J. Kirby Johnson
November 26, 2002

            One night, when I was around the age of ten, my mother and I were coming home from the grocery store.  Suddenly, she slammed on the brakes and threw the car into reverse.  “What are you doing?”  I asked, somewhat startled.  “A black cat crossed our path.”  I understood.  I don’t remember when I was told or how exactly it came to be, I just knew: a black cat crossing your path is bad luck and the only way to reverse the bad luck is to back up to where you were before the cat crossed your path.  When reading Baby of the Family, I was reminded of the folklore I grew up with.  No one questioned Grandmama too much about her all precautions with luck, and I never questioned my mom with her precautions.  

The research journal gives me an opportunity to discover the kinds of folklore that flourished in the African American culture.  Webster’s dictionary defines folklore as:  “the traditions, beliefs, practices, and legends of a people handed down orally” (269).  So, I soon found out, as I ecstatically began my research on African American Folklore, that I did not have enough time to research such a broad topic.   I narrowed my research to the folk stories and superstitions that were popular in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  One of my sources is a book that has actual articles from popular magazines of the 1800’s.  Other books I obtained are collections of folklore with popular stories of that time.  I also reviewed a few websites to further my knowledge on the subject. 

Through my research I found many amazing stories.  I focused my attention on the most popular of the stories.  Many articles directed me to The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus, a well know collection of folk stories.  I also found the most popular tale being the one of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby.  In this journal I discuss some characteristics displayed in these popular folk stories and I compare and contrast four different Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby stories, including the one told in Uncle Remus.  Also included is a brief look at an African American folk tale with a female as the main character. 

Apart from the actual stories, I will also discuss superstitions that were believed in the late 1800’s.  Throughout my journal, I relate some of this information back to class objectives and novels read in the course.  Now, let’s begin.

Characteristics

            The language of all the stories I read was written as it was believed to have been spoken.  A quick example of what I’m talking about is Mark Twain’s Jim in The Adventures of Huckle Berry Finn.  Every story written was written that way, even the collection I read gathered by an African American.  At first it was hard for me to read the folk tales, but then I got used to it.  I wanted to make a quick note of this, because I thought it was interesting.

Most African American folklore has animals as the main characters.  All these animals are given the title of “Brer,” or “Buh.”  The title is the abbreviation of the word brother, “but it probably is a title of respect equivalent to [the dominant culture’s] Mr.” (Jackson 159).  The rabbit is the hero in all the stories.  James Mason Brewer, a distinguished professor and first African American member of the American Folklore Society, feels that: “The animal tales told by Negro slaves with Brer Rabbit as the hero had a meaning far deeper than mere entertainment.  The rabbit actually symbolized the slave himself.  Whenever the rabbit succeeded in proving himself smarter that another animal the slave rejoiced secretly, imagining himself smarter than his master” (Brewer 3-4).  The rabbit is looked upon as weak, as was the slave.  The rabbit always fools an animal that is assumed to be stronger than him, such as: the wolf, the bear, or the fox.  These folk stories show how, in times of hardship, a culture maintains hope and humor.

                 I would like to relate these folk tales of hope to Objective 5a:  To discover the power of poetry and fiction to help “others” hear the minority voice and vicariously share the minority experience.  The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus, a very popular book, includes the character of Uncle Remus telling African American folk stories to a young white kid.  The novel, itself, was written by a white man.  Joel Chandler Harris grew up on a plantation in Georgia.  He grew up hearing these stories from the slaves that worked on his plantation.  When he got older he published these tales.  Harris, through these tales, vicariously shared the minority experience.  He saw the power of these stories and published them to share with the world.  I would like to note that everything I read concluded that Harris stayed as true to the original stories as possible.  Some believe that he may have dressed the tales up and even shortened a few, but he was true to the content, as you will see in my comparison of the Tar Baby stories.    

Comparison/Contrast of Tar Baby stories

            The tale of the Tar Baby is the most popular story in African American folklore.  I read several versions of the story.  The main plot is: the rabbit is finally fooled by another being with  a tar baby (a trap that resembles a human and is made out of tar or something sticky).   They all differed somewhat.  The best way for me to start my discussion is for me to summarize each story. 

            The first story I read involved Buh Wolf and Buh Rabbit.  Buh Rabbit is stealing water from Buh Wolf’s drinking well.  To prevent this, Buh Wolf makes a Tar Baby resembling a woman.  Buh Rabbit mistakes the Tar Baby for a real woman and gets stuck to it.  The next day, Buh Wolf finds Buh Rabbit and intends to punish him.  Buh Rabbit begs Buh Wolf to do anything, just don’t throw him in the brier bush.  He tells the wolf that that would be the worst punishment of all.  Buh Wolf is tricked into throwing Buh Rabbit into the brier bush, which is Buh Rabbit’s home (Jackson 148-150).

