Jumping the broom
Encyclopedia
Jumping the broom is a phrase and custom relating to wedding
ceremonies in different cultural traditions: "many diverse cultures, those of Africa − Europe including Scotland, Hungary and Gypsy culture – include brooms at wedding rituals." It is particularly associated with the Romani gypsy people of the United Kingdom
, especially those in Wales. There is “Evidence showing the wedding custom was practised by gypsies(sic) in England
, Scotland
” as well as African-American and other groups.
, Romani couples would get married by eloping, when they would "jump the broom," or over a branch of flowering broom (shrub)
or a besom made of broom. Welsh Kale and English Romanichal Gypsies and Romanichal populations in Scotland
practised the ritual into the 1900s. The Welsh people themselves practised a centuries-old custom, priodas coes ysgub ("broom-stick wedding"), alluded to in Dundes' work. Local variations of the custom were developed in different parts of England and Wales. Instead of placing the broom on the ground, and jumping together, the broom was placed in an angle by the doorway. The groom jumped first, followed by the bride. In southwest England, in Wales, and in the border areas between Scotland and England, "[while some] couples ... agreed to marry verbally, without exchanging legal contracts[,] .... [o]thers jumped over broomsticks placed across their thresholds to officialize their union and create new households", indicating that contractless weddings and jumping the broomstick were different kinds of marriage.
In some African-American communities, marrying couples will end their ceremony by jumping over a broom
stick, either together or separately. This practice dates back at least to the 19th century and has enjoyed a 20th century revival largely due to the novel
and miniseries
Roots
.
Historically, "broom-stick weddings" were first known in Wales. There has been dispute among scholars over whether the tradition originated among the Welsh people themselves or among Romani living in Wales.
According to scholar Alan Dundes
, who wrote extensively on the topic, the custom originated among Romani Gypsies in Wales (Welsh Kale Gypsies) and England (English Romanichal Gypsies). Scholar C.W. Sullivan III, however, argued that the custom originated among the Welsh people
themselves, since the custom was known in Wales prior to the 1700s when he believed Gypsies arrived there. Historical records, however, show that Gypsies actually arrived in Wales earlier, in 1579.
A commonly held belief is that the practice originates or at least has roots in West Africa
. However, there are no recorded instances of West African or Central African weddings that involved jumping over a broom.
It is documented that brooms existed as spiritual symbols in regions where African Americans originated. The prime candidate for a geographic origin of the custom in Africa is Ghana
where brooms were waved above the heads of newlyweds and their parents. Danita Rountree Green, in her book Broom Jumping: A Celebration of Love, admits there is no recognized documentation suggesting that ethnic groups in Ghana, who were prominent in the Atlantic Slave Trade
, ever jumped over the broom. Still, Green's research implies that the ceremony used today stems from traditional rites of maturation still practiced in Africa.
Dundes asserts that the practice was passed along, possibly by force, to slaves by their masters. This is given some weight by the fact that slave masters and their wives assisted in the ceremony at times.
Another author states that it is likely both blacks and whites in the antebellum south accepted jumping the broom as a quasi-marriage ceremony since the practice or symbols used in it (specifically the broom) had similar meanings in their respective cultures. She claims jumping over the broom was definitely a feature in both European and African wedding ceremonies, but believes that the slave practice likely originated in Africa and not Europe.
" because the practice of jumping the broom pre-dates the phrase coined by Søren Aabye Kierkegaard
by one hundred years, if not more. Among southern Africans, who were largely not a part of the Atlantic slave trade, it represented the wife's commitment or willingness to clean the courtyard of the new home she had joined. In England, jumping over the broom (or sometimes walking over a broom), became nominally synonymous (i.e. "Married over the besom", "living over the brush") with irregular or non-church unions while in America the phrase could be used as a slang expression to describe the act of getting married legally, rather than as one specifying an informal union not recognised by church or state.
