Ethnography After Antiquity

In our quest to read all of the books of Anthony Kaldellis, we tackled Ethnography After Antiquity: Foreign Lands and Peoples in Byzantine Literature. A detailed analysis of how ethnography disappeared or changed after Late Antiquity and then experienced a return of sorts in the 14th and 15th centuries, Kaldellis raises a number of questions and critiques of problematic notions like the "Byzantine Commonwealth" or attempts by some scholars to accuse Byzantine authors of not facing geopolitical reality due to their classicizing language or ethnonyms. For our purposes, it helps to understand why Byzantine sources are silent about Christian Nubia and Ethiopia, since not only was there a vast distance between them but a decline of ethnographic digressions in Byzantine literate precluded more explicit ethnographic accounts. Even fellow Christians among Slavic peoples or Christians in former Roman territory in the Near East were not usually written about ethnographically after Late Antiquity, making it unlikely that we will find anything like digressions by Procopius on Nubia or Aksum in authors like Psellos or Skylitzes. Instead, what happened was changes in the nature of historical writing and references to the barbarian/non-Christian Other for imperial panegyric writings, imperial biographies, or, in the cases of military manuals, occasional references to others like the "Persians." The Other was often used by Byzantine authors to help define what Roman identity meant, which was primarily Roman rather than a religious one. This meant that Christian solidarity with Latins, Slavs who converted to Christian, or even the Bulgarians after their conversion was always outweighed by political concerns by the Byzantines. The loss of much of the empire's territory due to the Arab conquests led to another problem, since now Byzantine author truly wrote an ethnographic account of Islam until the 15th century. Coming to terms with Islam and the subsequent loss of territory raised a number of critical issues and although Byzantine intellectuals certainly knew much more about the Arabs and Muslim territories, coming to analyze it objectively remained difficult. By the last century and a half of its existence, ethnographic writings return and Byzantine authors have reconsidered the status of the Western "barbarians" due to their rising political, economic and intellectual status. This fascinating period, where some authors revive a Herodotean and even Hellenic identity, is the most fascinating one. 

Les Gaulois (2025)

Although of less importance in our research on the making of the Haitian people, we do find the flawed but attempted breakdown of France and western Europe intriguing in Ancestry's 2025 Fall Update. Our own "French" ancestry, estimated at 2% in the previous update, was broken apart into two separate categories: Brittany, France and Acadia (French Canada). We also saw Quebec in our updated results, but since it is attributed to our Hispanic parent's side, we find it more likely to be a result of the update's horrible results for people with roots in the Iberian Peninsula. 

In other words, our "France" results are basically the same. Acadia is basically "France" but Ancestry, to its credit, did not assign any French Canada regions to our Haitian parent. Our ""Northern Wales and North West England" also hails from our Haitian parent, probably a misreading of the minor French ancestry in Haitians. 

Intriguingly, for our Haitian parent, their British region was Southern Wales. If, however, 23andme is accurate, which certainly seems to be the case compared to Ancestry, our Haitian parent's European ancestry leans more heavily toward France and Belgium, the southern Dutch, and Rhinelanders. Since there is undoubtedly genetic overlap between peoples in France and Belgium as well as France and Germany, our guess is our Haitian side's European ancestry is probably derived from people from northern France who had some genetic overlap with these neighboring regions.

From our own "genealogical research" into Saint Domingue's free people of color in Bainet, we the French ancestry was mainly from the northern regions of France. This seems supported by 23andme assigning only small amounts of Spanish and Basque ancestry to our Haitian parent. Ancestry, on the other hand, assigns a mostly Spain ancestry for our Haitian parent's European admixture. Undoubtedly, 23andme is more reliable here, particularly for distinguishing between France and Spain. However, the "Brittany, France" region might be significant in that both of us inherited this region, perhaps pointing to northwestern France as the region from which the European ancestors of Bainet's free people of color often hailed from. We assume our Haitian parent's 0.2% Irish ancestry according to 23andme as well as their Southern Wales estimate via Ancestry is pinpointing to northwestern France, too. 

23andme Update

Our Haitian relative shared their updated ancestry composition report from 23andme recently. As we expected, little changed for their sub-Saharan African ancestry. The "Broadly West African" category disappeared, but merely boosted their "Nigerian" estimate to 43.2%. They also retained the close Igbo match. As for their other African regions, everything is largely the same. Country matches with Liberia, Sierra Leone ad Ghana, but no specific ethnic groups or regions. Their Congolese and Southern East African results are also similar, with the 0.4% Southern East African estimate minor. Again, hardly anything new. In fact, it confirms their overwhelmingly West African ancestry that appears most rooted in Lower Guinea. From the slave trade data to Saint-Domingue, this suggests almost half of her ancestry is rooted in areas that fed the Slave Coast and Bight of Biafra. 

For Europe, however, some changes can be seen. France is finally severed from Germany, and clearly makes up most of her European ancestry. This is hardly surprising for Haitians. The Belgian, Rhinelander, and Southern Dutch is new, but also not too surprising as Belgium neighbors France. We also noticed that our parent and I had distant DNA matches with users from Belgium and the Netherlands on MyHeritage, too. Perhaps 23andme is confirming distant ancestry from that region for both of us. As for the Iberian Peninsula, 23andme's update assigned it to Andalusian, Asturian & Castilian with 0.2% Basque. Very small but there is some overlap with France in the Iberian Peninsula. Haiti, of course, also had people of Spanish origin during the colonial era. Lastly, the Irish ancestry at 0.2% was unexpected. But perhaps to be explained in the overlap of Irish populations with other groups in western Europe?

