, dununba, djeli-dun etc)
Tambourines [also see pandiero)
Tanbour
Tassa
Thakil
Thumb piano (also known as mbira, mbila, mbira huru, mbira njari, mbira nyunga, marimba, karimba, kalimba, likembe, okeme; sanza)See the entres for kalimba, marimba, and mbira in this series.
Timbales
Tin whistle (see entry for pennywhistle)

Udene
Udu
Uhadi
Ukelele
Umrhubhe

Vaksin
Vuvuzela

Washboard (see the entry for rubbard)
Washboard bass

Xalam

Yirdaki

Zither

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FEATURED VIDEOS OF INSTRUMENTS WHOSE NAME BEGINS WITH THE LETTER "S"-"Z"
These featured instruments are presented in alphabetical order, with their geographical places of origin given in brackets.

Other featured traditional musical instruments may be shown in the video for the instrument that is showcased in this post. Some viewer comments may be included along with quoted information about the showcased instrument.

SABAR (drums) [Wolof Ethnic Group, Senegal, Gambia]

Sabar Drum + Tama



1WorthRemembering, Uploaded on Nov 29, 2010

Footage of a Sabar drummer performing with a tama (talking drum) player. Filmed in Senegal, Africa in July 2010

**
Sabar Drum and Dance 2.dv



omarmane, Uploaded on May 15, 2011

Mike Bennett presents... more sabar and dance @ New Jeshwang, Gambia. This program is just outside Janha Kerr in the streets.
-snip-
Here's a comment from this video's viewer comment thread:

mmmperhaps, 2012
"I like how Gambia and Senegal both do sabar, but have their own styles....Gambia is more laid back, relaxed, "foreigner-friendly" lol, Senegal's is intense, high energy, kicks, jumps, and quite a show. I like both :)"

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SAKARA (drums) [Nigeria]

Introduction to Sakara Drumming



motherlanddrums, Uploaded on Sep 23, 2009

This video will demonstrate various rhythm parts played on four different size 'Sakara Drums'.

For more information about us and this Sakara Drum, please visit: http://motherlandmusic.com

**
Were Dance with Sakara Drums



Uploaded by motherlanddrums on Sep 29, 2009

This sakara drum perfomance acknowledges the significance of the Were Rhythm in Yorubaland, Nigeria.

This dance is practiced during Ramadan, to recognize in appreciate those who are fasting.

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SEKERE (also given as "shekere") [Nigeria]

Yosvany Terry Shekere Solos



martincongahead | October 22, 2009

In addition to being one of the most renown saxophone players, Yosvany Terry is considered one of the virtuoso shekere players. Listen to two solos of this master as performed on October 22, 2009 at Harlem Stage in New York City.

**
Occidental Brothers Dance Band International – Nyenko



kexpradio | July 19, 2009

Occidental Brothers Dance Band International perform live at the Triple Door in Seattle as part of the 25th anniversary of The Best Ambiance on KEXP. Recorded 6/29/09.

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SHAMISEN (Japan)

shamisen - a japanese three-stringed instrument


kiuioiuytrew | July 27, 2006
Amazing shamisen music!

The player's name: Osanai Kaoru

The song's name: tsugaru-jonkara-bushi.

...How to play shamisen: Hit strings with Bachi(the large pick)vertically to body,so strings touches body part.When strings touches body,it makes percussive sound.And you have to push strings with your nail when playing the shamisen.

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SHOFAR [Israel]

Fanfare 2



Uploaded by robclem7 on Mar 10, 2007

-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shofar
"A shofar (Hebrew: שופר‎) is a horn, traditionally that of a ram, used for Jewish religious purposes. Shofar-blowing is incorporated in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Shofar come in a variety of sizes."

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SITAR [India]

Amazing Sitar Player



gul23 | April 01, 2008

Prasanna plays a solo performace for Achannak 2007. EXCERPT. Hunter College, October 7, 2007. www.prasanna-sitar.com
-snip-
This video also features the "tabla".

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SPOONS [varrous geographical locations worldwide]

Playing Spoons in Dublin Ireland -- Awesome Street Performer



Yellow Productions, Uploaded on Aug 27, 2011

Declan Walsh plays the spoons on the street in the Temple Bar neighborhood of Dublin Ireland. The Irish are truly a musical nation, and this guy is a great example. Quite amazing what he can do with just a couple of spoons!
-snip-
See the related musical instrument in the entry for "bones".

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STEEL DRUMS
See examples that are posted under "pan".

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TABLA [India]

Rohan Singh Bhogal - Tabla Solo



Ravi99Singh | December 25, 2007

Tabla Solo in 11 beat cycle. Concert in Edmonton, Canada. For more information check out www.virtuosoprodn.com

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TAIKO [Japan]

Taiko Medley



MrQutaibah, Published on Nov 27, 2012

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TAMA {Senegal, Gambia]

TAMA-TALKING DRUM-talking together with Ahmadou Ngom - Tam Tam Montreal 2009 Drum Circle


senioritacoco, Uploaded on Dec 16, 2009

The Oubekou's director-the Senegalese drummer Mr. Ahmadou Ngom playing the talking drum here in this video on Mont Royal's Tam Tam in the company of our devoted drummers.The main focus of Oubekou is the creation and diffusion of world music in a manner that builds community and unifies audiences.
-snip-
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiIuMvDXPk4 for more information about Ahmadou Ngom from this video's summary statement

-snip-
Other examples of African talking drums are given in this series including "dundun" and "dunun.

