A Snapshot of Bainet's Slave Population in 1739

Though only data from the Notariat covering part of Bainet, the breakdown in African "nations" may be illustrative of broader patterns in Bainet. The first table, with numbers from an act of retrocession by Julien Pierre Perronneau in 1739, lists slaves from the estate of the deceased Dumas. While only involving 17 slaves, 11 of them adults, this may have been representative of the enslaved workforce of small-scale indigo planters in Bainet. One is struck by the tiny Igbo and Congo presence, with no group enjoying an overwhelming majority. The children, some of whom were definitely born in the colony, would bump up the Creole population. One would imagine that on an estate like this, some of the Creoles and children may have inherited or been drawn to an already established slave culture in this part of Saint Domingue. This likely reflected earlier patterns in the slave trade for this part of the colony.

The other "snapshot" of what the origins of slaves in Bainet is derived from a bail of several to Perronneau, also from 1739. Louis Le Roy leased 21 adult slaves and 7 children to Perronneau, and the majority were Creoles. And after Creoles, the only African group who numbered more than one were Creoles. Again, we see in this Creole preponderance a similar pattern with the slaves of the estate of Robert Fleuret or Alexis Saugrain. Part of this surely reflects the longer length of time some planters had owned slaves in the colony. But it may also be related to the less destructive impact of indigo and coffee on slave mortality rates, leading to a larger Creole population in some cases. Indeed, another list of slaves owned by a Perronneau near the end of the century also possessed a Creole majority.

Inventory of Jerome de Livet (1739)

 

While continuing our search through notarized documents from Jacmel, we found one from 1739 from the estate of the deceased Jerome de Livet or Livet, a Jacmel planter. Their presence in the region can be attested as early as 1712, though of their 31 slaves, only 8 were children (not included in the table). However, 4 of the children were described as Creole, while some of the adult Creoles were "English" (presumably acquired via intercolonial slave trading). Interestingly, there were nearly twice as many adult males as women among the estate, so one is not surprised that the number of "Creole" children was rather small. This inventory is also unique in that the rare "Madagascar" slaves make an appearance. While Charlevoix had mentioned small-scale imports of Madagascar and even "Monomotapa" slaves into the colony, they were supposedly not considered good workers. Yet the de Livet estate included on Thomas, a "Madagascar." This brings to mind the story of a free person of color, a Roumat, said to be the grandchild of a black Madagascar woman later in the century. The fact that Ibos and Congos were not the largest groups (both trailing Creoles) demonstrates how variable each plantation could be in its workforce.  

Nupe in Saint Domingue

The Nupe, known in Saint Domingue as Tapa or Taqua, the former derived from a Yoruba appellation for them, also had a presence there before the 1770s. The above example, from the corpus of runaway notices on this excellent site, indicates that by 1766, an enslaved Nupe (or Atapa) man, Jupiter, had run away. This early appearance of the Nupe coincides with the appearance of a Gambery (Gambary) maroon the same year. While we need to find evidence of Nupe and Hausa in Saint Domingue from earlier plantation records and sales, this does suggest that people from areas north of Oyo were being sold along the Slave Coast. In small numbers, yes, and still referred to by the label known via Yoruba-speakers, but illustrative of how the slave trading network of Oyo intersected with both the Atlantic and the northern regions. Oyo, in exchange for horses, slaves and other goods, was an intermediary the Nupe and Hausa to the north would have engaged with for access to European goods from the coast (although European products were also crossing the Sahara via the trans-Saharan trade routes). 

What is particularly interesting about the Nupe in Saint-Domingue is the mention of "Nago-Taqua" captives in 1773 and 1778 in the runaway slave ads posted in Affiches américaines. Bringing to mind the pattern in 19th century Cuba where Lucumi-Jausa, Lucumi-Tapa and other combinations appear in the archive, this almost certainly reflects the centuries-long interactions between Nupe and Yoruba groups. It could also reflect, perhaps, a Nupe person who had been enslaved in Oyo for some length of time before being sold on the coast. It makes one wonder if some of the people categorized as being of the "Nago" nation in Saint Domingue may have been of Nupe, Bariba or Hausa origins.

Gambary and Hausa in Saint Domingue Before 1770s

Another thing we would like to call attention to is the earlier presence of Hausa and Central Sudan populations in Saint-Domingue, before the 1770s and 1780s. While most mentions of Gambary and Hausa runaways in the colonial newspaper date from later, there is one early appearance (1766) of a "Gambery" runaway, named la Liberté. The excellent resource, Le marronnage dans le monde atlantique: sources et trajectoires de vie, includes the above ad plus numerous others featuring Hausa and even "Borno" runaways. But what's important to note here is, assuming the Gambary in Saint Domingue were indeed Hausa, which seems likely (the Yoruba term for the Nupe was also used in runaway slave notices as early as 1766, too), then already by 1766, there may have been a small number of peoples from deep in the Nigerian interior or northern Nigeria in the colony. 

Indeed, it is possible that before 1766 a few were classified as "unknown" or lumped in with the "Nago" due to the French unfamiliarity with them. The fact that the two groups were called by a Yoruba name for them in 1766 is perhaps indicative of this. This pattern may have been somewhat akin to the way the "Lucumi" label was applied to many Africans in 19th century Cuba who were actually of quite diverse origins. And, considering how close Oyo's relations with the Nupe and Hausa were, it is possible that slaves of northern origins who spent time in Oyo before being sold on the coast were categorized as "Nago" in some cases. 

In short, the presence of northerners sold on the Bight of Benin to the French slave traders likely occurred earlier than we realize, probably by the early 1700s, when "Malais" Muslim traders visiting the Slave Coast directly appear in European sources such as the account of Chevalier des Marchais. The Nupe, according to sources such as the Kano Chronicle, were said to be supplying firearms to Kano by the 1730s or 1740s. The trade with the coast, which reached Nupe through Oyo, would have linked the Atlantic markets to the savanna and Sahel to the North to at least some degree. Additionally, conflict between Gobir and Zamfara or raids between different Hausa kingdoms may have generated captives that ended up being enslaved and sold to Oyo and beyond. Intriguingly, in 1764, Gobir sacked Zamfara's capital and by 1766, "Gambary" make an appearance in Saint Domingue. Conflict between the Hausa states or with their neighbors inevitably created captives, a small subset of whom appear to have been sold on the Slave Coast by the 1760s. 

The "Nations" of Jean Lacroix's Slaves

One of the owners of the largest number of slaves we have encountered so far in the Jacmel area was Jean Lacroix, a surgeon and planter who died in 1737. As the above table illustrates, with numbers from a notarized document from 1738, digitized at Family Search, his estate included 53 adult slave (plus 20 children). Included among these adults were several Creoles who came from other colonies, including some from English colonies, 1 from Martinique and 1 "Spanish" slave. And while men outnumbered women, the gender imbalance wasn't as stark as it could be on other estates. 

