Transcript In Dahomey (1902)

In Dahomey (1902)
Paul Lawrence Dunbar (lyrics)
Jesse A. Shipp (book)
Will Marion Cook (music)
Part I of IV
And William Wells Brown Part III of III
The Escape…
Combining Traditions
Biography
Theatrical Conventions of French Romanticism and
Melodrama
The Rituals and Artistic Production of Plantation Life
Minstrelsy
A Hybrid Black Theatre with a Dual Purpose
Speeches of Justification
The details of an
impasse are
conveyed by the
hero
The hero carefully
and reasonably
weighs all relevant
factors
The decision the
hero reaches serves
to drive the plot
and constitutes the
action of the scene.
Close Reading
Act 4 Scene 1
(Interior of a dungeon -- GLEN in chains)
GLEN When I think of my unmerited sufferings, it almost drives me mad. I struck
the doctor, and for that, I must remain here loaded with chains. But why did he
strike me? He takes my wife from me, sends her off, and then comes and beats me
over the head with his cane. I did right to strike him back again. I would I had killed
him. Oh! there is a volcano pent up in the hearts of the slaves of these Southern
States that will burst forth ere long. When that day comes, wo to those whom its
unpitying fury may devour! I would be willing to die, if I could smite down with
these chains every man who attempts to enslave his fellow-man.
(Enter SAMPEY, right)
SAMPEY Glen, I jess bin hear massa call de oberseer , and I spec somebody is
gwine to be whipped. Anudder ting: I know whar massa took Linda to. He took her
to de poplar farm, an' he went away las' night, an' missis she follow after massa, an'
she ain't come back yet. I tell you, Glen, de debil will be to pay on dis place, but
don't you tell anybody dat I tole you.
(exit SAMPEY, right)
Close Reading
Act 5 Scene 3
OFFICER Get out of the way! Gentlemen, we'll go up the shore.
(exit, left)
(Enter CATO, right)
CATO I is loss fum de cumpny, but dis is de ferry, and I spec dey'll soon come. But didn't we have a good time las' night in
Buffalo? Dem dar Buffalo gals make my heart flutter, dat dey did. But, tanks be to de Lord, I is got religion. I got it las' night in de
meetin'. Before I got religion, I was a great sinner; I got drunk, an' took de name of de Lord in vain. But now I is a
conwerted man; I is bound for hebben; I toats de witness in my bosom; I feel dat my name is rote in de book of life. But dem
niggers in de Vine Street Church las' night shout an' make sich a fuss, dey give me de headache. But, tank de Lord, I is got
religion, an' now I'll be a preacher, and den dey'll call me de Rev . Alexander Washinton Napoleon Pompey Caesar. Now I'll
preach and pull teef, bofe at de same time. Oh, how I wish I had Hannah wid me! Cuss ole massa, fer ef it warn't for him, I could
have my wife wid me. Ef I hadn't religion, I'd say "Damn ole massa !" but as I is a religious man, an' belongs to de church, I won't
say no sich a thing. But who is dat I see comin'? Oh, it's a whole heap of people. Good Lord! what is de matter?
(Enter GLEN and MELINDA, left, followed by OFFICERS)
GLEN Let them come; I am ready for them. He that lays hands on me or my wife shall feel the weight of this club.
MELINDA Oh, Glen, let's die here, rather than again go into slavery.
OFFICER I am the United States Marshal. I have a warrant from the Commissioner to take you, and bring you before him. I
command assistance.
(Enter Dr. GAINES, SCRAGG, and OFFICER, right)
DR. GAINES Here they are. Down with the villain! down with him! but don't hurt the gal!
(Enter Mr. WHITE, right)
MR. WHITE Why, bless me! these are the slaveholding fellows. I'll fight for freedom!
(takes hold of his umbrella with both hands. -- The fight commences, in which GLEN, CATO, Dr. GAINES, SCRAGG, WHITE, and the
OFFICERS, take part. -- FERRYMAN enters, and runs to his boat. -- Dr. GAINES, SCRAGG and the OFFICERS are knocked down,
GLEN, MELINDA and CATO jump into the boat, and as it leaves the shore and floats away, GLEN and CATO wave their hats, and
shout loudly for freedom. -- Curtain falls )
American Colonization Society
• In 1822, the American Colonization Society (A.C.S.) which was the primary
vehicle for returning black Americans to greater freedom in Africa,
established Liberia as a place to send people who were formerly enslaved.[
This movement of black people by the A.C.S. had broad support nationwide
among white people in America, including prominent leaders such as Henry
Clay and James Monroe, who saw this as preferable to emancipation in
America, with Clay believing "unconquerable prejudice resulting from their
color, they never could amalgamate with the free whites of this country".
STAMPFIELD You shouldn't let trifles annoy you. I'll dare say
you'll find the population of Dahomey quite as much a source
of annoyance as the colored population of this country. Your
exalted opinion of the ideal life to be found in a barbarous
country is beyond my comprehension.
