![]() In the 21st century, many African and African American couples include jumping the broom at the end of their wedding ceremonies as a tribute to tradition. The practice survived, and made a resurgence after the publication of Alex Haley's book " Roots." During this time, jumping the broom fell out of practice from the stigma it carried, and in some cases still carries, among African Americans who wanted nothing to do with anything associated with that era. Once Blacks could have weddings with rings that were recognizable by anyone as a symbol of marriage, the broom ceremony wasn't required. Jumping the broom has nothing to do with whites. With slavery over and superficial hints of racial integration allowed, African Americans could now have European-style marriages. Jumping the broom was not a custom of slavery, but is a part of African culture that survived American slavery like the Voodoo religion of the Fon and Ewe ethnic groups or the ring shout ceremony of the BaKongo and Mbundu ethnic groups. This particular Akan practice of jumping the broom was picked up by other African ethnic groups in the Americas and used to strengthen marriages during slavery among their communities. Jumping the Broom did survive in the Americas, especially in the United States, among slaves brought from the Asante area. The irony is that the practice of jumping the broom was largely discarded after Emancipation in America which was consistent with the eventual fall of the Ashanti Confederacy in Ghana in 1897 and the coming of British customs. The jumping of the broom does not add up to taking a "leap of faith." Whoever jumped highest over the broom could be the decision-maker of the household (usually the man). It also represented the determination of who ran the household. Furthermore, it expressed her overall commitment to the house. Jumping over the broom symbolized the wife's commitment or willingness to clean the courtyard of the new home she had joined. The couple would often but not always jump over the broom at the end of the ceremony. Brooms were (are) waved over the heads of marrying couples to ward off spirits. This is where the broom comes into play regarding marriage. The broom in Asante and other Akan cultures also held spiritual value and symbolized sweeping away past wrongs or removing evil spirits. These same brooms were used by wives or servants to clean the courtyards of palaces or homes. The Asante’s urban areas and roads were kept conspicuously clean according to visiting British and Dutch traders with the use of locally made brooms. During the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, most of Ghana in the 18th century was ruled by the Asante or Ashanti Confederacy. ![]() ![]() The significance of the broom to Black heritage and history originates in the West African country of Ghana. This is an African American term and custom for marriage. "Jumping the Broom," is celebrated on this date.
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