The substantial child population and Creole population attest to some degree of longevity of the plantation and local births. Moreover, one is struck by the huge diversity of captives here. In addition to the familiar Congo, Ibo, Arada and Mondongue, one sees a Tiamba (which was difficult to read in the text), a Timbou (again, difficult to decipher), Bibi, and more English Creoles than one would expect. Yet the general pattern of a substantial Congo, Ibo and Arada presence is undeniable, as is the low number of Upper Guinea Africans. One wonders about the origins of the Creoles in this case, but one clearly sees a pattern of imported slave labor favoring West Central Africa and Lower Guinea. The high number of Creoles suggests possible smuggling or inter-colonial slave trading. The difficult to decipher digitized documents in the Minutes notariales, 1704-1803 make it hard to know exactly what the slaves were doing in this case, but it may have involved indigo and other tasks. 

Louis Gory and Saint-Christophe

Another surprise while perusing digitized records from 1730s Jacmel available on Family Search is a marriage contract from 1737. In that year, Jacques Begin married Marie Catherine Renard, both of Bainet. Marie Catherine, the daughter of Jacques Renard and Gregoire Godard, was also a niece of Louis Gory. Since we have never found evidence of Louis Gory marrying anyone (although early parish records from Grand-Goave have been lost, so perhaps he was married earlier before moving to Bainet), we assume Gory was perhaps a half-sibling of Jacques Renard or Gregoire Godard. The Godard and Renard connection is no surprise since Gory was the godfather to several children of Renard or Godard parentage in Bainet during the 1720s and 1730s. For instance, in 1738, he was the godfather to the child of Jacques Begin and Marie Catherine Renard. In 1723, he was the godfather to a child of Mathieu Renard. And in 1729, he was the godfather to a child of Jacques Renard and Gregoire Godard, Francoise.

Moreover, an examination of censuses from 17th century Saint-Christophe, where Jacques Renard hailed from, reveals Renard, Godard and Gorry families. In the case of the Gorry, we know Anne, a daughter of Pierre Gorry and Marguerite Moreau, married another Saint-Christophe native in Croix-des-Bouquet in 1704. When she died in 1732, she was said to have been 50 year sold, suggesting she was born around 1681. However, The 1671 census establishes that Pierre Gorry was married to a "mulatto" named Marie, not Marguerite. However, in 1671, this Pierre Gorry had 1 son and 2 daughters (and no slaves or servants), meaning that there may have been another Gorry who married Marguerite Moreau and had Anne before leaving Saint-Christophe for Saint-Domingue. Alternatively, the name may have been miswritten in the 1671 census.

Besides Pierre Gorry appearing in the 1671 census for Saint-Christophe and in the 1690 Roll (his name appears there twice, perhaps one being a son), the Godard and Renard were also on the island. A Pierre Godard appears in the 1671 census, unmarried but with a white servant. Francois Renard likewise appears. While the exact nature of the connection Louis Gory had with the Godard and Renard in Bainet is still unclear, it does appear very likely that their families were connected in Saint-Christophe. Sadly, we are still unsure about any specific African ancestry Louis Gory had, nor can we establish the origins of Marie, the black mother of his sons in Bainet. But the Saint-Christophe connection certainly seems likely based on other colonists in Bainet hailing from there. Similarly, for him to be named as an uncle to the child of Renard and Godard and as godparent to several related children means something. Perhaps Louis was the son of one of the 2 daughters listed in the 1671 census, and due to being illegitimate, he used his mother's surname? But his father may have been a Godard or Renard? Just wild speculating here, but it does all point back to Saint-Christophe. 

A Marigot Plantation's Workforce in 1738

Again, while perusing notarized records from Jacmel in the 1730s, we came across another list of enslaved people working on a plantation. This time, in Marigot, after the Poitiers plantation was taken over by Pierre Modé due to its owner's heirs being minors, one finds some data on what appears to be another indigoterie in the Jacmel quartier of the colony. What first struck us here was only 1 child was enumerated, presumably Creole (not included in the above table of adults). Moreover, the Congos were by far the largest group. Yet the diversity of African "nations" is still quite clear. Mina, Nago, Bariba, Bambara, and 2 from a group whose name was illegible clearly establish (perhaps one read Thiamba) that no group enjoyed a vast numerical majority. Nonetheless, the plurality of Congos and the fact that there were more females categorized into that nation may tell us something. In addition, the rarity of Creoles (3) and only 1 enslaved child might suggest a latter date for the establishment of the habitation?

The Huguet Plantation in 1737

Whilst perusing the digitized Saint-Domingue Notariat at Family Search, we came across another list of slaves from a habitation in Jacmel. The estate of the deceased planter Huguet, who was already established in Jacmel by 1712, it is likely safe to assume he ran an indigo plantation. What is striking here, however, is the absence of Creoles. With the exception of the 7 children (not included in the table because their exact origins are not specified and many if not most may have been born in the colony), the only Creole was an "angloise" woman, possibly from Jamaica or another English colony of the Caribbean. Her presence might also explain the preponderance of Ibos. 

Besides the Ibos and Congos, no other "nation" had more than one representative on the estate. The large Ibo presence may have been linked to intercolonial slave trading between the French in Saint Domingue and English partners. It is probably not a surprise that smuggling or contraband trade in slaves was so important for this part of the colony, since the Compagnie de Saint-Domingue in earlier decades was not successful at fulfilling its quota of captives. One would also think that some of the colons who moved to Jacmel, Bainet, and Cayes de Jacmel in the early 1700s also brought slaves with them from their previous homes, too. Another striking aspect of the plantation, however, is the relatively balanced gender ratios among the adult slaves. 10 adult males to 8 women is not as extreme as other plantations. 

We are still looking for coffee plantations in inventories, testaments, and deeds to see how the boom in coffee plantations after 1730 may have impacted the region's demographics. But one pattern that is clear is the large Igbo presence, even relatively early on, for some plantations. Another interesting feature of this plantation was seeing what looks like the Yoruba name Kemi (Kemy) for the Nago slave, showing the persistence of African names was sometimes recognized in Saint Domingue. 

Dessalines in Jacmel (1801)

Whilst revisiting the records from the parish registries for colonial Jacmel, we saw Jean-Jacques Dessalines made an appearance! This must have been after successfully concluding the War of Knives against the forces of Rigaud. Dessalines was actually the godfather for a child of Terrien and Cangé origin born in the Bainet. This is perhaps not too surprising, although Henri Christophe later changed his opinions about General Pierre Cangé, who was related to these people. 

Hausa Ancestry in the Jacmel Region

Jean Baptiste Maturin appears in 1801, when he married Anne Ogé, on folio 49 of the ANOM's digitized archive of the état civil. 

To give a real example of how some Haitians have minor Hausa or northern Nigerian ancestry, the example of Jean Baptiste Maturin is enlightening. To determine this Hausa connection, one must consult the parish registers of Saint Domingue from those "exciting" years between emancipation and Haitian independence. Many ex-slave cultivateurs appear in these registries as free people, getting married or registering the births of their children. If one is lucky, one might find an ancestor who had been formerly enslaved and, occasionally, details about their African or Creole background. 

