Transcript In Dahomey

In Dahomey (1902)
Paul Lawrence Dunbar (lyrics)
Jesse A. Shipp (book)
Will Marion Cook (music)
Part I of II
The History of the Minstrel Show
1) 1769- Lewis Hallman performs is blackface in the play The
Padlock
2) 1769-1843- Performers of so-called “Negro Music”
increasingly use blackface in their performances and are
dubbed “minstrels”
3) 1843- The Virginia Minstrels perform at the New York Bowery
Ampitheatre
4) 1843- E.P. Christy founds the Christy Minstrels, who establish
the template for minstrel show for the next three decades
5) 1843-1865- The rise of minstrelsy coincides with the growing
abolitionist movement in the U.S., and is often used as
propaganda to promote the image of the contented slave
6) 1860s- Blackface begins to serve as a sort of fool’s mask,
allowing the performers to lampoon virtually anything
without offending the audience.
7) 1860s- The minstrel show increasingly becomes associated
with social criticism during the Civil War, advocating for
abolition, women’s rights, and temperance. Black performers
begin to use blackface
8) 1890s- Vaudeville gradually replaces minstrelsy as America’s
favorite genre of theatrical comedy
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.
Stump Speech
Endmen Comedy Routine
Endmen Dancing
Cakewalk
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Musical Number
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 deep-rooted 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.
1)
Talking Points
Given its history, describe the multiple ironies at work (and
their significances) in making Dahomey the Society’s chosen
point of return? To what types of ignorance and affiliation
does it point? How does it help us make sense of the fate
the eventually befalls the colonizers?
Hybridity and In Dahomey:
Reworking Theatrical Conventions
by Manipulating Theatrical “Contracts”
Minstrelsy
Vaudeville
Popular Art
Folklore
Musical Comedy/ Light Opera
African-American Christianity
Farce designed to Lampoon “Repatriation” as a
solution to the “Race Problem”
Key Themes, Theatrical Devices, and Symbols
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Minstrelsy/Black Face
Atavistic Primitivism
Cultural Production as Cultural Fabric
Early Pan-Africanism: The Agendas of Origin
Black Nationalism and Internationalism
Racial Hybridity and Difference
The (in)compatability of European Forms and AfricanAmerican Expression
Using Theatre to Redress Issues and Concerns that, in
part, are the creation of the theatre of times past (turning
to minstrelsy to help solve the race problem)
Meta-theatricality
The idea that the origin of African-American identity lies
in the cultural production of the Southern plantation
Afro-Christianity
Moses and Carrie Brown
The Absence of African American Theatre and the Indispensable Cultural Fabric of African
American Culture:
A Problem with No Home-Grown Solution?
MOSES (loudly) Mad about the stage was Carrie Brown, She served at a
draper's shop in town; Each new piece they play'd, There you'd find this maid First
night in the gall'ry sitting down. Carrie could recite, "The Soldier's Dream"; All the
shopgirls held her in esteem, For in the dining hall She would entertain them all,
And, when applauded, she would almost scream:
CHORUS I wants to be a actor lady Playing, you know, Star in the show;
Spotlight for me; no back row shady; I'm the real thing; I dance and sing; Miss
Terry may make Shakespeare go, But she can't sing, "Flo from Pimlico," And I
wants to be a actor lady too -- indeed I do! Carrie said that Shakespeare was an
ass, Barrie wasn't bad, but still no class; "If George Sims," said she, "Wrote a play
for me, You to see me act could get no pass." "Over my dead body first, you cur!
Death to life with you, I much prefer!" "Farewell, Claude, we must part! You have
broke my trusting heart!" With lines like them I'd make all London stir.
CHORUS I wants to be a actor lady Playing you know, Star in the show; Spotlight
for me, no back row shady, I'm the real thing, I dance and sing; Miss Mary Moore
is splendid truly, But she can't warble "Mister Dooley;" I wants to be a actor lady
too -- indeed I do! Carrie wrote to Mister Beerbohm Tree: "Though to you I may a
stranger be, When your season starts, Of the ladies' parts Give the most
important one to me; Olga Nethersole is very fine, But her acting can't compare
with mine; I'm just about her height; Herbert, don't forget to write, And say a five
years' contract I may sign!"
Talking Points
1) Describe the paradox faced
by Carrie Brown? What does she
want? Why can’t she have it?
What is her proposed remedy?
2) How does the Chorus frame matters with respect to
the relationship between African-American performance
and African American aesthetic production? In other words,
how would you characterize the symbolic importance of Carrie’s
Boast the “Terry may make Shakespeare go. But she can’t s
Sing, ‘Flo from Pimlico’”
3) What is the intertextual significance wrought by the fact that
Moses leading this chorus?
Williams and Walker:
A More Sophisticated Black Theatre?
• George Walker and Egbert Austin
Williams were a vaudeville comedy
team and had one of the most
renowned and successful stage
partnerships in American theatrical
history. They decided to team up
when they met in San Francisco in
the early 1890's. Williams and
Walker pioneered a new kind of
"Black" humor and eventually
developed their own company. With
musical shows such as "Clorindy,
the Origin of the Cakewalk," "Sons
of Ham," and "In Dahomey," they
opened the door for other AfricanAmerican actors, singers, dancers,
and musicians, and sought to
redefine the boundaries of Black
Theater.
Inset Williams and Walker Clip
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Paul Lawrence Dunbar (18721906)
1)The first African-American poet to garner national critical acclaim.
2)Dunbar penned a large body of dialect poems, standard English poems, essays,
novels and short stories before he died at the age of 33.
3)His work often addressed the difficulties encountered by members of his race and
the efforts of African-Americans to achieve equality in America. He was praised both
by the prominent literary critics of his time and his literary contemporaries.
4) Dunbar decided to publish a book of poems. Oak and Ivy, his first collection, was
published in 1892.
5) In 1893, he was invited to recite at the World's Fair, where he met Frederick
Douglass, the renowned abolitionist who rose from slavery to political and literary
prominence in America. Douglass called Dunbar "the most promising young colored
man in America."