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TAMBORINE [various geographical locations worldwide]

Paolo Cimmino - Video for Meinl Percussion



cimminoframedrumUploaded on Mar 22, 2010

Paolo Cimmino, DVD-Video for Meinl Percussion from "A new way of playing tamburello".

**
Elder Cook and his Tambourine "Solo"



Jennifer Morgan,Published on Jun 19, 2014

Elder Cook is killin that tambourine at the Ohio Northwest COGIC Holy Convocation & AIM Convention. Clap it, play it under da leg, beat it like a drum, and shout wit it. This man is smooth. I love it!
-snip-
These two videos only show a glimpse of the many styles of playing the tamborine. An example of a tamborine instrument is also given under "pandeiro".

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TANBOUR [Southern Sudan]

Tanbour From Southern Sudan



sfscorpio1 | January 20, 2008
-snip-
choko586, a commenter on this video's discussion thread wrote
"his song is about war b/n south and north sudan but he sing in his language mix with arab language"...

**
Sudan Music_Teaser 1 , Mahmoud Omar, Mamovibe. 2011.



omfi, Uploaded on Jan 7, 2011

Sudan Music ,

Tanbour is one of the oldest musical instruments in Sudan.
Most of the Sudanese play The Tanbour.

****
TASSA [Caribbean]



Trinidad and Tobago Sweet Tassa



Lennita Kumar, Uploaded on Dec 26, 2011

Different hands of Hosay drumming from Trinidad and Tobago Sweet Tassa Band which is lead by Lenny Kumar Tassa Extraordinaire.
-snip-
Some commenters on this video's discussion thread wrote that there are differences between the way that tassa is drummed in the north and south [of Trinidad]. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scrzW1k8uBY for that discussion.

There are also references to "sweet tassa" and "hot tassa".

**
Tassa drums



Rachael Ali, Uploaded on Jul 28, 2009

Tassa drums being played after my cousin's Muslim wedding ceremony.
-snip-

Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tassa for information on tassa drum ensembles.

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THAKIL [India]

Thakil melam, thakil, traditional, percussion, instrument, orchestra, music, drum, Tamil Nadu, India



indiavideodotorg | February 26, 2009
-snip-

For more information about thavils click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thavil

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THUMB PIANO
Videos that feature thumb pianos are posted in this series under "k" for kalimba and "m" for "mbira" and "marimba".

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TIMBALES

Tito Puente y Charlie Palmieri - Jam En El Barrio



Milton Esteban, July 01, 2008
To follow...
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbales
"Timbales (or pailas criollas) are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned. The player (known as a timbalero) uses a variety of stick strokes, rim shots, and rolls on the skins to produce a wide range of percussive expression during solos and at transitional sections of music, and usually plays the shells of the drum or auxiliary percussion such as a cowbell or cymbal to keep time at other parts of the song."

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UHADI and UMRHUBHE (South Africa)

Madosini Manqina - Queen of South Africa's Pondoland Music



Rouvanne | July 05, 2006

Madosini, from Langa township outside Cape Town South Africa, is a master story-teller, composer and musician.

Treating audiences to traditions passed down from generation to generation, Madosini was filmed here playing the Uhadi and Umrhubhe - Rhodes Memorial September 2005.
-snip-

The text in this video referred to uhadi as a Jewish harp and as Umrhubhe as a mouth bow.
-snip-
From http://shop.kalimbamagic.com/product.sc?productId=88

"The Uhadi is the South African version of the Brazilian berimbau, a bow with a single tunable string and an open gourd resonator. In addition to the two fundamental pitches, several overtones from the gourd are available.

First you tune the wire to the pitch you desire. Then you strike the string with a small stick to make it sound. Pinch the string between the thumb and forefinger about 1/12 of the way from the end to shorten the length of the vibrating string and strike again, you will get the second tone. Now, place the opening of the gourd against you chest as you play, and experiment with tilting the gourd opening slowly away from you, and you will hear a "wah-wah" sound similar to the kalimba's "wah-wah". By this technique, you can actually get extra overtone notes." - http://shop.kalimbamagic.com/product.sc?productId=88

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UKELELE

Jake Shimabukuro LIVE Ukulele Concert: While My Guitar Gently Weeps



Michelle Osorio, Uploaded on Feb 8, 2007

This concert series is a part of my filmmaking portfolio...

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VAKSIN [Haiti]

Rara Haiti



Jhonny Celicourt, Published on Apr 19, 2014

Rara is a musical form very popular in Haiti and originated from the colonial era. Basic instruments are drums, bamboo and a couple of percussions made mostly of iron.