In this example, we see in the 1801 parish register for Jacmel that Jean Baptiste Mathurin married Anne Oge, a Creole who was born in Jacmel. Jean Baptiste Mathurin, however, was a native of the "Hausa country in Africa" and therefore, obviously not native to Jacmel. As a Hausa, a minority among the African "nations" and with extremely skewed gender ratios, it was no surprise he married a Creole woman. This would explain why some Haitians do indeed descend from Africans of diverse regions, but it may only present itself in genetic testing at trace amounts. 

Family Search's website is precious for finding documents. Here is digitized the 1853 marriage record of Jean Philippe Mathurin. 

Unsurprisingly, Mathurin and wife Anne Oge had at least 2 children, Jean-Philippe Mathurin. Indeed, Jean Philippe was named as a child of Jean Baptiste in 1801, born before he married Anne. Apparently he had a brother, Edouard. Jean Philippe was around 16 years old when his parents married, probably because they were free and it was easier to do that and have stable family structures. Jean-Philippe Mathurin himself would have 5 children with Marie Louise Jacques, before marrying her in 1853. One can verify that Jean-Philippe Mathurin was indeed the child of Jean Baptiste Mathurin and Anne Oge because his marriage certificate lists his place of birth as Gosseline, the very same area Jean-Baptiste Mathurin and Anne Oge were living in back in 1801. 

The above example serves to show how "Hausa" ancestry could be inherited by Haitians in small amounts. Perhaps most, like Jean Baptiste Mathurin, ended up in relationships with non-Hausa women and were rather quickly largely absorbed into the Creole population. In areas like Jacmel, the slave population was already substantially Creole by the late 1700s, and outside of perhaps a few extreme cases, it was not likely for Muslim Hausa to have found communities of fellow believers to build a community with, as happened in Trinidad or even among the Fulanis encountered by Descourtilz in Saint-Domingue. 

Exploring African Matches

Whilst searching for matches on the maternal side, we also sought to take note of any African matches. Going by family trees and surnames, we only encountered a few on Ancestry DNA. Unlike our Haitian parent, we did not find any matches with Malians or people from Sierra Leone. Nonetheless, we did find it interesting to note a shared 10 cM match with a person bearing a Ga surname. The Ga, who speak a Kwa language, would have been present in Saint Domingue to some degree, and can be found in Ghana. Since the French slave trade along the Gold Coast was on a smaller scale, it is possible Ga or related groups may have been acquired via intra-Caribbean slave trading or, perhaps, via the Slave Coast. The more surprising match, and of course the weakest, was with a Ugandan person at 8 cM of shared DNA. This is almost certainly due to the common ancestry of Bantu-speakers in Uganda and populations in Central Africa. I guess this is perhaps evidence of Central African ancestry that Haitians bear, although I did not detect any closer matches with Congolese or Angolans. 

The more common and to be expected matches were with Igbo and Yoruba individuals from Nigeria. We seem to have inherited, through the maternal side, matches with members of one particular Igbo family. Based on a posted family tree, all of their ancestors were Igbo and they seem to hail from Owerri. What we found remarkable here is the rather high 23 shared cM with one of these Igbo, only somewhat smaller than our Haitian parent's shared 29 cM with this individual. This does seem to strongly suggest Igbo and southeastern Nigerian peoples contributed heavily to the genetic makeup of Haitians. One finds evidence of this in records of the French slave trade and plantation inventories in Saint Domingue. As for the Yoruba matches, this is not too surprising either, as the "Nago" were undoubtedly present in Saint-Domingue. Yoruba or people from southeastern Nigeria and Benin with related genetic components were clearly present in Haiti. Through Ouidah, Porto-Novo, Badagry (which is recalled in the name of a lwa in Haitian Vodou) and other ports of call along the Slave Coast, captives of Yoruba origin were sucked into the hell of Saint Domingue.

Overall, the results of this search demonstrate the largely Lower Guinea ancestry in Haitians. We were surprised to not find Mali or Mandinka matches, like our Haitian parent, but in the future more users from Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone, and other parts of Africa might upload their results and show up as matches. What is most striking for now is the strong Igbo connection, something noted in our Haitian parent's African matches. Trying to check for African matches assigned to our other side should be next, although the vast Hispanic customer base showing up as matches presents more difficulties for finding them. As a side note, it was also amusing to see distant matches with white people in Quebec, showing matches from the maternal side with France-associated ancestry. 

North-Central Nigeria and Hausa Ancestry in Haiti

After reading Fonte Felipe's insightful comments on the 2024 Ancestry Update and its relevance for Afro-descended populations, like Haitians, we were inspired to check our matches through our Haitian side. I wanted to gather a very rough idea of how many Haitians who are matches (close and distant) received the new North-Central Nigeria category in their estimate. Since they used a large reference panel population that seems to be centered on the Hausa people (as well as some smaller groups in northern Nigeria), this is a step in the right direction for Ancestry to begin distinguishing between Northern Nigeria and southern Nigeria. Who knows, perhaps one day they will also have better data and include northeastern Nigerian groups like the Kanuri for full coverage of the vast Northern region. As for now, we at least know the North-Central Nigeria category includes Afizere, Anaguta, Atyap, Berom, Ham and Hausa. 

What strikes us in our brief attempt at tracking this new category in our Haitian matches was its rarity. Perhaps this was due to the update including other new categories that created more problems and hindered a better understanding of the West and Central African ancestry in African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, and Afro-Latin American populations. Nonetheless, the North-Central Nigeria category seems to be based on a large panel of over 500 people and, according to their map, correlates very strongly with the Hausaland region of northern Nigeria and southern Niger. Their map does not extend this category further east into Borno, so we assume they do not have any data on the Kanuri or those other groups yet. That the category does seem to correlate well with Hausa and northern Nigerian groups can perhaps be verified in its infrequent appearance. 

A cursory examination of all Haitians out of 1,612 matches, of which we searched for via family trees and typical Haitian surnames, only revealed 16 with the North-Central Nigeria, usually at 1% or 2%. The maximum, besides my own estimated 5%, was 4%. Only 3 of our matches had a score of 3% in the North-Central Nigerian category, including one second cousin. Since my Haitian side's matches present a probably disproportionately Sud-Est-centered view of Haitian genetic diversity, called Port-au-Prince to Western Department du Sud-Est, and there aren't as many Haitians taking these Ancestry DNA tests as other groups, one should only interpret this carefully. Nonetheless, it does match the rather limited or low historically attested presence of Hausa and northern Nigerian groups among the enslaved African population in Saint-Domingue. Intriguingly, we also came across distant matches with roots in Louisiana, often with French surnames, who had low amounts of North-Central Nigeria ancestry, too. This seems plausible given the documented presence of Hausa captives in Louisiana. One can check runaway slave notices for evidence of their presence there, too. And from what we could see with African Americans or Louisiana Creole matches on our Haitian side, the vast majority always had low estimates for North-Central Nigeria. 