6)Dunbar's second book, Majors and Minors propelled him to national fame.
7)In 1897, Dunbar traveled to England to recite his works on the London literary
circuit.
8)In 1902, Dunbar and his wife separated.
9)He ultimately produced 12 books of poetry, four books of short stories, a play and
five novels. His work appeared in Harper's Weekly, the Sunday Evening Post, the
Denver Post, Current Literature and a number of other magazines and journals.
10)) Dunbar’s burden of representativity is well-documented to have, at times, nearly
drove him mad.
Will Marion Cook (1869-1944)
1) The first great African-American composer for the musical stage.
2) Trained at the Oberlin Conservatory, the National Conservatory of Music in New York under
Anton Dvorak and in Berlin, Germany at Hochschule fur Musik.
3) IN 1890, he begins to compose that drew on the idioms and themes of African-American folklore
and music.
4) Throughout the 1890s and 1900s, he composed for the stage shows of Bert Williams, the leading
black comic and vaudevillian. I
5) In 1889 Cook produced and wrote the music for Clorindy, the Origin of the Cakewalk. This debut
in the theater world was a series of skits. The skits were written in an hour-long session
between Cook and the celebrated African American dialect poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar. It was
the first musical comedy written, directed, and performed entirely by African-American artists.
The show opened at the Casino Theater Roof Garden in New York to rave reviews and enjoyed
success on Broadway and in London. The beauty of the lead dancer Ada Overton Walker
prompted the cakewalk dance craze among even the high-society of New York.
6) Named Composer-in-Chief and Musical Director for William Walker's Broadway shows. He went
on to compose the music for a number of popular black musicals, including In Dahomey (1903)
7) Cook composed Abyssinia in 1906, but his reliance on ragtime left him behind the changing
tastes. He led his Southern Syncopated Orchestra, a huge ragtime and concert ensemble, and
composed "I'm Coming, Virginia" and "Mammy" in the 1910s.
8) His last European tour by his orchestra was in 1919. It was then that critics noted that he had
developed an emerging jazz style
Jesse Shipp
Writer, Director, Lyricist
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ON BROADWAY
Productions Dates of Production
Kilpatrick's Old-Time Minstrels [Original, Musical, Minstrel]
Staged by Jesse A. Shipp
Apr 19, 1930 - Apr 26, 1930
The Green Pastures [Original, Play, Play with music]
Performer: Jesse A. Shipp [Abraham];
Performer: Jesse A. Shipp [Archangel]
Feb 26, 1930 - Aug 29, 1931
Mr. Lode of Koal [Original, Musical]
Book by Jesse A. Shipp;
Lyrics by Jesse A. Shipp
Nov 1, 1909 - Dec 4, 1909
Bandanna Land [Original, Musical, Comedy]
Starring: Jesse A. Shipp [Mose Blackstone];
Staged by Jesse A. Shipp;
Book by Jesse A. Shipp;
Lyrics by Jesse A. Shipp
Feb 3, 1908 - Apr 18, 1908
Abyssinia [Original, Musical, Comedy]
Performer: Jesse A. Shipp [The Affa Negus Tegulet];
Staged by Jesse A. Shipp;
Dahomey [Original, Musical, Farce]
Performer: Jesse A. Shipp [Hustling Charley];
Book by Jesse A. Shipp
Feb 18, 1903 - Apr 4, 1903
Sons of Ham [Revival, Musical, Comedy]
Performer: Jesse A. Shipp [Professor Switchen];
Staged by Jesse A. Shipp;
Book by Jesse A. Shipp
Apr 29, 1901 - May 4,
The Policy Players [Original, Musical, Comedy, Farce]
Directed by Jesse A. Shipp
Oct 16, 1899 - Apr 9, 1900
The Theatrical Dilemmas of Representing the “Race
Problem” for a New Black Theatre
Part I, II, III…GO!
1)
The problem of origin, the absence of precedent, and the drive (and/or
refusal) to infuse a hostile theatrical environment with elements of Black
folk/popular Culture.
2) How does one infuse “authentic” African-American culture into a cultural milieu
where both African-Americans and Africa have already been “invented” in
different terms to suit different aims?
3) The problem of reworking “contaminated” genres and meta-narratives to suit new
aims while, at the same time, fore-fronting the dangers of this
“contamination.” (Or: How does one show both “sides of the story” without
ignoring cross-pollination.)
Hybridity and In Dahomey:
Reworking Theatrical Conventions
by Manipulating Theatrical “Contracts”
Minstrelsy
Vaudeville
Popular Art
Folklore
Musical Comedy/ Light Opera
African-American Christianity
Farce designed to Lampoon “Repatriation” as a
solution to the “Race Problem”
Minstrelsy, Tricksterism, and the “Race Problem”:
The Race Problem and the Problem of Representing Race
Talking Points
1)
What are the implications
refashioning (and in a sense,
returning to his roots) the
figure of the interlocutor as
the M.C. at a medicine show?
2)
What is Dr. Straight’s cure for
the race problem? How do
the very names of his potions
speak to the nature of his
solution to the race problem?
3)
Consider the implications and
ironies of the use of Blackface
in this scene. (Black Actors in
Blackface calling for the
obliteration of all things
black). What purposes do
they serve?
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.
American Colonization Society:
Emigration, Repatriation, or Colonization?
•
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.
STAMPFIELD In other words, the existing conditions.
MOSES (doubtfully) Yes. Everything points to success. They tell me that gold and
silver in Dahomey is plentiful, as the whiskey is on election day in Bosting [Boston].
The climate's fine -- just the right thing for raisin' chickens and watermelons. It never
snows so you don't need no clothes (pauses) sich as the people wear here, and who
know but what you can get a few franchises from the king to start street cars, 'lectric
lights and saloons to running.
STAMPFIELD You've fine, big ideas, but suppose the natives suddenly don't take
kindly to the new order of things and refuse to be electric lighted, salooned and
otherwise fixed up with blessings of civilization. Suppose they look upon you as
intruders and instead of receiving you with open arms (pause) make war on you.
