The Juba dance or hambone, originally known as Pattin' Juba (Giouba, Haiti: Djouba), is an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
style of
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
that involves
stomping
A stomp (also referred to as a stamp) is a downwards strike with the heel of the foot from the stand-up position, and is usually directed at the head or body of a downed opponent. A stomp similar to an axe kick is referred to as an axe stomp, w ...
as well as
slapping and patting the arms, legs, chest, and cheeks (
clapping
A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), b ...
). "Pattin' Juba" would be used to keep time for other dances during a
walkaround
A walkaround (also spelled walk-around or walk around, or called a horay) was a dance from the blackface minstrel shows of the 19th century. The walkaround began in the 1840s as a dance for one performer, but by the 1850s, many dancers or the en ...
. A Juba dance performance could include:
*counter-clockwise turning, often with one leg raised
*stomping and slapping
*steps such as "
the Jubal Jew
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
", "
Yaller Cat", "Pigeon Wing" and "
Blow That Candle Out
Blow commonly refers to:
*Cocaine
*Exhalation
* Strike (attack)
Blow, Blew, Blowing, or Blown may also refer to:
People
* Blew (surname)
* Blow (surname)
Arts and entertainment Music
*The Blow, an American electro-pop band
Albums
* ''Blow ...
".
The dance traditionally ends with a step called "
the Long Dog Scratch
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
". Modern variations on the dance include
Bo Diddley
Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...
's "
Bo Diddley Beat
The Bo Diddley beat is a syncopated musical rhythm that is widely used in rock and roll and pop music. The beat is named after rhythm and blues musician Bo Diddley, who introduced and popularized the beat with his self-titled debut single, "Bo D ...
" and the
step-shows of
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
Greek organizations
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
.
History of the dance
The Juba dance was originally brought by
Kongo
Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa:
* Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...
slaves to
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
. It became an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
dance that was performed by
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
s during their gatherings when no rhythm instruments were allowed due to fear of
secret codes hidden in the drumming. The sounds were used in the same manner as
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
and
Haitian talking drums
The talking drum is an Hourglass drum, hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone (linguistics), tone and Prosody (linguistics), prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather t ...
to communicate and relay information.
The dance was performed in
Dutch Guiana, the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, and the southern United States.
Later in the mid-19th century, music and lyrics were added, and there were public performances of the dance. Its popularization may have indirectly influenced the development of modern
tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...
. The most famous Juba dancer was William Henry Lane, or
Master Juba
Master Juba (ca. 1825 – ca. 1852 or 1853) was an African-American dancer active in the 1840s. He was one of the first black performers in the United States to play onstage for white audiences and the only one of the era to tour with a white mi ...
, one of the first black performers in the United States. It was often danced in
minstrel show
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century.
Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...
s, and is mentioned in songs such as "Christy's New Song" and "Juba", the latter by
Nathaniel Dett
Robert Nathaniel Dett (October 11, 1882 – October 2, 1943), often known as R. Nathaniel Dett and Nathaniel Dett, was a Black Canadian-American composer, organist, pianist, choral director, and music professor. Born and raised in Canada until ...
.
Hambone was famously adopted and adapted in the 1950s by rhythm & blues singer Bo Diddley for his "Bo Diddley beat", which was copied by many rock musicians.
Related songs
"Juba Juba", a popular song about the Juba:
::Juba dis and Juba dat,
::and Juba killed da yellow cat,
::You sift the meal and ya gimme the husk,
::you bake the bread and ya gimme the crust,
::you eat the meat and ya gimme the skin,
::and that's the way,
::my mama's troubles begin
A song about the hambone from ''Step it Down'' (v.s.):
::Hambone Hambone pat him on the shoulder
::If you get a pretty girl, I'll show you how to hold her.
::Hambone, Hambone, where have you been?
::All 'round the world and back again.
::Hambone, Hambone, what did you do?
::I got a train and I fairly flew.
::Hambone, Hambone where did you go?
::I hopped up to Miss Lucy's door.
::I asked Miss Lucy would she marry me.
::''(falsetto)'' "Well I don't care if Papa don't care!"
::First come in was Mister Snake,
::He crawled all over that wedding cake.
::Next walked in was Mister Tick,
::He ate so much it made him sick.
::Next walked in was Mister Coon,
::We asked him to sing us a wedding tune,
::Now Ham-....
::Now Ham....
See also
*
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named after the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson, which or ...
*
Clogging
Clogging is a type of folk dance practiced in the United States, in which the dancer's footwear is used percussively by striking the heel, the toe, or both against a floor or each other to create audible rhythms, usually to the downbeat with the ...
*
Hand jive
The hand jive is a dance particularly associated with music of the 1950s, rhythm and blues in particular. It involves a complicated pattern of hand moves and claps at various parts of the body, following and/or imitating the percussion instrumen ...
*
Jig
The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts of ...
*
Jive (dance)
The jive is a dance style that originated in the United States from the African Americans in the early 1930s. The name of the dance comes from the name of a form of African-American vernacular slang, popularized in the 1930s by the publicatio ...
*
Master Juba
Master Juba (ca. 1825 – ca. 1852 or 1853) was an African-American dancer active in the 1840s. He was one of the first black performers in the United States to play onstage for white audiences and the only one of the era to tour with a white mi ...
*
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century.
Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...
*
Set de flo'
Set de flo' (Set the floor) was a type of dance competition held among African Americans during the 19th century. It possibly is based on dance styles originating in Africa.
Overview
Set de flo' dancing involves drawing a circle on the ground (u ...
*
Step dance
Step(s) or STEP may refer to:
Common meanings
* Steps, making a staircase
* Walking
* Dance move
* Military step, or march
** Marching
Arts Films and television
* ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong
* ''Step'' (film), US, 2017
Literature
* '' ...
*
Stick dance (African-American)
Stick dance was a dance style that African–Americans developed on American plantations during the slavery era, where dancing was used to practice "military drills" among the slaves, where the stick used in the dance was in fact a disguised wea ...
*
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...
*
Schuhplattler
The Schuhplattler is a traditional style of folk dance popular in the regions of Bavaria and Tyrol (southern Germany, Austria and the German speaking regions of northern Italy). In this dance, the performers stomp, clap and strike the soles of the ...
References
External links
"Hambone" at World Arts West "Jig, clog, and breakdown dancing made easy, with sketches of noted jig dancers", pub. by Ed. JamesWisconsin Badgers basketball coach Bo Ryan performs the hamboneSteve Hickman & Matthew Olwell perform tapping hamboneInterview with Steve Hickman on how to hamboneHambone Hicks demonstrates the Hambone.Great description of the description of jig dances along with other dances{{African-American dance
African-American dance
Haitian dances
Dance terminology
Kongo culture