Unfortunately, we did not search the matches on the Puerto Rican side as heavily. Since the documented Hausa presence in the Spanish Caribbean, to my knowledge, is only attested for Cuba, which, like Brazil, received many slaves from northern Nigeria during and after the wars and conflicts generated by Uthman Dan Fodio's jihad, we assumed most Puerto Ricans would have even less North-Central Nigeria than Haitians. We did find 4 close and distant relatives who did harbor North-Central Nigeria, but usually only at 1%. Nonetheless, we should probably explore the question of captives from Hausaland and other areas of today's northern Nigeria in Puerto Rico. After all, it's certainly possible that the smuggling and intra-Caribbean trade in slaves from other parts of the West Indies introduced some from the "Central Sudan" region. But we overall expect this to be far lower than Cuba and Brazil.

Which brings us to our final point. It will be interesting to see more data on Brazilians and Cubans with the update in North-Central Nigerian ancestry. We could be wrong in assuming too much here, but the rise of the Sokoto Caliphate and the conflicts that followed may have generated a notable increase in northern populations sold into slavery and reaching the Americas. By then, after 1804, a disproportionate share surely reached Cuba and Brazil. The British West Indies, however, also received its share. The documented presence of Hausas among the African Muslims in 19th century Trinidad, for example, is a topic explored by historians like Michael Gomez in Black Crescent. Indeed, we even have a brief ajami source written by a Philip Finlay, of Gobir, who lived in Trinidad. So we expect that some Afro-Caribbean, Cuban, and Brazilian groups will have some minor degree of Hausa ancestry. Jamaica was likewise the setting for a  possibly fictionalized or invented narrative written about a Katsina prince who was sold into slavery in Jamaica. Furthermore, there's the documented case of a West African Muslim enslaved in Jamaica who wrote an Arabic account of his background, indicating his mother's Hausa family's connections to Katsina and Borno.

The next step for Ancestry DNA should be to improve its process for identifying and distinguishing the major regions of Nigeria and including more northern populations. We would also love to see more data on how the North-Central Nigeria estimate varied for Haitians. After all, our own matches were biased toward the Sud-Est, so seeing more representative samples for Haitians might reveal some slight regional differences. 

"Taino" and South America

Although it is probably useless, particularly when using Gedmatch's feature of autosomal 1 to 1 comparison, we nevertheless found several kits associated with South American indigenous people to compare ourselves with. As studies by actual experts have shown, the indigenous ancestry in the Spanish Caribbean is indeed linked to South America, particularly with Amazonian groups and, likely, the spread the Arawakan languages deep in antiquity. In our case, our closest match, however, was with someone labeled Colombian Male 1. We shared 7.9 cM. We assume this person, whose kit is associated with a Native American DNA account, is possibly from the Colombian Amazon. Our next closest match was with a Ticuna sample at 6.5 shared cM (at low SNP density, however). The Ticuna are an Amazonian group, so the distant shared DNA match makes some sense. However, we overlapped on the fifth chromosome, where most of our "Amerindian" ancestry was registed as Indigenous Peru & Bolivia. Next was the kit called First Lokono, at 6.4 cM shared. The Lokono are a group who speak an Arawakan language and live in northeastern South America, so the match is not too unsurprising. We assume they or other coastal northern South Americans were also in some degree of periodic contact with the indigenous people of the Caribbean, too.

Another match was with a kit associated with Colombian Female, also of indigenous descent. We only shared 4.5 cM. This was followed by the distant match with Wayuu A, at 4.1 cM, on our 2nd chromosome (where our indigenous ancestry is entirely Caribbean, according to Ancestry DNA. The Wayuu, who also live in northern South America, also speak an Arawakan language. Our penultimate match was with Second Lokono at 3.8 shared cM. Last, but certainly not least, we shared 3.5 cM with a Surui sample, on the 2nd chromosome (associated with our Indigenous Caribbean ancestry). The Surui, an Amazonian group, also appear in Illustrative DNA when trying to model our ancestry using modern populations. In this case, the Surui and sometimes Peruvian Ashaninka are used as proxies to model our South American indigenous ancestry. Of course, all of this Gedmatch matching with kits of various South American indigenous peoples is not the most sophisticated approach. Nonetheless, reading studies by specialists who do see commonalities with these aforementioned South American groups and the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean tells us that it isn't entirely noise or false. 

The Inventory of Philippe Latouche in Bainet (1737)

Looking at little later in the Jacmel quarter, we found a 1737 inventory for the deceased Bainet planter, Philippe Latouche, located in the Gris-Gris section. The estate held 18 slaves, no children. We assume it was dedicated to indigo and may have had some typical characteristics of similar plantations in the region during the 1730s. What immediately comes to mind is that nearly half the slaves were "Congos" with only 2 Creoles (1 from Martinique). 

The Arada were present, yes, and 2 were of unknown derivation (one not provided while the other is illegible), but the Ibo and Bambara were only represented by 1 each. We must look for more inventories from the 1730s-1750s, but the "Congos" were always a sizable part of the population. By now the "Loango" seem to disappear (or perhaps the French were already using "Congo" as a general term for Central Africans), so one wonders about the French slave traders active in Loango during this time. 

Inventory of Louis Torteau (1719)

In addition to Bainet plantations, it is worthwhile to explore inventories, contracts, deeds, and sales for Jacmel and Cayes-de-Jacmel. We suspect the demographics of the slave population in those parishes was similar to that of Bainet, and the 3 parishes likely received their slaves via the same mechanisms. In order to explore an early inventory, we found one of Louis Torteau from 1719. A commandant of the militia and supposedly the son of a nobleman in France, Torteau owned about 40 slaves. He appears to have been an indigo planter like so many of the early colons of the Jacmel quarter. One wonders if, due to his supposedly noble background and other connections, he might have had easier access to slaves than other colonists, who may have relied upon the Compagnie de Saint-Domingue's ineffective supply. Perhaps he was also buying smuggled captives? What is surprising to us is that he had fewer Creole slaves. With the exception of 2 adult Creoles, there were 8 children who, it is impossible to say, may have been born in Africa or the colony. If we assume the children were Creoles, then only 1/4 of his human property were Creoles. This is in sharp contrast to what the data suggests for the Saugrain in Bainet, who owned a similar number of captives in 1720. However, in their case, perhaps the Creole presence was higher due to a greater number of children. In addition, the Saugrain had been present in Bainet since at least 1703, when they owned 8 captives. Perhaps Torteau's enslaved laborers represent a later plantation owned by someone of means and status.