MOSES (slowly) If it comes to that, we'll arrange with dem gentlemen like Uncle Sam
did with the Indians.
STAMPFIELD How is that?
MOSES Kick the stuffin' out of dem and put them on a reservation.
Talking Points
1) What is beyond the
comprehension of Stampfield?.
How do his lack of
understanding (or concerns)
speak to the play’s political
concerns and treatments?
2) What are the ironies and
metaphorical import of Moses’
remark about Indians and
reservations? How
does it complicate his earlier
Rejection of the U.S.? How
Does it distance him from the
Natives and what is the impact
Of this distancing?
3) What seems to be the
chief motivation behind the
society’s efforts? How is this
drive both in and out of step
with the “American Dream?”
Reverse Passage?
Talking Points
HUSTLING CHARLEY Well, there's a society down
in Florida that's been pilin' up coin for years. Now
that they're flush, they're goin' to go blow. They
ain't satisfied to see their noodles ain't swelled on
account of their dough, but they figure this
country's a dead one. Some bloke tipped off
Dahomey as the original Klondike and they're
goin' against the brace, hook, line, and sinker. I'm
goin' to steer the gang down to Gatorville where
the main Gazaboo of the whole push hangs out.
Say, fellows, I get two dollars a head from the
captain of the dugout that snatches 'em away
from this burg, and I've got a contract with a
medicine shark, in all cases of sea sickness, we
split the purse fifty-fifty. If anybody pegs out on
the trip, I've got an undertaker waitin' at the wharf
that gives me 35 percent of the net. Am I asleep
at the switch, ask me?
1)
What traditional figure does Hustling
Charlie evoke?
2)
Given this association, how is Shipp
deploying African American folklore
to lampoon the Colonization
movement?
3)
What else do you think Shipp and
Dunbar are trying to suggest about
“community” (and nationalism) with
the figure of Hustling Charley?
4)
How does history, in a theatrical
venue (granted) repeat itself in
Hustling Charley’s con?
Vaudeville:
“The Heart of American Show Business”’
1) Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety
entertainment in the United States and
Canada from the early 1880s until the early
1930s.
2) Each performance was made up of a series of
separate, unrelated acts grouped together on
a common bill.
3) Types of acts included popular and classical
musicians, dancers, comedians, trained
animals, magicians, female and male
impersonators, acrobats, jugglers, one-act
plays or scenes from plays, minstrels and
movies .
4) Although its origins may lie in Voix de Ville, it is
a distinctly American form of polite,
bourgeoisie entertainment.
Pop Culture
In Dahomey as Meta-Theatre
Talking Points
RAREBACK You're just as much a
detective as you're ever going to be. I
can see now that you'll never be a Nick
Carter or an Old Sleuth.
1)
Why do Dunbar and
Shipp choose to infuse a
literary tradition tied to
mass culture into an
“authentic” AfricanAmerican Play?
SHYLOCK You always castin' up
reflections. I never heard of dis man
Nick Carter or old Hoof either.
2)
What does this infusion
ask of the audience?
And what are the
implications and
resonances of this
suggestion?
3)
How does the fact that
these to Black blackfaced“minstrel/trickster
characters take fictional
white detectives as role
models impact your take
on Shylock and
Rareback?
4)
Names and Vaudeville
RAREBACK Never heard of Nick Carter
and Old Sleuth? Why, Shy, they're the
greatest detectives in the world. Nick
Carter is the only man living that's been
shot through the heart forty-one times,
and Old Sleuth's been knocked in the
head with his arms tied behind him and
a gag in his mouth and throwed in every
sewer in the country.
Folklore:
Harris, Uncle Remus, Mars John
and Old Black Joe:
“to preserve in permanent shape those curious
mementoes of a period that will no doubt be
sadly misrepresented by historians of the
future."
Joel Chandler Harris
(1845-1908)
Stephen Collins
Foster
(1826-1864)
“Ol’ Black Joe”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Emancipation Day”
(Repeat chorus) Many long years ago there was poor Old Black Joe; Use to
walk just like this for a prize. There was big Jasper Brown, the cake walker
clown, Walk'd like this with his best gal Miss Lize. Old Tildy Snow, and Bill
Jones, with his rheumatic bones, To see them walk was fun. With that oldstyle prance, they have no chance When this late-style cake walk is done.
The Question of a Common Origin:
Setting and Settling:There’s No Place Like Home--Boston,
Gatorville, Dahomey
Act 2, Scene 1
(Exterior of LIGHTFOOT home, garden of the summer house. Chorus sings "For Florida.") For
Florida our home so bright. Our voices ring with true delight. From verdant vale to arid stand,
She is for 'ere a summer land. Her tree, her rocks, her streamlets clear, To all our loyal hearts
are dear. So let us sing it loud and long, For Florida, a song, a song. We are the children of the
sun. Upon our brows His work is done. Tho' rude and black our faces be, Our hearts are brave,
our hands are free. And as we sing, so shall we strive, As long as loyalty's alive. Our hearts,
our arms, our souls, hurrah, For Florida! For Florida!
(Enter from the house, CICERO LIGHTFOOT in shirt sleeves and apron, spoon in hand)
CICERO Dat song expresses my sentiments to the letter. After all, there ain't no place like
Florida.
MOSES 'Ceptin' Dahomey, but outside of Dahomey and Boston, I endorse your statements.
CICERO I don't know nothin' about no other place 'cept Florida. It might be the worse place in
the world, but whether it's worst or best, it's home, and, Mose (cautiously), if Dahomey pulls up
shy, I'm comin' back here.
TALKING POINTS
1)
Puzzle out the symbolic importance of all three sites (Boston,
Gatorville, and Dahomey) with respect to the play’s figuration of
“homeland.” For whom or for whatdo these places constitute homes?
2)
3)
4)
To what multiple displacements does Moses’ and Cicero’s
conversation speak and what is the metaphorical
resonance of these displacements in this context?
What are some the multiple symbolic resonances of the
character’s names, an how do these names position the
characters vis-à-vis the concept of nation and government.
What multiple ironies are, again, at work?
Cicero as “contented darkie”?