MOSES It's all right for you, son, to argue that way, 'cause you
'specs to live and die amongst these white folks here in the
United States, but the colonization society that leaves this
country for Dahomey takes a different view of the matter. In
the first place, we've 'vestigated the country and found out
just what's what.
In Dahomey?
The origins of Dahomey (present day Benin) can be
traced back to a group of Aja from the coastal kingdom
of Allada who moved northward and settled among
the Fon People of the interior. By about 1650, the Aja
managed to dominate the Fon, and Wegbaja declared
himself king of their joint territory. Based in his capital
of Agbome, Wegbaja and his successors succeeded in
establishing a highly centralized state with a deeprooted kingship cult of sacrificial offerings. These
included an emphasis on human sacrifices in large
numbers, to the ancestors of the monarch
Economically, however, Wegbaja and his successors
profited mainly from the slave trade and relations with
slavers along the coast. As Dahomey's kings embarked
on wars to expand their territory, they began using
rifles and other firearms traded with French and
Spanish slave traders for young men captured in battle,
who fetched a very high price from the European slave
merchants.
On Broadway in Dahomey/
In Dahomey on Broadway
RAREBACK
(laughing) Stick to me and after we're in Dahomey six months if you like it, I'll buy it for you. I'll tell
the King over there that I'm a surveyor, and you're a contractor. If he asks for a recommendation,
I'll tell him to go over to New York City and take a look at Broadway -- it's the best job the firm
ever did, and if he don't mind, we'll build him a Broadway in the jungle.
(song)
If we went to Dahomey, suppose the King would say We want a Broadway built for us, we want it
right away. We'd git a bunch of natives, say ten thousand or more Wid banyan trees, build a big
department store. We'd sell big Georgia possums, some water melons, too. To get the coin for
other things we'd like to do. If we couldn't have real horse cars, we'd use zebras for awhile On the
face of the Broadway clock, use a crockodial.
CHORUS On Broadway in Dahomey bye and bye We'll build a Bamboo Railway to the sky. You'll
see on the sides of the rocks and hills, On Broadway in Dahomey bye and bye. We'd git some
large Gorillas and use them for police, then git a Hippopotamus for Justice of the Peace. We'd
build a nice roof garden somewhere along the line, Serve Giraffe Highballs and real Cokenut wine.
We'd use Montana Diamonds to make Electric light, And then have Wagner sung by parrots ev'ry
night. We'd have a savage festival, serve Rhine-os-erus stew, Have pork chops and U-need-a
Biscuit too.
The Structure of the Minstrel Show
PART 1- The entire troupe danced onto stage singing a popular song. Upon the instruction of the
interlocutor, a sort of host, they sat in a semicircle. Various stock characters always took the same positions:
the genteel interlocutor in the middle, flanked by Tambo and Bones, who served as the endmen or
cornermen. The interlocutor acted as a master of ceremonies and as a dignified, if pompous, straight man
while the endmen exchanged jokes and performed a variety of humorous songs. Over time, the first act
came to include maudlin numbers not always in dialect. One minstrel, usually a tenor, came to specialize in
this part; such singers often became celebrities, especially with women. Initially, an upbeat plantation song
and dance ended the act; later it was more common for the first act to end with a walkaround, including
dances in the style of a cakewalk
PART 2- The “olio”-” had of a variety show structure. Performers danced, played instruments, did acrobatics,
and demonstrated other amusing talents. Troupes offered parodies of European-style entertainments, and
European troupes themselves sometimes performed.
PART 3/FINALE- Uusually one actor, typically one of the endmen , delivered a faux-black-dialect stump
speech, a long oration about anything from nonsense to science, society, or politics, during which the dimwitted character tried to speak eloquently, only to deliver countless malapropisms, jokes, and unintentional
puns. All the while, the speaker moved about like a clown, standing on his head and almost always falling off
his stump at some point. With blackface makeup serving as fool’s mask, these stump speakers could deliver
biting social criticism without offending the audience, although the focus was usually on sending up
unpopular issues and making fun of blacks' ability to make sense of them.
Minstrelsy and the “Race Problem”
Act 1
(Public Square with a house doorway. Above the door is a sign: "Intelligence
Office." A crowd is assembled around a medicine show pitchman. Applause
at rise of curtain. A banjo player acts as an interlocutor as Tambo, and
Bones tell one or two jokes. The banjoist sings a song. Dr. Straight, the
pitchman, addresses the crowd.)
[...]
DR. STRAIGHT Wait, wait, wait, this is not all. I have another preparation,
Oblicuticus, "Obli" -- in this case, being an abbreviation of the word
"obliterate." "Cuti" -- taken from the word "cuticle," the outer skin, and
"cuss" is what everybody does when the desired results are not obtained,
but there is no such word as "fail." This wonderful face bleach removes
the outer skin and leaves in its place a peachlike complexion that can't be
duplicated -- even by peaches. Changing black to white and vice versa. I
am going to spend only one day in your city, but I am going to convince
you by exhibiting a living evidence of my assertions that these two grand
preparations Straightaline and Oblicuticus are the most wonderful
discovery of modern times.