What is striking about the Torteau case is the marked increase in "Congos." With 10 Congos and 1 Mondongue, about 27.5% of his bonded laborers were of Central African origin. If one counts the children of "Congo" slaves, 35% of the laborers were of West Central African origin. What is also surprising in this case was the large Mine population (8 adults, plus 3 children of Mine). If the Mine or Mina represent a Gold Coast-derived group, as some of their names suggest (names like Coffy, for instance, sometimes appear among these captives), then the "Mine" could have been a sizable presence on some plantations during this era. After the Mina, the Arada and "Senegal" are next at 4 adults each. However, with 2 children of Arada captives, those of "Arada" descent represented 6 out of 40 slaves. The "Senegal" may have included a Muslim captive, named Fatima (Fatiment). The other Africans, include a Mondongue, a Bambara, a Barba (Bariba?) and one person of a "nation" we could not read. It is interesting to note the diversity of "nations" reported here, albeit in tiny numbers. With 4 "Senegal" anda  Bambara, about 5/40 slaves were from "Upper Guinea" while the other West Africans were Lower Guinea. The substantial Central African presence is also worthy of note. We hope to gather more data from inventories and notarized records, especially for coffee plantations, to help us establish with a bit more clarity some of the distinctions between indigo and coffee plantations. However, in order to do that, we must delve deeper into the data.

Slaves of Robert Fleuret in 1720

Whilst perusing, once again, notarized documents digitized at Family Search's website, we encountered another list of slaves of what was probably an indigoterie in Bainet. Listed as property of a Robert Fleuret, the son of a Robert Fleuret who died in 1714, the information helps us understand more about the origins of the enslaved population in Bainet. One is struck by the Creole majority, although 3 were young children and a few older Creoles were children of slaves of the habitation. Yet after the Creoles, the next largest group were "Aradas." 

The woman who appears to have been of "Ibo" origin, Catherine. The Minutes notariales on Family Search contain several notarized documents, such as this one from 1720.

Surely, many of these were not natives of the kingdom of Allada, but captives from other regions of modern-day Benin and Togo who were sold through Ouidah and Allada. The next largest group of Africans, Loango, which would probably have been simplified as "Congo" in later records of Saitn Domingue, we see 2. One of them, who was named Macaya (or Macaye?) was around 45 years old. One of the Arada, Margueritte, was said to be around 65 years old. The sole "Ibo" captive, assuming we read the document correctly, was around 45 years old. The data, overall, matches the data from slaves owned by the Saugrain in the 1720s. Of their African-born slaves, a plurality were from the "Slave Coast" region. 

In 1721, the minor Robert Fleuret's habitation is taken up by commandant Provost, and we see a different list of slaves working the estate. Now the bonded labor is enumerated as 4 Creoles, 7 Aradas, 2 Loango, 3 Ibo, and 1 Mine (Mina). In addition, there were 4 children, making for a total of 21 slaves. This habitation, which must have been managed by someone other than the minor Fleuret, increased its enslaved workforce but retained a plurality of Arada. The increasing Ibo presence is important, however.

Indian Slaves in Early Jacmel (c.1719)

 

Whilst perusing the archive of digitized notarized documents from Saint Domingue, from Jacmel, specifically, we encountered a reference to 2 enslaved Indian women. Fouquet serving as notary, the document indicates the presence of a few "Amerindian" slaves in the Jacmel region during the early 1700s. Sadly, nothing of their origin is indicated, although we assume they may have been from the mainland Spanish colonies or "Caribs" from the Lesser Antilles. They were mentioned in the context of Marie Jeanne Creagh's marriage to Torteau in 1719. Family Search's site is such a treasure...

Nos Ancetres les Gaulois?

Although we are mainly interested in the African and Amerindian components in the making of Caribbean peoples, we probably should reflect on European ancestry, too. After all, it undeniably shaped the Caribbean and the making of who we are. However, in our case, the vast majority of our European ancestry is from the Iberian peninsula, Spain and Portugal. This is no surprise for the Spanish Caribbean.. 

Where things get funky and problematic, however, is France. The update assigned us 2% France. The previous estimates did not include France at all, but rather a variety of Northwestern Europe and Sardinia, mainly inherited through our Haitian parent. We suspect Sardinia, which did not appear in her ethnicity estimate at all, may be misread France, just as Scotland, Wales, and England & Northwestern Europe were probably France. The 2024 update seems to have tried to be more accurate with delineating France from other parts of western Europe, with partial success. However, given what we know of our Haitian parent's ancestry, her minor European ancestry is mainly from France. Her original estimates recognized that to a certain degree by assigning her 5% France and then a mix of Northwestern and southwestern European locales (Portugal, Scotland, Wales, England). Strangely, in her 2024 update, our mother's European ancestry was mostly reclassified as Spain, and supposedly 2% of our Spain estimate derived from her. Now, she has only 1% France and I have 2%, which is obviously unlikely since the inheritance feature indicates our France estimate comes from her. How can I have 2% France from her 1%? We suspect the 2% Spain inherited from her and the 1% Sardinia score is also probably from France. 

Needless to say, the update was clunky and inaccurate in some ways, still struggling to distinguish France from other parts of Northwestern and Mediterranean Europe. Spain, in the case of my mother, was vastly exaggerated. Nonetheless, the update at least recognized France in the new estimates for myself. Can we still repeat our bad joke? Nos ancêtres les Gaulois can still be claimed? Bad jokes aside, we are still mainly interested in the African and indigenous background to Caribbean peoples and will continue to focus on such themes. 

The Slave Coast...

An additional pleasant surprise was to see the 9 ethnic groups comprising the reference populations for Benin/Togo in the Ancestry update. According to the site, they now have Aja, Ewe (Eʋe), Fon, Gen, Gun, Tori, Waci, Weme and Yoruba (Ìran Yorùbá) listed. Our estimated 15% supposedly comes via our Haitian ancestry, and the history of the slave trade in this part of West Africa suggests members of all the above groups were probably present in Saint-Domingue. Our estimated 15% ancestry from this area probably reflects groups that were called Arada, Fon, and Dahomey in the Caribbean. We assume we likely have Yoruba ancestry since our Haitian parent now has Yorubaland (and Nigerian Woodlands) as some of their regions in the update. But surely some "Arada" of unknown derivation were also among our ancestors. It is interesting to note, too, that many Arada (named after the kingdom of Allada) in Saint-Domingue were not necessarily natives of that kingdom. Indeed, many were probably captives of Allada's conflicts as well as people from deeper into the interior. One suspects Bariba, Nupe, Cotocoli, Gedevi, and other groups must have been filtered to the coast via Ouidah and other ports. The pronounced Creole plurality of the enslaved population in Bainet and Jacmel by the late 1700s likely included people descended from captives purchased along the Slave Coast...

Bainet...in Color

While playing around with online features to colorize black and white photos, we particularly liked this one of our great-great-grandmother. It is strange to see her in color...what would she have made of the world today? Or the state of her country, in 2024?

Caribbean Ancient DNA...