Cat’s Eye Shells
Trans-Atlantic Hoodoo
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RAREBACK It won't do any good for you and I to squabble over what can't be
helped. I'm in just as bad a fix as you are, and I believe all our bad luck came
through the silver box I got hold of just about three hours before we struck the
wharf.
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Talking Points
1)
The reversal of luck
2)
Given what you know of cat’s
eye shells (and their different
valences in African and
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African-American “folklore)
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and the fact that the box
belongs to Cicero, what do the
multiple ironies at work in this •
passage suggest about
African-American origins?
3)
SHYLOCK I don't know nothin' about our bad luck, but I do know all about my
bad luck, when the man came on board the boat with that rusty lookin' coat on
and wanted to sell that silver box, I was the fust man that reached out my hand
to get it, but jist as soon as I seen dat a cat was scratched on the back, I turned
round three times, walked backwards four steps, throwed a hand full of salt
over my left shoulder, and I give him back that box so quick, if I was
superstitious, I'd a swore I seen that cat's whiskers move.
[....]
RAREBACK Instead of being bad luck, a cat turns out to be the best friend we
ever had . After this you ought to hug and kiss every cat you run across.
SHYLOCK I've got to admit if it wasn't for that cat's picture, you couldn't tell
that box from no other silver box; therefore, I'm bound to respect cats but no
fust-class detective ain't goin' round huggin' and kissin' cats, no matter how
much he respects them.
What role, if any, does “The
American Dream” (as
In America, cat's eye shells are commonly found in African-American mojo bags
accumulation) play in
prepared for protection from evil, for uncrossing, and to break a jinx. This
Rareback and Shylock’s
probably derives from their use in European folk-magic and is not the remnant
assessments of what’s lucky
of a central African custom, since the evil eye belief itself -- and thus the use of
eye-charms to repel the evil eye-- is Middle-Eastern in origin and spread from
and what is not?
there to India and to Europe. Cultural appropriation being what it is, however,
cat's eye shells are a regular component of voodoo practice and have been for
at least a couple of centuries.
On Broadway in Dahomey vs. 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 Scriptures
The Ham Nation
Parodying Emigration, Atavistic Primitivism, “Biblical” Justifications for Slavery,
and Early Iterations of Pan-Africanism
CICERO Now dat I've got this gold, I'm goin' to have my pedigree wrote. There's a
gentleman down in Cheaterville dat can find the Royal ancestors for anybody
dat got fifty dollars to spare for his trouble. In fact, he said there was a time
when every darkey was a king.
(song) Evah Darkey Is a King Dar's mighty curious circumstance Dat's a botherin'
all de nation. All de yankees is dissatisfied Wid a deir untitled station. Dey is
huntin' after title Wid a golden net to snare 'em! But dey ain't got all de title For
it is a 'culiar ting. When a dahkey stahts to huntin' He is sho' to prove a king.
CHORUS Evah darkey is a king! Royalty is jes' de ting. If yo' social life's a bungle,
Jes you go back to yo' jungle, And remember dat your daddy was a king.
Scriptures say dat Ham was de first black man. Ham's de father of our nation.
All de black folks to dis very day B'longs right in de Ham creation. Ham, he was
a king in ancient days, An' he reigned in all his glory. So ef we is all de Sons of
Ham, Natcherlly dat tells de story. White folks what's got dahkey servants Try
an' get dem every thing. You must nevah speak insulting. You may be talking to
a king.
Emancipation Day
Cakewalks, Continuity, Jubilee, Origins, and American
Promises
CHORUS On Emancipation Day, All you white fo'ks clear de way. Brass ban'
playin' sev'ral tunes, Darkies eyes look jes' lo'k moons, Marshall of de day a
struttin', Lord but he is gay. Coons dress'd up lak masqueraders, Porters
arm'd lak rude invaders . When dey hear dem ragtime tunes, White fo'ks try
to pass fo' coons on Emancipation Day. Heah um cry, My oh my, When
de'cession shows it head. Majors brown Ridin' down on cart hosses deck'd
in red. Teeth lak pearls, Greet the girls standin' dere lak dusky storms. Oh!
my pet, What a set of owdacious uniforms. Generals stiff as hick'ry sticks In
de dress of seventy-six .
(Repeat chorus)
That's How the Cake Walk's Done Cake-walking craze, it's a fad nowadays
With black folks and white folks too, And I really declare it's done
ev'rywhere, Though it may be something new to you. 'Twas introduced
years ago down in Dixie you know, By Black folks in Tennessee. So just to
show you, I'm going to do A cake walk of a high degree.
CHORUS Bow to the right, bow to the left, Then you proudly take your place.
Be sure to have a smile on your face, Step high with lots of style and grace.
With a salty prance do a ragtime dance, Step way back and get your gun.
With a bow, look wise, make goo-goo eyes, For that's the way the cake
walk's done. My Grandmother told me that she used to be The best cake
walker in the state, When she walk'd down the line, lord, chile she did
shine. But of course her style is out of date; The Parisians, you know, they
all walk just so, They call it ze cake walk dance. But with me you'll agree,
That the folks from Paree In this cake walk would have no chance.
Reluctant Prophets:
First Class Jonah Men
My hard luck started when I was born, leas' so the old folks say. Dat same hard
luck been my bes' fren' up to dis very day. When I was young my mamma's
frens to find a name they tried. They named me after Papa and the same day
Papa died. For I'm a Jonah, I'm an unlucky man. My family for many years
would look on me and then shed tears, Why am I dis Jonah I sho' can't
understand, But I'm a good substantial full-fledged real first-class Jonah man .
A fren' of mine gave me a six-month meal ticket one day. He said, "It wont do
me no good, I've got to go away." I thanked him as my heart wid joy and
gratitude did bound. But when I reach'd the restaurant the place had just
burn'd down. For I'm a Jonah, I'm a unlucky man. It sounds just like that old,
old tale, But sometimes I feel like a whale. Why am I dis Jonah I sho' can't
understand, But I'm a good substantial full-fledged real first-class Jonah man.
On Broadway in Dahomey
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 crocko-dial.