,as in law marriage was held to be a civil contract, and civil contracts required the consent of free persons. In the absence of legal recognition, other methods of distinguishing between committed and casual unions evolved among the slave community. The ceremonial jumping of the broom served as an open declaration of settling down in a marriage relationship. Jumping the broom was always done before witnesses as a public ceremonial announcement that a couple chose to become as close to married as was then allowed.
After the American Civil War
the marriages of formerly-enslaved people were legally recognized. The broom-jumping ceremony was among the vestiges of slavery that was no longer required, and the outdated tradition was largely abandoned after it was no longer necessary.
's Roots
and Mrs. Fitzherbert
: “Their way to consummation was by hopping o’er a broom, sir.”
In England marriage by this rite was not considered as legally binding but as an informal arrangement which could be ended at will by the couple involved, without reference to other authority. During a court case heard in London in 1824 regarding the legal validity of a marriage under Jewish law, in which the parties had contracted purely by the man placing a ring on the woman's finger before witnesses, a court official commented "that sort of marriage amounted to nothing more than a broomstick marriage, which the parties had it in their power to dissolve at will."
Tinkers were said to have a similar custom of marriage called "jumping the budget", with the bride and groom jumping over a string or other symbolic obstacle.
A man interviewed in Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor
said, "I never had a wife, but I have had two or three broomstick matches, though they never turned out happy."
Some Wiccans have also adopted the custom.
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
ceremonies in different cultural traditions: "many diverse cultures, those of Africa − Europe including Scotland, Hungary and Gypsy culture – include brooms at wedding rituals." It is particularly associated with the Romani gypsy people of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, especially those in Wales. There is “Evidence showing the wedding custom was practised by gypsies(sic) in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
” as well as African-American and other groups.
Practice
In WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Romani couples would get married by eloping, when they would "jump the broom," or over a branch of flowering broom (shrub)
Broom (shrub)
Brooms are a group of evergreen, semi-evergreen, and deciduous shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the legume family Fabaceae, mainly in the three genera Chamaecytisus, Cytisus and Genista, but also in many other small genera . All genera in this group are from the tribe Genisteae...
or a besom made of broom. Welsh Kale and English Romanichal Gypsies and Romanichal populations in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
practised the ritual into the 1900s. The Welsh people themselves practised a centuries-old custom, priodas coes ysgub ("broom-stick wedding"), alluded to in Dundes' work. Local variations of the custom were developed in different parts of England and Wales. Instead of placing the broom on the ground, and jumping together, the broom was placed in an angle by the doorway. The groom jumped first, followed by the bride. In southwest England, in Wales, and in the border areas between Scotland and England, "[while some] couples ... agreed to marry verbally, without exchanging legal contracts[,] .... [o]thers jumped over broomsticks placed across their thresholds to officialize their union and create new households", indicating that contractless weddings and jumping the broomstick were different kinds of marriage.
In some African-American communities, marrying couples will end their ceremony by jumping over a broom
Broom
A broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibers attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan....
stick, either together or separately. This practice dates back at least to the 19th century and has enjoyed a 20th century revival largely due to the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
and miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Roots
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a novel written by Alex Haley and first published in 1976. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent and sold into slavery in the United States, and follows his life and the lives of his descendants in the U.S....
.
Origin
There is an ongoing debate as to the exact origin or origins.Historically, "broom-stick weddings" were first known in Wales. There has been dispute among scholars over whether the tradition originated among the Welsh people themselves or among Romani living in Wales.
According to scholar Alan Dundes
Alan Dundes
Alan Dundes, was a folklorist at the University of California, Berkeley. His work was said to have been central to establishing the study of folklore as an academic discipline. He wrote 12 books, both academic and popular, and edited or co-wrote two dozen more...
, who wrote extensively on the topic, the custom originated among Romani Gypsies in Wales (Welsh Kale Gypsies) and England (English Romanichal Gypsies). Scholar C.W. Sullivan III, however, argued that the custom originated among the Welsh people
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
themselves, since the custom was known in Wales prior to the 1700s when he believed Gypsies arrived there. Historical records, however, show that Gypsies actually arrived in Wales earlier, in 1579.