Although hardly the most sophisticated or reliable method, using Gedmatch's autosomal DNA comparison feature can be entertaining and occasionally useful. In this case, comparing our data to that of around 42 kits of ancient samples was an interesting experience. Indeed, of the 42 ancient samples, we only had matches with 4 individuals, which is significant. All 4 of them, however, were either individuals from Cuba or the Bahamas, surprisingly. We apparently did not share DNA, at least not detectable using Gedmatch, with ancient persons from Puerto Rico and Hispaniola with kits on Gedmatch (that we know of). The dates given for the samples are from undated in one case but the others the woman from Preacher's Cave, in the Bahamas, was the subject of an important article published in 2018 by Hannes Schroeder. According to this study, "Results are consistent with Puerto Ricans and the ancient Taino forming a clade without any significant gene-flow postdivergence." Clearly, the ancient Lucayan woman's genome was similar to that of modern-day Puerto Ricans. Indeed, this study found that Puerto Ricans share large parts of their genome with the ancient "Taino" of the Caribbean. Another study found similarities between the Preacher's Cave sample and precontact Puerto Rico samples in terms of autosomal DNA. These similarities also extend to South American Amazonian groups, such as the Yukpa, Piapoco, Karitiana, and Surui. Furthermore, modern Puerto Ricans harbor mtDNA that is at least partly a reflection of precontact Puerto Rico populations. 

What we find interesting in our matches is the lack of a Puerto Rico or Hispaniola connection. While this is probably, in part, due to the less sophisticated tools and models via Gedmatch, we did match with another ancient "Taino" sample from the Bahamas. On Gedmatch, it is called Kit WE2232796 (*Bahamas Taino Native), with further indication that its test results are from 23andMe. Is this one of their indigenous Caribbean samples the company uses? This person appears to be the same as the Atunwa Inaru, the name given to this ancient woman from the Bahamas. Anyway, we only shared a total of 3 segments, the longest at 3.6 cM. Our total Half-Match segments was 9.7 cM and a total of 458412 SNPs were used, with 47.467 percent fully identical. As one might expect, shared DNA with someone who lived several centuries ago would be low. Yet, with another kit from the same woman from Preacher's Cave, Atunwa Inaru on Gedmatch, we shared a total Half-Match segments of 14 cM, with the largest segment at 6.7 cM of 3 shared segments. 260057 SNPs were used for the comparison with 38.498 percent identical. We assume this match is at least somewhat reliable since geneticists using more sophisticated matches noted similarities in the ancestry of the Preacher's Cave sample and that of modern and ancient Puerto Ricans. We are not sure which of the two kits for the same person are more accurate or reliable, though we'd bet money on the first kit. 

The other two matches, however, remain more problematic. Both are from Cuba, although the date and exact location are unclear. One, called Brizuela on Gedmatch, is supposedly from the 12th century. With that sample, we share one segment at 4.5 cM, but at a lower SNP density. The other sample from Cuba shared even less with us, only 3.8 cM. But, with this Cuban sample, more SNPs and at a higher density. One wonders if these Cuban samples may reflect a 'ceramic' culture whose ancestors included some of the same groups who migrated into the Bahamas from Hispaniola. Or, alternatively, due to the widespread seafaring abilities of the indigenous Caribbean and the lack of evidence for inbreeding in the sample from Preacher's Cave, perhaps some groups found spouses or significant others from distant islands in the archipelago. What we do not understand, however, is our inability to find ancient samples from Hispaniola with whom we share DNA...

Igbo and African Ancestry

Roseline Siguret's tabulation of African slave "nations" in the Quarter of Jacmel (from "Esclaves d'indigoteries et de caféières au quartier de Jacmel (1757-1791)"

After reading FonteFelipe's recent blog on African ancestry and matches of his sample of 30 Haitians, we decided to reexamine our own African matches on Ancestry. Unfortunately, we could only find 2 obvious African matches, both Igbo-descended individuals. With one of them we share 23 cM of DNA. Our Haitian parent, who, unsurprisingly, has more African ancestry, shared 29 cM with the same Igbo individual. In addition, they also had African matches who, based on their surnames and publicly posted genealogies, hailed from Mali, Congo, Nigeria, and what appears to be Sierra Leone. The known ethnic breakdown is Igbo, Yoruba, and Mandinka. We could not easily determine the ethnic background of the other Africans. Needless to say, our Haitian parent's African matches were usually of a low degree of shared cM of DNA, 8-16. Her ethnicity estimates assigned 1% Yorubaland, 2% Nigeria-North Central and 2% Nigerian Woodlands (in addition to Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast & Ghana, Benin & Togo, Cameroon, Western Bantu Peoples). She received a whopping 27% Benin & Togo and 21% Nigeria in the latest update. While there are many problems with her results in the update (her European ancestry is assigned mostly to Spain, even though her previous results assigned the largest European percentage to France), looking at her African matches does suggest some generally useful information on Haitian ancestry. The preponderance of Nigerian matches is likely a reflection of the greater number of Nigerian customers of Ancestry as well as the deep ancestry of Haitians in Nigeria, Benin & Togo and neighboring areas that supplied many of the African captives enslaved in Saint-Domingue. Here is a table breakdown illustrating her matches:

After her match with one Igbo person at 29 cM shared DNA, the next closest match was at 16 cM with someone bearing a Yoruba name. As suggested by FonteFelipe and the work of scholars such as Geggus, there clearly was a larger presence of Igbo and people from the Bight of Biafra in Saint-Domingue's south (which included Jacmel, in the calculations of Geggus). This noticeable Igbo presence is attested to by plantation inventories, testaments, and other contracts mentioning the enslaved population in 18th century Bainet. After Creoles, Igbos were one of the most common groups. The Yoruba ancestry and related Benin/Togo is possibly, in part, represented by the large Creole population among the slaves in Bainet during the second half of the 18th century. Many of the Creoles were likely the children of people who were purchased from the Slave Coast, which would have included various groups represented in Saint-Domingue (like the "Aradas"). This also could have accounted for the "Senegalese" results in our parent's ethnicity estimates. After all, if Senegal was important early on in the French slave trade, then some of the Creoles may have harbored ancestry from Senegambia. As for Mali connection, we assume this to be a sign of ancestry from "Mandingues" and, perhaps, Bambara, in Saint-Domingue. The Bambara would have reached Saint-Domingue through slave trading networks in Senegal, as was likely the case for "Mandingues" who may have not always been clearly distinguished from the Bambara. Interestingly, the Bamana were present among the enslaved in Bainet and one of them played a prominent role during the Haitian Revolution in the Sud (Gilles Bambara). 