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.
Playing-Out Good and Bad Solutions:
The Third Act
Act 3: “My Lady Frog”:
Parodying Sophomoric Solutions
Act 3
My Lady Frog
(sung by chorus) Where the water-lilies cluster 'Neath drooping willows; When the moon
so soft and tender Peeps through the trees; Where the vines of brilliant lustre, Find
mossy pillows; Where the ferns so tall and slender Sway with the breeze, There lived
a lady frog, green pollywog was she; Her lover tho' was one of brown. Throughout the
whole night long a little song sang he, And whispered for the moon was looking down.
(sung by male frog) My lady frog of opal hue, Here on this log, I sing to you. Bright as the
flies That light this bog, So are your eyes, My lady frog.
(sung by chorus) As the lovers sat a-waiting, From o'er the way Came a frog with chest a
swelling, A bull frog green. Told he of a palace waiting, In grand array, How the lady of
his dwelling, Would be a queen. And tho' 'tis sad to say, he took away this maid. The
frog of brown now croaks with pain, And when the night is still, from o'er the hill, 'tis
said You hear in mournful tones the old refrain.
Talking Points
1)
Act 3: “My Dahomian Queen”:
Parodying Sophomoric Solutions
(Repeat male solo)
(Exit Chorus and lights out. Change to Garden of the King of Dahomey)
My Dahomian Queen In Dahomey so grand, Just along side the strand, Lives a Moorish maid so near and
dear to me. When I sought her heart and hand, She made me understand That if I wish'd my little
bride she'd be. When the moon is brightly beamin', From the azure skies a streamin', In my cottage
I'm a dreamin', A dreamin' of our weddin' day. Natives of exalted station, Potentates from ev'ry nation.
Will be there to hear me when I say -CHORUS My Dahomian queen, My dusky turtle dove, What a beautiful scene, Me and my lady love.
She's so sweet and serene, Fresh from the jungle green, Royal Dahomian queen, My Dahomian
queen. When I become a king, All the jingle bells will ring, While through the streets on palanquins
we're borne. 'Twill be the grandest thing, Just to hear the natives sing, As loyally they fall before my
throne. Caboceers will be our sentry, 'Rabian knights will be our gentry, The wonder of the twentieth
century. A-makin' even sunlight fade. Seems the breezes will be sighin' Nature with itself be a-vieing
A-singin' while my babe and I parade -(Repeat chorus)
Caboceers Entrance We are the loyal subjects of King Eat-Em-All, The ruler over all our states both great
and small. Great is his name, more great his fame, Before his Majesty all nations prostrate fall.
Forward with chargers dashing, Their armor brightly flashing, With bayonets a clashing Like demons
they hunt the fray. The Caboceers! We greet with cheers! The Caboceers, long be their years! The
Caboceers! We greet with cheers! The Caboceers, long be their years! Mighty their reign and glorious,
Their power all victorious, Like gods of light before us They come, the world to sway, to sway, to sway.
Embracing a Dark(ie) Past:
Cicero: Reclaiming the “Shameful” Instead of the
Imaginary
(Chorus enters as African chiefs, soldiers, natives, dancing girls. After march, chorus comes to front of
stage, kneels and sings choral descriptive of glories of Cannibal King and Caboceers. At the
middle of the choral, they rise at the words "Mighty ruler of our nation" and sway to and fro with
swinging palm leaves. At the end, the chorus falls prostrate to the floor on their faces to greet
SHYLOCK HOMESTEAD and RAREBACK PUNKERTON dressed as Caboceers. Song: "Every
Darkey Is a King." Dialogue follows in which the box with cat's eye is found . CICERO
LIGHTFOOT is disgusted with Dahomey and announces his return to America. The musical
concludes with two rousing numbers: "Emancipation Day," and a triumphant cake-walk -- most
popular dance of the era -- a production number that lasted twenty minutes.)
Talking Points
1)
American Colonization Society:
Emigration, Repatriation, or Colonization?
•
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.
STAMPFIELD In other words, the existing conditions.
MOSES (doubtfully) Yes. Everything points to success. They tell me that gold and
silver in Dahomey is plentiful, as the whiskey is on election day in Bosting [Boston].
The climate's fine -- just the right thing for raisin' chickens and watermelons. It never
snows so you don't need no clothes (pauses) sich as the people wear here, and who
know but what you can get a few franchises from the king to start street cars, 'lectric
lights and saloons to running.
STAMPFIELD You've fine, big ideas, but suppose the natives suddenly don't take
kindly to the new order of things and refuse to be electric lighted, salooned and
otherwise fixed up with blessings of civilization. Suppose they look upon you as
intruders and instead of receiving you with open arms (pause) make war on you.
MOSES (slowly) If it comes to that, we'll arrange with dem gentlemen like Uncle Sam
did with the Indians.
STAMPFIELD How is that?
MOSES Kick the stuffin' out of dem and put them on a reservation.
Talking Points
1) What is beyond the
comprehension of Stampfield?.
How do his lack of
understanding (or concerns)
speak to the play’s political
concerns and treatments?
2) What are the ironies and
metaphorical import of Moses’
remark about Indians and
reservations? How
does it complicate his earlier
Rejection of the U.S.? How
Does it distance him from the
Natives and what is the impact
Of this distancing?
3) What seems to be the
chief motivation behind the
society’s efforts? How is this
drive both in and out of step
with the “American Dream?”
Reverse Passage?
Talking Points
HUSTLING CHARLEY Well, there's a society down
in Florida that's been pilin' up coin for years. Now
that they're flush, they're goin' to go blow. They
ain't satisfied to see their noodles ain't swelled on
account of their dough, but they figure this
country's a dead one. Some bloke tipped off
Dahomey as the original Klondike and they're
goin' against the brace, hook, line, and sinker. I'm
goin' to steer the gang down to Gatorville where
the main Gazaboo of the whole push hangs out.
Say, fellows, I get two dollars a head from the
captain of the dugout that snatches 'em away
from this burg, and I've got a contract with a
medicine shark, in all cases of sea sickness, we
split the purse fifty-fifty. If anybody pegs out on
the trip, I've got an undertaker waitin' at the wharf
that gives me 35 percent of the net. Am I asleep
at the switch, ask me?