            The second version involved an old Negro man and a rabbit.  The old man makes a tar baby to keep the rabbit from stealing his black-eyed peas.  The old man finds the rabbit stuck the tar baby, picks him up, and sets towards home to eat the rabbit.  The rabbit escapes by slamming his tarred up paws in the man’s eyes (Jackson 141-142).

            The third version of the Tar Baby stories comes from Uncle Remus.  The young boy asks Uncle Remus if the fox ever caught the rabbit.  Uncle Remus tells the boy the story of the Tar Baby.  In this version, to get back at Brer Rabbit for fooling him with calamus root, Brer Fox makes a Tar Baby and puts it on a road he knows Brer Rabbit will go down.  Brer Rabbit gets stuck on the Tar Baby and the fox finds him.  The story is then cut off by Miss Sally calling for the boy.  The conclusion comes in a story entitled “How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp For Mr. Fox.”   Brer Rabbit gets away as he did in the first story, by tricking Brer Fox into throwing him into the brier bush (Harris 4-6, 12-14).

            The last version I read involved a wolf and a rabbit.  The wolf busily planted his crops while the rabbit did nothing.  The rabbit grew hungry and began stealing from the wolf’s crops.  The wolf makes a scarecrow to protect his crop.  He comes back to find his scarecrow destroyed, so he makes a tar baby.  The wolf catches the rabbit and is then tricked into releasing him into the bushes.  In another attempt to catch the rabbit (same story), the wolf’s wife sends their neighbor, the dog, to tell the rabbit that the wolf died.  The rabbit goes to see the dead wolf.  He tells the wife that he wants to make sure the wolf is dead.  The rabbit triumphs by putting a feather on the wolf’s nose and making him sneeze. 

            A few things are obvious.  In all the stories the rabbit was fooled by the Tar Baby, but he won in the end.  Most of the stories have the rabbit stealing from the other character in the story.  The rabbit is mischievous, yet clever.  He can only be temporarily fooled.  The last story is believed to be the one closest to the oral versions told in African American folklore.  The story is longer than the rest and involves more characters.  The Uncle Remus version is shorter and doesn’t have an ending.  This can be looked at in terms of literary device.  The story is a work in a novel.  By not ending it with the natural ending, the author is able to link stories together and leave the reader wanting more.  The second story is the only story in which the rabbit gets away by means of violence.  The author of this tale was a white man from the 1800’s.  I just think that is interesting considering that this was the only tale in which the other character was a human, and a black man at that.

            I am not sure why this was the most popular tale, but every book I read insisted that everyone knew the tale of the rabbit and the Tar Baby.  My conclusion is that this is the only tale in which the rabbit is almost caught.  The story shows that the rabbit is not infallible, and yet he still triumphs. 

A Brief Glimpse at a Heroine

            The book I obtained to capture an African American heroine of folklore, specifically set out to publish folktales with “positive female protagonists” (Ragan Intro xxiii).  The editor reviewed over 30,000 folk stories from all over the world.  Fifteen tales from North and South America are in the book, only one of which is African American.  My intent in reading this story is to capture a glimpse at a powerful female character in African American folklore.  In the time allowed, I feel this book was my best option. 

            The story included to represent African American folklore is “Molly Cotton-Tail Steals Mr. Fox’s Butter.”  Molly Cotton-Tail is the female counterpart to Brer Rabbit.  The butter story resembles the tales of Brer Rabbit.  Molly Cotton-Tail steals Hungry Billy’s butter and then cunningly escapes blame by putting it off on Mr. Fox.  Both Molly and Brer Rabbit are always taking food and escaping blame through clever means.  These stories remind me of Bugs Bunny.  He is always getting away with stuff. 

            Molly Cotton-Tail does have feministic qualities.  She is married to a Mister Hare; she did not take his name in marriage.  The story of Molly is being told by an Aunt Nancy (a female, similar to the character of Uncle Remus).  In her description of Molly, Aunt Nancy states: “…Mis’ Molly Cotton-tail and not just solely the wife of Mister Hare.  She isn’t the sort of woman to settle down and be just plain Missus Hare…and stay home and listen to the children cry…she’s got too much get up and go for that.  She makes old man Hare stay at home [with the children] and he doesn’t dare say no” (Ragan 160).  This story was first published in 1904.  Considering that, Molly was a bold role model for young girls.  I enjoyed the tale and was glad to see the way the female gets depicted in African American folklore.  Molly Cotton-Tail is She-Rah compared to Brer Rabbit’s He-Man. 

Superstitions

            Brewer states, “Superstitions exist wherever Negroes live… [superstitions] are one of the major inheritances form the Negro’s African ancestry…There may be localities where groups of Negroes have no tales, songs, or rhymes in their living tradition, but not so with superstition: it is omnipresent in all Negro communities” (287).  Many of my research materials concentrated on the superstitions of the late 1800’s.  I found it intriguing to read all the different superstitions.  I even found some that are similar to the ones I’ve grown up with and believe today.

