Our spotlights on wedding traditions from various cultures around world can sometimes be a selfish endeavor for us here on “Let Them Eat Cake.” Not only are we sharing these stories with you, dear reader, but we are also feeding our curiosity for our favorite topic.
Kelly here: Recently, I saw the social media posts of an acquaintance from college. In these posts, the couple, a white couple, was seen jumping over a broom placed on the ground in front of them.
I am a white woman and must admit that my knowledge of the tradition of “jumping the broom” has been limited, but I was largely under the impression that this was a tradition kept by the Black community in America to honor their enslaved ancestors.
With this question lingering, we knew a dive into this tradition was in order. Like many longstanding traditions, there are some questions about the origins of its inception.
Many historians agree the origins of the tradition most likely did not, in fact, start in Africa but in Europe. More specifically, it was noted, the origins are likely to have begun with the Romani community in Wales. In a New York Times article Dr. Tyler D. Parry, the author of “Jumping the Broom: The Surprising Multicultural Origins of a Black Wedding Ritual,” states that the origin started in communities, “such as traveling communities like the British Romani, rural Welsh communities, Irish individuals and various other people who lived on the margins of the British Isles.”
Dianne M. Stewart noted in an article on oprahdaily.com that a student of hers shared that their Jewish Polish heritage also included this tradition. “The family’s broom had been passed along from one couple to another across generations,” wrote Steward. “A blue ribbon was tied around the broom with each couple’s names inscribed. Felicitously, the broom was in her mother’s possession at the time, and I was able to examine the sacred heirloom — carefully handcrafted and preserved for over six generations.”
The tradition obviously made its way to America. Marginalized European groups brought it with them as they immigrated to the country and shared it with others like the Black enslaved community. According to Dr. Parry, the earliest instance of enslaved people of African descent jumping over a broom, was in the United States in the 1800s. (It is important to point out that brooms are stated as being used as different symbols in wedding celebrations among African countries, but we’re specifically noting the actual act of jumping over a broom as a wedding marker.)
The weddings of enslaved people in America were not legally recognized and their entire lives were at the whim of their owners. At any moment, families and couples could be separated. Stewart notes that many recollections of the weddings of enslaved people indicated that the act of jumping the broom “may have served to remind enslaved couples that their marriages were perpetually vulnerable to dissolution,” while others “suggest their communities often did exhibit control and agency over their varied wedding ceremonies.”
In more modern instances, many noted that the practice of jumping the broom was largely impacted by the 1976 novel and 1977 TV mini-series “Roots: The Saga of an American Family.” It shed new light on the practice and highlighted a way Black couples could pay homage to their culture and respect to their ancestors.
Did you jump the broom at your wedding? We’d love to hear about it. Email us at kelly@myneworleans.com
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