1)
What traditional figure does Hustling
Charlie evoke?
2)
Given this association, how is Shipp
deploying African American folklore
to lampoon the Colonization
movement?
3)
What else do you think Shipp and
Dunbar are trying to suggest about
“community” (and nationalism) with
the figure of Hustling Charley?
4)
How does history, in a theatrical
venue (granted) repeat itself in
Hustling Charley’s con?
Vaudeville:
“The Heart of American Show Business”’
1) Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety
entertainment in the United States and
Canada from the early 1880s until the early
1930s.
2) Each performance was made up of a series of
separate, unrelated acts grouped together on
a common bill.
3) Types of acts included popular and classical
musicians, dancers, comedians, trained
animals, magicians, female and male
impersonators, acrobats, jugglers, one-act
plays or scenes from plays, minstrels and
movies .
4) Although its origins may lie in Voix de Ville, it is
a distinctly American form of polite,
bourgeoisie entertainment.
Pop Culture
In Dahomey as Meta-Theatre
Talking Points
RAREBACK You're just as much a
detective as you're ever going to be. I
can see now that you'll never be a Nick
Carter or an Old Sleuth.
1)
Why do Dunbar and
Shipp choose to infuse a
literary tradition tied to
mass culture into an
“authentic” AfricanAmerican Play?
SHYLOCK You always castin' up
reflections. I never heard of dis man
Nick Carter or old Hoof either.
2)
What does this infusion
ask of the audience?
And what are the
implications and
resonances of this
suggestion?
3)
How does the fact that
these to Black blackfaced“minstrel/trickster
characters take fictional
white detectives as role
models impact your take
on Shylock and
Rareback?
4)
Names and Vaudeville
RAREBACK Never heard of Nick Carter
and Old Sleuth? Why, Shy, they're the
greatest detectives in the world. Nick
Carter is the only man living that's been
shot through the heart forty-one times,
and Old Sleuth's been knocked in the
head with his arms tied behind him and
a gag in his mouth and throwed in every
sewer in the country.
Folklore:
Harris, Uncle Remus, Mars John
and Old Black Joe:
“to preserve in permanent shape those curious
mementoes of a period that will no doubt be
sadly misrepresented by historians of the
future."
Joel Chandler Harris
(1845-1908)
Stephen Collins
Foster
(1826-1864)
“Ol’ Black Joe”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Emancipation Day”
(Repeat chorus) Many long years ago there was poor Old Black Joe; Use to
walk just like this for a prize. There was big Jasper Brown, the cake walker
clown, Walk'd like this with his best gal Miss Lize. Old Tildy Snow, and Bill
Jones, with his rheumatic bones, To see them walk was fun. With that oldstyle prance, they have no chance When this late-style cake walk is done.
The Question of a Common Origin:
Setting and Settling:There’s No Place Like Home--Boston,
Gatorville, Dahomey
Act 2, Scene 1
(Exterior of LIGHTFOOT home, garden of the summer house. Chorus sings "For Florida.") For
Florida our home so bright. Our voices ring with true delight. From verdant vale to arid stand,
She is for 'ere a summer land. Her tree, her rocks, her streamlets clear, To all our loyal hearts
are dear. So let us sing it loud and long, For Florida, a song, a song. We are the children of the
sun. Upon our brows His work is done. Tho' rude and black our faces be, Our hearts are brave,
our hands are free. And as we sing, so shall we strive, As long as loyalty's alive. Our hearts,
our arms, our souls, hurrah, For Florida! For Florida!
(Enter from the house, CICERO LIGHTFOOT in shirt sleeves and apron, spoon in hand)
CICERO Dat song expresses my sentiments to the letter. After all, there ain't no place like
Florida.
MOSES 'Ceptin' Dahomey, but outside of Dahomey and Boston, I endorse your statements.
CICERO I don't know nothin' about no other place 'cept Florida. It might be the worse place in
the world, but whether it's worst or best, it's home, and, Mose (cautiously), if Dahomey pulls up
shy, I'm comin' back here.
TALKING POINTS
1)
Puzzle out the symbolic importance of all three sites (Boston,
Gatorville, and Dahomey) with respect to the play’s figuration of
“homeland.” For whom or for whatdo these places constitute homes?
2)
3)
4)
To what multiple displacements does Moses’ and Cicero’s
conversation speak and what is the metaphorical
resonance of these displacements in this context?
What are some the multiple symbolic resonances of the
character’s names, an how do these names position the
characters vis-à-vis the concept of nation and government.
What multiple ironies are, again, at work?
Cicero as “contented darkie”?
Cat’s Eye Shells
Trans-Atlantic Hoodoo
•
RAREBACK It won't do any good for you and I to squabble over what can't be
helped. I'm in just as bad a fix as you are, and I believe all our bad luck came
through the silver box I got hold of just about three hours before we struck the
wharf.
•
Talking Points
1)
The reversal of luck: the
tension between our and my
2)
Given what you know of cat’s
eye shells (and their different •
valences in African and
African-American “folklore) •
and the fact that the box
belongs to Cicero, what do the•
multiple ironies at work in this
passage suggest about
African-American origins?
3)
SHYLOCK I don't know nothin' about our bad luck, but I do know all about my
bad luck, when the man came on board the boat with that rusty lookin' coat on
and wanted to sell that silver box, I was the fust man that reached out my hand
to get it, but jist as soon as I seen dat a cat was scratched on the back, I turned
round three times, walked backwards four steps, throwed a hand full of salt
over my left shoulder, and I give him back that box so quick, if I was
superstitious, I'd a swore I seen that cat's whiskers move.
[....]
RAREBACK Instead of being bad luck, a cat turns out to be the best friend we
ever had . After this you ought to hug and kiss every cat you run across.
SHYLOCK I've got to admit if it wasn't for that cat's picture, you couldn't tell
that box from no other silver box; therefore, I'm bound to respect cats but no
fust-class detective ain't goin' round huggin' and kissin' cats, no matter how
much he respects them.
