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 ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

style of dance 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), ...

). "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 ...

. 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". 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, inc ...

'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 Di ...

" 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. It became an

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 slaves 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, 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 perf ...

. 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 spec ...

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....

References

External links

"Hambone" at World Arts West "Jig, clog, and breakdown dancing made easy, with sketches of noted jig dancers", pub. by Ed. James

Wisconsin 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

History of the dance

Related songs

See also

References

External links