A commonly held belief is that the practice originates or at least has roots in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. However, there are no recorded instances of West African or Central African weddings that involved jumping over a broom.
It is documented that brooms existed as spiritual symbols in regions where African Americans originated. The prime candidate for a geographic origin of the custom in Africa is Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
where brooms were waved above the heads of newlyweds and their parents. Danita Rountree Green, in her book Broom Jumping: A Celebration of Love, admits there is no recognized documentation suggesting that ethnic groups in Ghana, who were prominent in the Atlantic Slave Trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
, ever jumped over the broom. Still, Green's research implies that the ceremony used today stems from traditional rites of maturation still practiced in Africa.
Dundes asserts that the practice was passed along, possibly by force, to slaves by their masters. This is given some weight by the fact that slave masters and their wives assisted in the ceremony at times.
Another author states that it is likely both blacks and whites in the antebellum south accepted jumping the broom as a quasi-marriage ceremony since the practice or symbols used in it (specifically the broom) had similar meanings in their respective cultures. She claims jumping over the broom was definitely a feature in both European and African wedding ceremonies, but believes that the slave practice likely originated in Africa and not Europe.
Symbolism
Jumping over the broom symbolized various things depending on the culture. In the American south, the custom determined who ran the household. Whoever jumped highest over the broom was the decision maker of the household. Or, alternatively, whoever landed on the ground first after jumping the broom was predicted to be the decision maker in the marriage. The jumping of the broom does not constitute taking a "leap of faithLeap of faith
A leap of faith, in its most commonly used meaning, is the act of believing in or accepting something intangible or unprovable, or without empirical evidence...
" because the practice of jumping the broom pre-dates the phrase coined by Søren Aabye Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish Christian philosopher, theologian and religious author. He was a critic of idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel...
by one hundred years, if not more. Among southern Africans, who were largely not a part of the Atlantic slave trade, it represented the wife's commitment or willingness to clean the courtyard of the new home she had joined. In England, jumping over the broom (or sometimes walking over a broom), became nominally synonymous (i.e. "Married over the besom", "living over the brush") with irregular or non-church unions while in America the phrase could be used as a slang expression to describe the act of getting married legally, rather than as one specifying an informal union not recognised by church or state.
Decline after the end of American slavery
Most marriages between enslaved blacks were not legally recognized during American slaverySlavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
,as in law marriage was held to be a civil contract, and civil contracts required the consent of free persons. In the absence of legal recognition, other methods of distinguishing between committed and casual unions evolved among the slave community. The ceremonial jumping of the broom served as an open declaration of settling down in a marriage relationship. Jumping the broom was always done before witnesses as a public ceremonial announcement that a couple chose to become as close to married as was then allowed.
After the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
the marriages of formerly-enslaved people were legally recognized. The broom-jumping ceremony was among the vestiges of slavery that was no longer required, and the outdated tradition was largely abandoned after it was no longer necessary.
Stigma in African-American communities
Jumping the broom also fell out of practice due to the stigma it carried, and in some cases still carries, among black Americans wishing to forget the horrors of slavery. Once slavery had ended, many blacks wanted nothing to do with anything associated with that era and discarded the broom jumping practice altogether. The practice did survive in some communities, however, and made a resurgence after the publication of Alex HaleyAlex Haley
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the coauthor of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.-Early life:...
's Roots
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a novel written by Alex Haley and first published in 1976. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent and sold into slavery in the United States, and follows his life and the lives of his descendants in the U.S....
Other groups
The custom was widely-known in England by the late 18th century. The earliest reference given to the phrase in the Oxford English Dictionary is a quote from the Westminster Magazine of 1774: "He had no inclination for a Broomstick-marriage". A satirical song published in The Times of 1789 also alludes to the custom in a line referring to the rumoured clandestine marriage between the Prince RegentGeorge IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
and Mrs. Fitzherbert
Maria Anne Fitzherbert
Maria Fitzherbert , was the woman with whom the future George IV secretly undertook a form of marriage, and his companion for a large part of his adult life. However the marriage in England was invalid under English civil laws concerning royal marriages...