What role, if any, does “The
In America, cat's eye shells are commonly found in African-American mojo bags
American Dream” (as
prepared for protection from evil, for uncrossing, and to break a jinx. This
accumulation) play in
probably derives from their use in European folk-magic and is not the remnant
Rareback and Shylock’s
of a central African custom, since the evil eye belief itself -- and thus the use of
eye-charms to repel the evil eye-- is Middle-Eastern in origin and spread from
assessments of what’s lucky
there to India and to Europe. Cultural appropriation being what it is, however,
and what is not?
cat's eye shells are a regular component of voodoo practice and have been for
at least a couple of centuries.
On Broadway in Dahomey vs. 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 crocko-dial.
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.
1)
2)
3)
Talking Points
Given what the play has already revealed to us (via that cat shells) distinct differences
(reversals, really) between Africans and African-Americans, describe the different
resonances and significance of the two phrases in the slide’s title.
To what multiple effects is Dunbar using dialect in this song?
Describe the multiple misconceptions and ambitions of Rarerback (and the Chorus) with
respect to Dahomey.
Playing-Out Good and Bad Solutions to the “Race Problem”:
The Third Act
Act 3: “My Lady Frog”:
Parodying Sophomoric Solutions
Act 3
My Lady Frog
(sung by chorus) Where the water-lilies cluster 'Neath drooping willows; When the moon
so soft and tender Peeps through the trees; Where the vines of brilliant lustre, Find
mossy pillows; Where the ferns so tall and slender Sway with the breeze, There
lived a lady frog, green pollywog was she; Her lover tho' was one of brown.
Throughout the whole night long a little song sang he, And whispered for the moon
was looking down.
(sung by male frog) My lady frog of opal hue, Here on this log, I sing to you. Bright as the
flies That light this bog, So are your eyes, My lady frog.
(sung by chorus) As the lovers sat a-waiting, From o'er the way Came a frog with chest a
swelling, A bull frog green. Told he of a palace waiting, In grand array, How the
lady of his dwelling, Would be a queen. And tho' 'tis sad to say, he took away this
maid. The frog of brown now croaks with pain, And when the night is still, from o'er
the hill, 'tis said You hear in mournful tones the old refrain.
Talking Points1)
What is the allegory being drawn here? Speculate as to the audience reaction
with respect to the beginning of the third act (a duet between frogs). Given that a
minstrel show’s “olio” would, most likely, begin with a long romantic song of lost
love (sung my a woman) meant to evoke pathos, what type of parody is occurring
here? What does the gender inversion, if anything,signify? What are the multiple
reasons and resonances of the reasons that has led to the frog’s lost love, and
how do they, when considered in light of Moses’s efforts, make a satiric
Act 3: “My Dahomian Queen”:
Parodying Sophomoric Solutions
(Repeat male solo)
(Exit Chorus and lights out. Change to Garden of the King of Dahomey)
My Dahomian Queen In Dahomey so grand, Just along side the strand, Lives a Moorish maid so near and dear to me.
When I sought her heart and hand, She made me understand That if I wish'd my little bride she'd be. When the
moon is brightly beamin', From the azure skies a streamin', In my cottage I'm a dreamin', A dreamin' of our
weddin' day. Natives of exalted station, Potentates from ev'ry nation. Will be there to hear me when I say -CHORUS My Dahomian queen, My dusky turtle dove, What a beautiful scene, Me and my lady love. She's so
sweet and serene, Fresh from the jungle green, Royal Dahomian queen, My Dahomian queen. When I become a
king, All the jingle bells will ring, While through the streets on palanquins we're borne. 'Twill be the grandest thing,
Just to hear the natives sing, As loyally they fall before my throne. Caboceers will be our sentry, 'Rabian knights
will be our gentry, The wonder of the twentieth century. A-makin' even sunlight fade. Seems the breezes will be
sighin' Nature with itself be a-vieing A-singin' while my babe and I parade -(Repeat chorus)
Caboceers Entrance We are the loyal subjects of King Eat-Em-All, The ruler over all our states both great and small. Great
is his name, more great his fame, Before his Majesty all nations prostrate fall. Forward with chargers dashing,
Their armor brightly flashing, With bayonets a clashing Like demons they hunt the fray. The Caboceers! We greet
with cheers! The Caboceers, long be their years! The Caboceers! We greet with cheers! The Caboceers, long be
their years! Mighty their reign and glorious, Their power all victorious, Like gods of light before us They come, the
world to sway, to sway, to sway.
1)
2)
3)
Talking Points
What are the multiple ironies involved when Dunbar chooses to have the Chorus sing about “My Dahomian
Queen”? How does the very phrasing of this appellation (as we all as the use of the term “natives”) implicitly
critique these settlers, and how does their ultimate desire (to possess a Dahomenian queen) both critique
movements like the ACS and speak to the projects of black nationalism and internationalism?
We have our first depiction of the natives here. How would you characterize it? Is it realistic? If not, what does
the appearance of King-Eat-Em-All,
What are the multiple ironies invoked by the presence of the Caboceers and their likening to gods by the settlers?
African-American Christianity and
the Scriptures in In Dahomey
The Ham Nation
Parodying Emigration, Atavistic Primitivism, “Biblical” Justifications for Slavery,
and Early Iterations of Pan-Africanism
CICERO Now dat I've got this gold, I'm goin' to have my pedigree wrote. There's a gentleman down
in Cheaterville dat can find the Royal ancestors for anybody dat got fifty dollars to spare for
his trouble. In fact, he said there was a time when every darkey was a king.
(song) Evah Darkey Is a King Dar's mighty curious circumstance Dat's a botherin' all de nation. All
de yankees is dissatisfied Wid a deir untitled station. Dey is huntin' after title Wid a golden
net to snare 'em! But dey ain't got all de title For it is a 'culiar ting. When a dahkey stahts to
huntin' He is sho' to prove a king.
