The Affranchi is a traditional folk dance that originated in
Saint-Domingue, the modern day
Haiti.
Etymology and history
During the colonial era, the word ''
affranchi
Affranchi () is a former French legal term denoting a freedman or emancipated slave, but was a term used to refer pejoratively to mulattoes. It is used in the English language to describe the social class of freedmen in Saint-Domingue, and othe ...
'' (meaning "
manumitted
Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that ...
") referred to
free people of color, many of whom were
of mixed French-African parentage. After the
Haitian Revolution, when all slaves were freed, the term instead
came to be used to describe the
emerging light-skinned elite (the "Mulatto ascendancy").
Europeans in
Saint-Domingue delighted in the affranchi entertainment. Both Europeans and Affranchis performed the varied line and square configurations and often made slaves dance to entertain colonial guests. Affranchi practices spread throughout Haiti and was accompanied by African-descended Kings and Queens. This highly regarded performance style and regal association was also taken to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
,
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and to the rest of the diaspora in the late eighteenth century.
Description
The dance involved a series of straight-backed, held-torso, French style figures and then African-styled improvisation on the final set
much like the
tumba francesa
Tumba francesa is a secular Afro-Cuban genre of dance, song, and drumming that emerged in Oriente, Cuba. It was introduced by slaves from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (which would later become the nation of Haiti) whose owners resettled ...
that later emerged in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
by Haitian refugees escaping the
Haitian Revolution, but was performed to the string and woodwind instruments, instead of the drums.
See also
*
Affranchi
Affranchi () is a former French legal term denoting a freedman or emancipated slave, but was a term used to refer pejoratively to mulattoes. It is used in the English language to describe the social class of freedmen in Saint-Domingue, and othe ...
*
Gens de couleur libres
In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...
*
Redoutes des filles de couleur
*
Tumba francesa
Tumba francesa is a secular Afro-Cuban genre of dance, song, and drumming that emerged in Oriente, Cuba. It was introduced by slaves from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (which would later become the nation of Haiti) whose owners resettled ...
References
Haitian dances
French dances
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
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