            A few of the articles I read discussed African American religious beliefs, as well as discussing superstitions.  It seems kind of hard not to.  I do not want to get into religion, but I do want to connect the African American’s vision of heaven with a scene in Baby of the Family.  Back in the 1800’s, the African American’s vision of heaven was one of simplicity.  There were no descriptions of pearly, golden gates or angels and things.  Instead, simple acts of sitting under an apple tree and eating apples all day were believed to be the afterlife (Jackson 261-262).  This reminds me of the character of Rachel in Baby of the Family.  Rachel’s afterlife was nothing more but sitting by the beach, a place she found peace in during her life  (Ansa 157-168).  The popular view of a simple afterlife was conveyed in Rachel’s character.

            Most of us have heard of Atlantis, the lost city, but not many of us have heard of Diddy-Wah-Diddy or Zar.  Geographically, Diddy-Wah-Diddy is “way off somewhere” and Zar is “on the other side of far” (Brewer 306-307).  These are mythological cities and places told of in the African American culture.  Diddy-Wah-Diddy is a “place of no worry and no hurry for man and beast” (Brewer).  Everyone would go, but apparently it’s real hard to find.  Even those who have been and then come back cannot remember the way.  Not much is known about Zar, because only a couple of people have been and come back.

            African American superstitions implied one should never hurt frogs, cats, or dogs.  Shooting stars were looked at as unlucky, on contrast to the dominant culture’s view of earning a wish when seeing a shooting star.  A rabbit crossing your path was consider unlucky.  If a snake crosses your path, you better go back to where you were before he crossed your path or you’ll have a backache all day.  These two remind me of the black cat superstition my mother and I believe in.  Other beliefs that I share with African American superstition are: never open an umbrella in the house, eating cabbage on New Year’s Day brings you wealth that year, if one dreams of marriage then expect a death in the family and vice versa, and when you break a mirror you will have seven years of bad luck.  Although in the African American culture, you can reverse the bad luck by throwing the broken pieces in running water.

            Another popular superstition held by African Americans is that a horseshoe placed above the front door will protect against witches and the devil and bring good luck.  There were many superstitions dealing with hen raising, childbirth, and death.  Brooms and sweeping were other popular themes in African American superstition.  It was believed to be bad luck to move brooms from house to house.  Upon moving out, the entire house had to be swept my someone not living in the house.  It was surprising how many superstitions revolved around the act of sweeping.

            There is also the belief that the jaybird takes a grain of sand to the devil once a year and when the last grain is taken the end of the world will be here.  A similar belief was displayed in Bless Me, Ultima (Anaya 201-201).  The bird in Ultima is a sparrow instead of a jaybird.  This belief was spread throughout my resources.  The tale showing up in a book of Mexican American culture shows the mixing of traditions and stories that happens in America.  

            I found many, many superstitions that ran through the African American culture in the late 1800’s.  Many of them I believe today.  I have discussed the ones that I found in more than one place, in hopes of capturing the popular beliefs held in that time.  Every culture has its superstitions and I enjoyed discovering those believed in the African American culture. 

Conclusion

            Through my research I have been exposed to the wonderful world of African American folklore.  I enjoyed stepping out of the usual Paul Bunyan tells I grew up with.  I have found a world of animals that inspire and all sorts of antidotes to ward off bad luck.  I have opened my eyes to the fact that folklore stories are not only forms of entertainment, but also sources of hope and inspiration. 

            Many new issues have risen out of my research.  I think it would be interesting to find the link between Bugs Bunny and Brer Rabbit.  There has to be some connection. The tales and the cartoons are just too much alike.  I also find the character of Molly Cotton-Tail intriguing.  I would like to read more of her adventures.

            After having found these stories, I intend to share them with my children.  Literature is a powerful means of communication (Objective 5a) and by exposing children to multicultural folklore and other works they become aware of other culture’s ways.  I think it’s important for schools and parents to teach children to read works other than the ones created by the dominant culture.  African American culture is rich with confliction, hope, and inspiration.  Children should not be deprived of this.

            Another topic that has sparked my interest is folklore in general.  At the library, I had to pull myself away from the shelves containing folklore and fairytales.  As a child I have always been captivated by those stories.  I intend on finding out if there is a master’s program that specializes in folklore and fairytale.  That would be a dream to study!

Works Cited

Anaya, Rudolfo.  Bless Me, Ultima.  New York: Warner, 1972.

Ansa, Tina McElroy.  Baby of the Family.  New York: Harcourt, 1989.

Brewer, James Mason.  American Negro Folklore.  Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1968.

Harris, Joel Chandler.  The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus.  Ed. Richard Chase. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1955.

Jackson, Bruce.  The Negro and His Folklore: In Nineteenth-Century Periodicals.  Austin: American Folklore Society, 1967.

Lindfors, Bernth.  Folklore in Nigerian Literature.  New York: Africana, 1973.

Ragan, Kathleen.  Fearless Girls, Wise Women, & Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World.  New York: W.W. Norton, 1998.