CHORUS Evah darkey is a king! Royalty is jes' de ting. If yo' social life's a bungle, Jes you go back
to yo' jungle, And remember dat your daddy was a king. Scriptures say dat Ham was de first
black man. Ham's de father of our nation. All de black folks to dis very day B'longs right in de
Ham creation. Ham, he was a king in ancient days, An' he reigned in all his glory. So ef we is
all de Sons of Ham, Natcherlly dat tells de story. White folks what's got dahkey servants Try
an' get dem every thing. You must nevah speak insulting. You may be talking to a king.
Talking Points
1)
By the play’s end, we know that both Moses and Cicero have both been “tricked,” but, in this
scene, we learn that they were tricked in different ways. Describe the differences (and the
multiple resonance of these differences) between the rationales (or forces) motivating Cicero
and Moses to return to Africa? How do these differences speak to the notions of atavistic
primitivism, U.S. imperialism, Black nationalism, and the potential for an international
“Colored” collective?
2)
Describe the multiple ironies at work in the phrase “there was a time when every darkey was
a king” (especially when considered in light of the gentleman from “Cheaterville). What
commentary on black nationalism and primitivism is being made here?
3)
What is the curse of Ham, and how does it relate to the descendants of Canaan? Given
what you now know of this curse and its relationship to the legacy of slavery, what are the
multiple ironies at work in the Chorus’ (a chorus with a desire to “return to Africa”) selfidentification of Sons of Ham and “Darkeys”?
4)
To what overall effect is Dunbar deploying the “curse of Ham?” Is it wholly parodic? Or is
something else going on? Is Dunbar critiquing Christianity here? If so, what is the nature of
the critique?
Moses and Jonah:
Emancipators and Reluctant Prophets
My hard luck started when I was born, leas' so the old folks say. Dat same hard luck been my
bes' fren' up to dis very day. When I was young my mamma's frens to find a name they tried.
They named me after Papa and the same day Papa died. For I'm a Jonah, I'm an unlucky
man. My family for many years would look on me and then shed tears, Why am I dis Jonah I
sho' can't understand, But I'm a good substantial full-fledged real first-class Jonah man . A
fren' of mine gave me a six-month meal ticket one day. He said, "It wont do me no good, I've
got to go away." I thanked him as my heart wid joy and gratitude did bound. But when I
reach'd the restaurant the place had just burn'd down. For I'm a Jonah, I'm a unlucky man. It
sounds just like that old, old tale, But sometimes I feel like a whale. Why am I dis Jonah I
sho' can't understand, But I'm a good substantial full-fledged real first-class Jonah man.
Moses Parts the Red Sea
Jonah Cast-Back onto the Shore
Talking Points
1)
What is the story of Jonah in the Bible? How does in contrast to that of
Moses’? How are both he and Moses “reluctant prophets,” and what is the
significance of this reluctance?
2)
The figure of Moses and the predicament of Jewish slavery in ancient Egypt
has been of long import to the African American Church and to African
American literature. Why might this be so, and how is Dunbar refashioning this
traditional trope, here, for other purposes?
3)
Dunbar’s lyrics present us with a singer who implicitly rejects self-identification
with Moses, figuring himself as a “first class Jonah man.” What are the multiple
significances of this self-identification (keeping in mind the middle passage)?
How (and to what effect) do these significances speak to a refashioning of the
Bible and to the refashioning of Afro-Christianity? How does all of this speak to
the issues of Black nationalism and internationalism?
Emancipation Day
Cakewalks, Continuity, Jubilee, Origins, American
Promises, and Embracing a Darkie Past
CHORUS On Emancipation Day, All you white fo'ks clear de way. Brass ban' playin' sev'ral tunes,
Darkies eyes look jes' lo'k moons, Marshall of de day a struttin', Lord but he is gay. Coons
dress'd up lak masqueraders, Porters arm'd lak rude invaders . When dey hear dem ragtime
tunes, White fo'ks try to pass fo' coons on Emancipation Day. Heah um cry, My oh my, When
de'cession shows it head. Majors brown Ridin' down on cart hosses deck'd in red. Teeth lak
pearls, Greet the girls standin' dere lak dusky storms. Oh! my pet, What a set of owdacious
uniforms. Generals stiff as hick'ry sticks In de dress of seventy-six .
(Repeat chorus)
That's How the Cake Walk's Done Cake-walking craze, it's a fad nowadays With black folks and white
folks too, And I really declare it's done ev'rywhere, Though it may be something new to you.
'Twas introduced years ago down in Dixie you know, By Black folks in Tennessee. So just to
show you, I'm going to do A cake walk of a high degree.
CHORUS Bow to the right, bow to the left, Then you proudly take your place. Be sure to have a smile
on your face, Step high with lots of style and grace. With a salty prance do a ragtime dance,
Step way back and get your gun. With a bow, look wise, make goo-goo eyes, For that's
the way the cake walk's done. My Grandmother told me that she used to be The best cake
walker in the state, When she walk'd down the line, lord, chile she did shine. But of course
her style is out of date; The Parisians, you know, they all walk just so, They call it ze cake
walk dance. But with me you'll agree, That the folks from Paree In this cake walk would have
no chance.
1)
2)
3)
4)
Talking Points
Keep in mind the face that the traditional minstrel shows first act ended with a cakewalk and
that its third part ended with a stump speech. In Cicero’s decision to return to Florida, we
have what is left of the stump speech (which, of course, advocates for a return home “back to
Florida”). Here, both elements (speech and cakewalk) of the Minstrel Show are juxtaposed.
What are the multiple effects produced by this juxtaposition?
The U.S. South, Old Black Joe, and the Cakewalk are all lauded in “Emancipation Day.” To
what other days (or series of days), in recent history and in Judaic and Christian
cosmologies, is “Emancipation Day” tied?
What effect is produced by the chorus taking pride in how their ancestors used to perform the
cakewalk? What additional effects are produced by the invocation of Paris given the
international acclaim of minstrelsy and the cakewalk?
If indeed the Chorus in here embracing a shared past (a shared point of origin), what is it and
what is the significance of locating African-American origins there? How might this “call” from
the Chorus cause Black audience members to revalue their pasts, historical and theatrical?