Therefore, they had to work within this system to develop ways to identify with their group and their way of life that recognized the realities of their enslavement.

One of the chief means of identification that slaves utilized was through music and language (Morgan, 1998). Having a shared cultural heritage which emphasized wordplay, story-telling, and narrative expressions, black slaves developed an ability to communicate communal identification and inculcate communal lessons through song, ritual, and other expressive displays. Field songs were used to tell the news to other slaves and to entertain, even as they served to regulate work through rhythmic repetition. Physical culture generally was used to promote health, cultivate values, and maintain identity. Linguistic devices were developed to allow the slaves to communicate with their fellow slaves even in the face of white oppression and suspicion, even given the fact that slave communities were often made up of different...
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