Sadly, without more data from African customers or better ethnicity estimate information on African reference panel groups (such as directly telling us which ones we share DNA with), we are still left with only a general picture. Nonetheless, the Igbo contribution to our African ancestry seems very likely based on our shared DNA with one Igbo family. Furthermore, it seems our African ancestry probably includes Mandinka or Malinke (and Bambara?) ancestry as well as Yoruba. To some extent there was undoubtedly a Congolese or Central African contribution, though "Congos" in Bainet could have included Mondongues, Loango, Kongo, and others. As for "Senegal" and areas like Nigeria-North Central, we assume that could be Hausa and Wolof or Fulbe ancestry. Perhaps the "Senegal" and Mali ancestry is slightly inflated by Poulard or Fula, while Nigeria-North Central is from the Hausa or another another northern Nigerian population whose name was not recognized or used in Saint-Domingue. There definitely was a small flow of captives from northern Nigeria, but usually of Hausa or Nupe origin in Saint-Domingue's nomenclature for African "nations." We can only hope that subsequent updates see improvements in the area of Nigeria and West Africa as a whole. 

Ancient Kingdoms of Peru

Although it is a little outdated (published in the 1990s), Nigel Davies's The Ancient Kingdoms of Peru provides a nice overview on the history of ancient Peru. Covering the period from the preceramic and Chavin cultures to the Spanish conquest, Davies attempts to elucidate the development of civilizations in Peru (and neighboring areas, to a certain extent) as well as the shifting analysis of these past cultures by archaeologists and historians. Obviously, the lack of a system of writing and records prior to the Spanish period means that most of the book draws from studies by archaeologists who have examined various sites, developed ceramic typologies and chronologies, and have endeavored to understand the nature of political, social, and economic organization. As the author gets closer to the era of the Spanish conquest, written sources from the colonial period become useful, particularly for the Incas and, to a lesser extent, the Chimu state of the coast. Davies masterfully draws upon this vast written corpus when appropriate, although occasionally delving into problematic "language" of "savages" when discussing Indians in Ecuador who opposed Inca expansion. But this probably reflects the time in which the book was published. As a brief introduction to a very complex center of early human civilization, Davies wrote a useful work. He probably did not need to include his critiques of wacky theories of ancient aliens visiting the Nasca, but perhaps a book aimed for a non-specialist audience had to do so to dispel pseudoscientific ideas. It could have potentially been strengthened by a more detailed breakdown of the verticality theory for Andean civilizations, as well as an overview of how long-distance trade with Ecuador and the Amazon may have impacted pre-Inca civilizations. Nonetheless, for those new to the Moche's marvelous arts and the long-lasting iconographical symbolism across much of the region's civilizations, there was clearly much interaction, migration, exchange, and cultural borrowing from the coast to the highlands. Now, we have to find copies of Miguel de Cabello Balboa, Cieza de Leon, and other early Spanish sources on Peru for a deeper dive into the precolonial past. 

Angels

Although not his best work, this lovely duet of Ayler and Call Cobbs performing "Angels" is a true delight. As someone deeply imbued in gospel, blues, and and "roots" of African American music, Ayler's spiritually-charged "Angels" is nothing but delight for nine minutes. The recording from the Hilversum Session is also excellent, featuring an entire band.

Juan de Espinosa

Whilst perusing Vilma Benzo de Ferrer's Pasajeros a la Espanola, 1492-1530, we saw that the father of Pedro de Espinosa was a resident in today's Dominican Republic before moving to Puerto Rico with the conquest of that island. Established in the Santiago de Los Caballeros area in 1510, Juan de Espinosa later moved to Puerto Rico, where he was one of the early recipients of an encomienda. According to Vilma Benzo de Ferrer, de Espinosa also received 7 naborias de casa in Santiago (although we thought he was already residing in Puerto Rico by 1514?). 

Mali and the "Western Sudan"

Another interesting thing about the Ancestry Update is seeing the 4 reference populations used for their "Mali" region. This area is based on the Bambara, Dogon, Fula and Mende, although they also state that populations with similar genetic background can be found in Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Senegal (as well as Mali and Sierra Leone). Our Haitian parent, the origin of our "Mali" ancestry, has also matched with people from this region as distant cousins (1 from Mali, another from Sierra Leone of a Mandinka background). Since "Mandingues" and "Bambaras" were present in Saint-Domingue, it seems very likely that some of our ancestors came from this region of West Africa. Indeed, Ancestry assigned us 6% in the 2024 update, and the "hacked" results put it at 6.89% for "Mali." Perhaps some of our distant forebears were from Segu or Kaarta, but were captured and sold to the French slave traders on the coast of Senegal?

Ancestry's "Senegal" category also overlaps with this, which we inherited from both sides for a total of 4% (3.80% according to the "hacked" results). Alas, the specific ethnic groups used as reference for this category are not listed, although we know Poulards, "Senegalois" and Wolofs were in Saint-Domingue. We suspect the "Senegal" inherited from our Spanish Caribbean ancestry might reflect some of the ethnic groups known to be in the West Indies in the 1500s and 1600s, such as the Wolof, Berbersi, and others. Unfortunately, without knowing the ethnic breakdown of the reference populations for "Senegal" and other West African regions, like Ivory Coast and Ghana, it is difficult to say.

African Ancestry Update

Although these popular genealogy/ancestry DNA tests should always be used cautiously, we do find Ancestry's 2024 update to be worthy of attention. They seem to be trying harder at distinguishing the various subregions of African countries. Thus, Nigeria, an enormous place occupied by a plethora of ethnic groups, finally has a number of new regions. It looks like other parts of sub-Saharan Africa may have to wait for a subsequent update to see this level of detail, but it's a step in the right direction. However, comparing our results and those of our Haitian parent to their previous results, we notice that the 2024 update seems to minimize Cameroon, Congo, and Western Bantu Peoples percentages. Since in both of our cases, our sub-Saharan African ancestry was always overwhelmingly West African, the latest update was not too different from past results. However, we wonder if the creation of new Nigeria regions may have absorbed some of the Cameroon that was previously lumped into the older category of Cameroon, Congo and Western Bantu Peoples. 

Unfortunately, in our case we did not see any African sub-regional breakdowns besides Central Nigeria and North-Central Nigeria, each one at an estimated 5%. Central Nigeria is "centered" upon the Niger-Benue Confluence region, stretching north and south to what seems to us as an unknown extent. This presumably overlaps with North-Central Nigeria, also assigned at 5%, which is centered on the area of Hausaland in northern Nigeria and southern Niger (but including the following ethnic groups: Afizere, Anaguta, Atyap, Berom, Ham and Hausa). Of course, there are other ethnic groups in Northern Nigeria, but North-Central seems to emphasize the Hausa in the north. Central Nigeria, on the other hand, remains a vague label, but based on the following groups as reference: Agatu (Idoma North), Ake, Alago (Idoma Nokwu), Arum, Bu, Eggon (Mo Egon), Gwandara, Mada, Mama, Mijili (aJijili), Ninzo, and Rindre . If the North-Central Nigeria percentage is accurate, however, perhaps we do have "Hausa" ancestry. After all, a small but noticeable number of Hausa were enslaved in Saint-Domingue. But far more Igbo were imported, and a Nupe presence was also present. Historian David Geggus found at least 227 Hausa in Saint-Domingue, plus another 60 "Gambari" based on his study of sex ratios of the enslaved population from 1721-1797. 

