- This topic has 3 voices and 4 replies.
-
Posts
-
Here is an article about the first slaves in America.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14646479/
The link's right here. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11111366/Interesting where it discusses the following:
That means African slaves were given Christian burials on hallowed ground within the city walls but separate from the Spaniards. Such practices contrasted sharply with the way slaves were treated on plantations farther north, he said.
Am I incorrect in my thinking that later on in the South, slaves were not allowed to partake in Christian services? Or at the very least, would slaves in the American South have been given Christian burials?
From Wickipedia:"In the African-American slave community, slaves quickly familiarized themselves with funeral procedures and the location of gravesites of family and friends. Specific slaves were assigned to prepare dead bodies, build coffins, dig graves, and construct headstones. Slave funerals were typically at night when the workday was over, with the master present to view all the ceremonial procedures. Slaves from the nearby plantations were regularly in attendance.At death, a slave?s body was wrapped in cloth. The hands were placed across the chest, and a metal plate was placed on top of their hands. The reasoning for the plate was to hinder their return home by suppressing any spirits in the coffin. Often, personal property was buried with slaves to appease spirits. The coffins were nailed shut once the body was inside, and carried by hand or wagon, depending on the property designated for slave burial site. Slaves were buried east to west, with the head facing east and their feet to the west. This positioning represented the ability to rise without having to turn around at the call of Gabriel?s trumpet. Gabriel?s trumpet would be blown in the eastern sunrise. East-west positioning also was the direction of home, Africa."
