Henry C. Knight, Letters from the South and West, 77
Item
Title
Henry C. Knight, Letters from the South and West, 77
Includes music itself or text of song
no
Identity of singers; solo/group
enslaved
group
Voice/instrument
voice
voice
Space/room
plantation
activity
Attending a funeral or wedding
Timbre
---
Ornamentation / improvisation
---
genre
---
Geographical location
"a fine plantation on the banks of the Rappahannock." Virginia
Notable adjectives
"jovial"
Excerpt
When a slave dies, the master gives the rest a day, of their own choosing, to celebrate the funeral. This, perhaps a month after the corpse is interred, is a jovial day with them; they sing and dance and drink the dead to his new home, which some believe to be in old Guinea. Indeed, a wedding, and a funeral, are equally agreeable to those not personally interested in them, as then comes a holiday. It appears to be an instinct of these creatures to dance, to equivocate, and to pilfer; but, for the two latter propensities, ignorance and necessity plead loudly
Context
Knight is describing Virginia plantation life in a letter
Bias of author
Knight was an Episcopal clergyman from MA