The Little Sparrow Murders

Fortunately, The Little Sparrow Murders features a lot of our favorite of all scruffy detectives, Kosuke Kindaichi. Set in 1955 but using a murder case from 1932 as a historical background and context for the current crime, this novel sees our hero crack the case of a multiple murders in a Japanese village. Like the other novels available in English, much of the novel seems to reflect the social and economic changes in Japan after World War II, albeit to a lesser extent in this case. Instead, Kindaichi must identify who is killing young women in the village, with many twists and turns and red herrings about what actually transpired in the 1930s and what is the connection between the murders and a temari song only remembered by elders. Strangely, however, the author chooses to rush the conclusion by having an elaborate trap set up to force the murderer to play their hand (although Kindaichi already knew who it was, of course). Unfortunately, this rushed ending, plus the inevitable final scene with Kindaichi explaining the case to the assembled members, is a somewhat perplexing series of events that deprives the reader of the full suspense, action, and resolution one would like. Nonetheless, it is great to read a mystery featuring Kindaichi which heavily features his presence and deductions. Isokawa was also occasionally humorous and the reader learns more about an important friend of Kindaichi. We cannot wait to read more translations of this series. 

Yayi

Classic from Roger Colas, one of our better singers. Nothing beats a potpourri of songs performed by a great vocalist and backing band. 

Jazz's Holy Ghost

Richard Koloda's Holy Ghost: The Life And Death Of Free Jazz Pioneer Albert Ayler manages to provide a biography and overview of Ayler's work in less than 300 pages. Tragically cut short, Ayler's music presents a challenge. His last recordings were, quite frankly, mostly unsuccessful attempts to reach a larger audience with a popular or R&B oriented sound. While Ayler was definitely rooted in the same musical traditions that led to R&B, his forays in that direction suffered from some poor singing, lyrics, and a lack of a solid band. Yet, just before his presumed suicide, Ayler seemed optimistic and spoke of an upcoming tour in Japan. He had also returned from a successful trip in Europe, so things seemed to have been looking bright again for jazz's Holy Ghost. Unfortunately, the end of Ayler's brief life and career deprived us of the opportunity to see which direction he was about to take musically. Undoubtedly, it would have been a spiritually-charged music that showcased his unique voice and talent as a saxophonist. But would he have found musical partners as great as his previous ones? Musicians of the caliber of Peacock, Murray, Cecil Taylor, or a Donald Ayler who matched so perfectly with Ayler's direction? The problem of finding a solid band of musicians seems to have particularly plagued Ayler after the brilliant performances and recordings of the mid-1960s, which gave us classics like "Ghosts" or "Spirits Rejoice." No one else quite mastered his ability to take folkloric, spiritual, gospel, and the blues to unheard of heights through masterful use of the higher register of the saxophone, collective improvisation and even playfulness. 

With the benefit of Koloda's book, Ayler's complex music and the directions it took over the pivotal early period of free jazz is clearly presented. Ayler's personal life, with some questionable choices (abandoning his first son, not working regularly at club dates in NYC to support his wife and child, kicking out members of his group without telling them, and the split with his brother, Donald) help us understand him as a musician and human being. Some of the religious, spiritually-charged and New Age-like philosophy is hard to stomach now. But it was specific to that era, particularly in the avant-garde of jazz, and Ayler was undeniably part of the Trinity (Coltrane, Sanders, Ayler). Koloda also, despite his own obvious affection for the Ayler brothers, tries to remain fair with lengthy quotations and excerpts, showing the opinion of both aficionados and harsh critics of Ayler's oeuvre. In his own way, Koloda also demonstrates some respect for Amiri Baraka's support for the Aylers, although the anti-Semitic and simple-minded "Crow Jim" attitudes about white musicians are extreme or unnecessary. At the end of the day, one only wishes the author relied less heavily on extensive quotes (sometimes repeated more than once). But for everyone interested in a study of Ayler that attempts to balance biography and analysis of his music, one would not be wrong to begin here. 

Summertime with Ayler

A young Albert Ayler brilliantly performed Gershwin's classic on My Name Is Albert Ayler. Although not as "out" as hi subsequent work, Ayler's love for folk, gospel, and traditional musical elements was a recurring feature in his oeuvre. Therefore, it is no surprise "Summertime" appealed to him. The standard, inspired by African American spirituals and culture, would have resonated with Albert's own interest in the same source material. Alas, if only we had recordings of later Ayler renditions of "Summertime" from his live performances in mid-1960s New York.

Inca Culture at the Time of the Spanish Conquest

Although Rowe's Inca Culture at the Time of the Spanish Conquest was published in the 1940s, some modern scholars have lauded the study as a worthwhile one that still holds up today. As part of a larger project on South America's indigenous peoples, Rowe's relatively short but comprehensive overview of the Inca in the last few centuries before Spanish rule endeavored to cover everything from religious practices to agriculture. Due to the time it was published, before our era's more advanced archaeological methods and technology, Rowe mostly relies on the written sources from the 1500s and 1600s, placing especial esteem for Cobo. El Inca Garcilaso and Blas Valera, especially on matters of religion, were considered less reliable by Rowe. Polo de Ondegardo, interrogations from the governorship of Toledo, and interesting references to Diego Gonzalez Holguin, Cabello, Morua, and others illustrate just how vast the uneven corpus of Spanish sources on the Inca past truly is. It is also noteworthy how some scholars of the present century seem to place more confidence in Blas Valera and even some of the information in the problematic chronicle of Montesinos. In our own opinion, Rowe was perhaps writing too soon to know the type of information available to later scholars on pre-Inca large kingdoms or territories in the highlands. But Rowe's mastery of the relevant source material and attempt to balance it with references drawn from the ethnographic present and archaeology is impressive. For instance, careful examination of the early grammaires and dictionaries of Quechua is indispensable for reconstructing the preconquest past. Thus, our readings in the Inca past have barely scratched the surface. 

Toparvisan

According to Richard Koloda's study of Albert Ayler, the famous "Ghosts" is based on the Swedish folksong called "Torparvisan." While it is difficult to detect the similarity, supposedly the Swedish tune's harmonic structure was used by Ayler. Since Ayler spent part of his short life in Scandinavia, playing jazz with locals and other international musicians, it is certainly possible he was exposed to Scandinavian folk music. We also know Ayler was deeply influenced by folk, blues, and spirituals in the US, so it is not too much of a stretch for him to have been influenced by Swedish music. 

Blue Midnight

A classic from Little Walter, the man who could produce a sound with the harmonica no one else could match. Apparently, a young Albert Ayler toured with Little Walter, perhaps another sign of how deeply imbued Ayler's music was with the blues.

Casa Loma Stomp

"Casa Loma Stomp" is another one of those classics from the Swing era...not that they're the most musically proficient band of that time. These cats just knew how to swing in a euphoric manner.