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| "Black" In European Superstitions |
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Ancient European religions developed an image structure based on night/day, devil/god, evil/good, and black/white. To them, the opposite of light included "dark, night, the underworld (hell), darkness (blackness), and the devil." The derogatory words they associated with what was bad had a deeper meaning-a meaning dealing with dominant aspects of their character and personality-meanings that found great expression in their traditional nursery rhymes (some of which are shocking in their gruesomeness).
Among ancient Europeans, of all the colors the one most closely associated with evil and death is black. As a mortuary color, black symbolized grief, despair, and death. Hence, the traditional color worn at funerals was not so much out of respect for the deceased but as recognition-dating from Roman times (who got it from the Egyptians)-that everyone is subject to the dominion of death. In art, black signified evil, falsehood, and error. Demons have been said to prefer the form of black creatures, be they cats or dogs. Witches are traditionally depicted all in black with a black cat or raven among their most trusted familiars. On being confronted with an evil spirit, the victim was thought to be able to escape by offering something black. These and other words related to "black" originally had nothing to do with Black people at the time they were in popular usage. Subsequently, however, some "black" words were extended into demeaning connotations when applied to Black People. For example, the blackberry has an ancient European sense associated with evil. This is because the Devil was supposedly entangled in a blackberry bush when he was cast out of heaven and then spat on it, imparting a curse. In France, many people still refuse to eat blackberries because of their Satanic links. During African American slavery, "Blackberry" was a "weapon word" showered on some slaves. Another example started in ancient British culture when the Blackbird was considered a messenger from the dead and thereby retained links with the unknown world of the hereafter. During the African American slave trade Blackbird became a nautical slang for "a kidnapped negro or Polynesian. Also, a Black Dog (associated with death) had a similar course. Still another example is Blackguard which, in the West, points to servitude, slavery, and low birth. In the 16th century peasants were in the king's kitchen to take charge of pots and pans. Thievery was common among them and they were generally unscrupulous. Thus, Black Guard" eventually came to mean a villainous person. When a noble or king's household moved to another residence, the scullions and kitchen knaves traveled in the wagons with their pots and pans. Similarly, the hangers-on of an army were called Blackguards and were considered as rude or unscrupulous persons. Slavery expanded the term to refer not only to the lowest kitchen menials and the dirty work done by them, but since lowly menials were always ragged and unusually extremely dirty, they, or the train in which they were riding, were called the "Black Guards." Such a bitter history regarding certain connotations of the word "black" has sensitized Black people-sensitization that has, for some, spread into "black" words used by Europeans which are not intended to be derogatory words. Black people need to understand that concepts inside offensive words showered on them by Whites are actually concepts pertaining to what Whites think about themselves. Such Whites are entangled in great and inescapable Spiritual Pain. Joseph A. Bailey, II, M.D. |
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