Processional Culture and Black Mobility in Maggie Washington's Wilmington
This article addresses changes in the built environment of the postbellum American South through an examination of the life histories, parade routes, and costuming practices of the Afro-Caribbean Jonkonnu masking tradition. I juxtapose the stories of two practitioners of the tradition across the col...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Festive Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.h-net.org/jfs/article/view/66 |
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| author | Elijah Gaddis |
| author_facet | Elijah Gaddis |
| author_sort | Elijah Gaddis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article addresses changes in the built environment of the postbellum American South through an examination of the life histories, parade routes, and costuming practices of the Afro-Caribbean Jonkonnu masking tradition. I juxtapose the stories of two practitioners of the tradition across the color line in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Wilmington, North Carolina. Using a material culturally inflected approach to the study of landscapes, I use these two narratives to deepen the histories of African American processional cultures toward a longer time span and a more immersive, performer-oriented approach. Though few conventional objects of ornamentation and display from these practices survive, this article posits that an approach rooted in the materiality of landscape can help uncover festive cultures that have been understudied or undertheorized in more conventional historical approaches. Further, the ubiquitous presence of Jonkonnu and other Black processional traditions in the post-emancipation city suggests the importance of these and other objects, practices, and larger cultures of celebration in combating white supremacist culture. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e93b3327f1444287b52dacdcb73eac55 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2641-9939 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Festive Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-e93b3327f1444287b52dacdcb73eac552025-08-20T02:03:02ZengH-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences OnlineJournal of Festive Studies2641-99392021-12-0131729110.33823/jfs.2021.3.1.6658Processional Culture and Black Mobility in Maggie Washington's WilmingtonElijah Gaddis0Auburn UniversityThis article addresses changes in the built environment of the postbellum American South through an examination of the life histories, parade routes, and costuming practices of the Afro-Caribbean Jonkonnu masking tradition. I juxtapose the stories of two practitioners of the tradition across the color line in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Wilmington, North Carolina. Using a material culturally inflected approach to the study of landscapes, I use these two narratives to deepen the histories of African American processional cultures toward a longer time span and a more immersive, performer-oriented approach. Though few conventional objects of ornamentation and display from these practices survive, this article posits that an approach rooted in the materiality of landscape can help uncover festive cultures that have been understudied or undertheorized in more conventional historical approaches. Further, the ubiquitous presence of Jonkonnu and other Black processional traditions in the post-emancipation city suggests the importance of these and other objects, practices, and larger cultures of celebration in combating white supremacist culture.https://journals.h-net.org/jfs/article/view/66material culturelandscapemobilityjonkonnupostbellum us south |
| spellingShingle | Elijah Gaddis Processional Culture and Black Mobility in Maggie Washington's Wilmington Journal of Festive Studies material culture landscape mobility jonkonnu postbellum us south |
| title | Processional Culture and Black Mobility in Maggie Washington's Wilmington |
| title_full | Processional Culture and Black Mobility in Maggie Washington's Wilmington |
| title_fullStr | Processional Culture and Black Mobility in Maggie Washington's Wilmington |
| title_full_unstemmed | Processional Culture and Black Mobility in Maggie Washington's Wilmington |
| title_short | Processional Culture and Black Mobility in Maggie Washington's Wilmington |
| title_sort | processional culture and black mobility in maggie washington s wilmington |
| topic | material culture landscape mobility jonkonnu postbellum us south |
| url | https://journals.h-net.org/jfs/article/view/66 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elijahgaddis processionalcultureandblackmobilityinmaggiewashingtonswilmington |