: “Their way to consummation was by hopping o’er a broom, sir.”
In England marriage by this rite was not considered as legally binding but as an informal arrangement which could be ended at will by the couple involved, without reference to other authority. During a court case heard in London in 1824 regarding the legal validity of a marriage under Jewish law, in which the parties had contracted purely by the man placing a ring on the woman's finger before witnesses, a court official commented "that sort of marriage amounted to nothing more than a broomstick marriage, which the parties had it in their power to dissolve at will."
Tinkers were said to have a similar custom of marriage called "jumping the budget", with the bride and groom jumping over a string or other symbolic obstacle.
A man interviewed in Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor
London Labour and the London Poor
London Labour and the London Poor is a work of Victorian journalism by Henry Mayhew. In the 1840s he observed, documented and described the state of working people in London for a series of articles in a newspaper, the Morning Chronicle, that were later compiled into book form.-Overview:The...
said, "I never had a wife, but I have had two or three broomstick matches, though they never turned out happy."
Some Wiccans have also adopted the custom.
In popular culture
- Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' novel, Great ExpectationsGreat ExpectationsGreat Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
(first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861), contains a reference in chapter 48 to a couple having been married "over the broomstick." The ceremony is not portrayed, but the reference indicates that the readers would have recognized this kind of ceremony.
- American singer-songwriter, Brenda LeeBrenda LeeBrenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...
, released the rockabillyRockabillyRockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
song "Let's Jump The Broomstick" on Decca Records in 1959.
- August WilsonAugust WilsonAugust Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
's 1990 play, The Piano Lesson, contains a reference in Act One, Scene 2 wherein one character, Doaker, in describing his family history during slavery says, "See that? That's when him and Mama Berniece got married. They called it jumping the broom. That's how you got married in them days."
- In 2008, the LOGO television series Noah's ArcNoah's Arc (TV series)Noah's Arc is an American cable television dramedy. The series, which predominantly features gay black and Latino characters, focused on many socially relevant issues, including same sex dating, same-sex marriage, same-sex parenthood, HIV and AIDS awareness, infidelity, promiscuity, homophobia, gay...
released its first major movie, Noah's Arc: Jumping the BroomNoah's Arc: Jumping the BroomNoah's Arc: Jumping the Broom is a 2008 Canadian-American romantic comedy-drama film based on the LOGO television series Noah's Arc. It was released on October 24, 2008 in select theaters and video on demand...
, wherein two African-American men get married in Martha's VineyardMartha's VineyardMartha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
, Massachusetts.
- In 2011, Paula PattonPaula PattonPaula Maxine Patton is an American actress. She is mostly known for her appearances in the films Idlewild , Déjà Vu , Mirrors , Swing Vote , Precious , Just Wright , and Jumping the Broom .-Early life and career:Patton was born in Los Angeles, to Joyce , a European-American...
, Laz AlonsoLaz AlonsoLazaro "Laz" Alonso is an American film and television actor. He is best known for playing Tsu'tey in James Cameron's science fiction film Avatar. He is also well known for his role as Fenix "Rise" Calderon in the film Fast & Furious. Alonso has had roles in other films such as Jarhead, This...
, and Angela BassettAngela BassettAngela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. She has become well known for her biographical film roles portraying real life women in African American culture, including singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as Betty Shabazz in the films Malcolm X and...
star in the film Jumping the BroomJumping the BroomJumping the Broom is a 2011 American comedy film directed by Salim Akil and produced by Tracey E. Edmonds, Elizabeth Hunter, T.D. Jakes, Glendon Palmer, and Curtis Wallace....
, wherein two very different families converge on Martha's Vineyard one weekend for a wedding. One source of controversy between the families is whether or not the couple will jump the broom as part of their wedding ceremony.
Further reading
- Thony C. Anyiam, Jumping the Broom in Style (Authorhouse 2007).
- Orville W. Taylor, Jumping the Broomstick:Slave Marriage and Morality in Arkansas, The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Autumn, 1958), pp. 217–231