Filmed and Edited by Jhonny ''djecee'' Célicourt
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from an article about Haitian rara and Dominican gaga music http://svr1.cg971.fr/lameca/dossiers/vodou_music/eng/p5.htm
..."As in Carnival, Rara musicians use the goatskin drums of Kongo/Petwo rites, the tchatcha, and scrapers to compose an ensemble pattern that rests on a kata foundation. Musicians also blow the vaksin, a set of bamboo trumpets of various size and pitch. The characteristic augmented fourth of the vaksin scale clashes with the tonality of the songs and lends Rara music a feeling of dissonant polytonality. This penchant for clashing dissonance comes through not only in music but also in brilliant, sequined, multicolored costumes, and in the juxtaposition of vulgarity, politics, and religiosity in song texts. The vaksin circulate melodic motifs in hocket style that recall some vocal styles of Central Africa. "

-snip-
Another video of Rara music is posted in Part 2 under "k" for "klewon".

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VIBRAPHONE [USA]


Milt Jackson: Round midnight (best version)



diegodobini2, Uploaded on Jun 10, 2010

Japan 1990, Milt Jackson, Mike LeDonne, Ira Coleman, Mickey Roker
-snip-
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibraphone

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VUVUZELA [South Africa]



Viva The Vuvuzela Viva!
Uploaded by oryxmedia on Jun 26, 2009

Its not music to all ears. In fact, it makes such a noise that some European soccer fans and prominent players want it banned during the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Whatever happens, the vuvuzela is so ingrained in South African history that life without it just wouldnt be the same. Some locals say the vuvuzela comes from the traditional Cape fishers bugle while others say it originates from from animal horns. Whatever the legend behind the vuvuzela, it is a key part of soccer on the African continent and the noise of choice to accompany Bafana Bafana on their road to 2010. ITS not music to all ears. In fact, it makes such a noise that some European soccer fans and prominent players want it banned during the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Whatever happens, the vuvuzela is so ingrained in South African history that life without it just wouldnt be the same. Some locals say the vuvuzela comes from the traditional Cape fishers bugle while others say it originates from from animal horns. Whatever the legend behind the vuvuzela, it is a key part of soccer on the African continent and the noise of choice to accompany Bafana Bafana on their road to 2010

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WASHTUB [USA]

Washboard Rhythm Kings 1933



harryoakley | February 25, 2009

Although the personnel is unknown, the pianist is probably Clarence Profit. Note the relaxed mood of the guys and the casual chatting although this was an official film session!

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XHALAM [Gambia]



Xhalam playing by Abdulai Saine,Gambia 2002

UlfJagfors | September 25, 2006
This recording was made July 2002 in Banjul and shows a Jali/Griot Xhalam lute player.The Xhalam is semi spike lute that has been used in West Africa for more than 1000 years....
-snip-
Here's a viewer's comment & the video uploader's response that provides more information about this instrument:
Klezfiddle1-"What an amazing instrument! It is virtually identical to the ancient Egyptian lute, as depicted on Theban banqueting scenes, from over 3000 years ago..."

**
UlfJagfors-"There is a direct link between the today existing West African lutes and the Ancient Egyptien lutes. Court bard Har-Moses lute (about 1500 B.C) which is on display in the Cairo Museum is in many ways very similar in construction. I have examine that lute on spot. There are a few differencies. The Egyptin lutes were mostly played with a wooden plectrum. They had no short thumb string as on nearly all Griot/Jali lutes. They also encompase frets made of a twisted rope around the neck."

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XYLOPHONE

Xylophone solo medley Eksjö Student



trumslagargossen | June 07, 2009
Xylofonmedley framför på studentavslutningen i Eksjö kyrka.

Xylophone medley perfomed at my examination.

1. WilliamTell
2. Super Mario
3. Can Can
4. When the Saints
5. The Entertainer
6.Cirkus Renz
-snip-
Eksjo is in Sweden.

****
YIRDAKI [Australia]

Elijah Gunydjurruwuy | Saltwater Band F# yirdaki



ididjaustraliaUploaded on Aug 29, 2007

By popular demand, here's more of Elijah Gunydjurruwuy, the 15 year old yirdaki prodigy from Gapuwiyak (Lake Evella) in eastern Arnhem Land.

-snip-
From http://www.didjeridu.com/wickedsticks/articles/guanlim2.htm"In Australia, there are several categories of wooden pipe that are structurally and functionally distinguished from each other, though there are overlaps in certain categories.

To the north are the didjeridu and didjeridu-like forms. In the Central Australia region are much shorter, and functionally distinct, forms to the didjeridu.The yirdaki is merely a type of didjeridu, a form that is used by the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land. The yirdaki is quite different to other types of didjeridu because of its particular acoustic properties, though this in itself shows variance according to regional preferences and prescribed law among Yolngu clan groups."...
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See the entry for didjeridoo in this pancocojams series.

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ZITHER

Magdolna Rúzsa - Felix Lajko - Még azt mondják (folk song) [Hungary]



koldwave | August 26, 2006

Hungarian violin virtuoso Felix Lajko (plays zither here) and singer Magdolna Ruzsa performs a folk song interpretation.


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