Fortunately, there is some more precision in the update for our Haitian parent's minor Amerindian ancestry. Like Ancestry DNA, 23andme assigns it to a vaguely South American origin. We would like to think this Central Andean/Amazonian estimate is misreading indigenous Taino ancestry, but our parent does not have any Historical Matches from the indigenous Caribbean. Therefore, if it's not from the indigenous peoples of Haiti or the Greater Antilles, it may be indigenous people who came to Saint Domingue under French rule. Baptismal records indicate Indians from Aruba, today's Colombia, and other regions were in the colony. Perhaps that's the origin of this allegedly South American indigenous ancestry? 

As for trace ancestry, it is now reflected as North African and Northern Indian & Pakistani. The latter appears at all confidence levels, too, while North Africa disappears at 80% confidence level. The North African may be via the minor Spanish ancestry or perhaps West Africa. It is difficult to say with certainty, but North African ancestry is not indicated by this relative's Ancestry DNA results at all. Even for myself, with far more substantial ancestry from the Iberian Peninsula, my North African estimate was only 1% on Ancestry DNA. Thus, is it possible the trace North African ancestry in our Haitian parent is via West Africa? Their South Asian trace ancestry is similarly ambiguous. It is no longer Malayali South Indian but remains an enigma.

Non-African Ancestry in Bainet

In terms of non-African ancestry, 23andme results were mostly consistent with the other major company's estimates. Instead of 11% European, our close relative is now closer to 10%. The distribution of ancestry between Northwestern Europe and Southern Europe is split, which is probably due to the problems of capturing French ancestry through genetic analysis. So, 23andme only assigned this relative 3.4% French & German and 3% Spanish & Portuguese. One suspects that this is a sign that the mostly France-derived European ancestry came from both northern and southern France. Although it is possible this person does have distant ancestry from Spain as well, we could not prove it yet. What was more surprising for us was to see trace ancestry derived from Askenazi Jews (0.2%). However, this is not too shocking when one recalls that Jews or people of Jewish origin were in Saint-Domingue and 19th century Haiti.

For Indigenous Americas ancestry, 23andme estimated a higher trace amount than Ancestry. Ancestry DNA assigned her a trace ancestry at 0.26% Indigenous Bolivia & Peru. 23andme, however, assigned her 0.5% (which appears at all confidence levels) without any specific region or area of Indigenous Americas. We suspect that our Haitian side does harbor trace "Amerindian" ancestry that may be a mix of South American-derived groups and/or others. While some would love to see this as proof of partial "Taino" heritage in Haitians, it is difficult to say given that our relative did not receive any score like Indigenous Dominican or any significant overlap with Dominicans or other Caribbean populations with indigenous Caribbean Ancestry.

The most surprising find of our relative's trace ancestry as a 0.1% Malayali Subgroup estimate. This also appeared in every confidence level, although we are not sure how reliable such a low estimate can be. While there were small numbers of Asian Indians trafficked to Saint Domingue by the French (something that can occasionally still be seen in Dominicans from the Southwest and Haitians in the South on some consumer DNA tests, see here), the amount is so small and difficult to find. Furthermore, South Asian DNA estimates do not appear at all in this relative's estimates from Ancestry DNA. We suspect it is one of the following scenarios: statistical noise, possible ancestry from an Asian Indian brought to Saint Domingue in the 1700s, or perhaps something inherited through a European ancestor that did harbor small amounts of South Asian ancestry. 

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. 

John Skylitzes

John Skylitzes was a Byzantine Greek historian. A member of the aristocracy, Skylitzes had the titles of kouropalates and droungarios tes viglas under Alexios Komnenos. Writing his Synopsis Historiarum as a continuation of Theophano’s Chronicle during the reign of Alexios Komnenos, Skylitzes includes Basil II’s campaign in Bulgaria and ends in the year 1057. Indeed, Skylitzes’ account of Basil’s victory at the 1014 Battle of Kleidion reworks the battle, claiming Basil blinded 15,000 Bulgarian, which had even been questioned by contemporary historians of the time. The aforementioned work was later recopied in 12th  century Sicily and accompanied by illustrations of various episodes from Byzantium’s history, thereafter called the Madrid Skylitzes. A sequel, called Skylitzes Continuatus, perhaps written by John Skylitzes, includes the years 1057-79 and is a revision of the Historia of Michael Attaleiates. Skylitzes’ intention was to write an objective history that would include more details left out by other historians, such as Psellos. In addition, Skylitzes also had training as a jurist and completed three surviving legal writings and known for drafting one treatise on marriage. Skylitzes was also known as John the Thrakesian and served as a Komnenian official in Alexios’ administration.

Bibliography

Holmes, Catherine. Basil II and the Governance of the Empire (976-1025). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Alexander Kazhdan, Anthony Cutler, "Skylitzes, John" in The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Ed. Alexander P. Kazhdan. © 1991, 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

Stephanson, Peter. "The legend of Basil the Bulgar-slayer." Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 24 (2000): 102-132.

Medieval Ethiopia and Latin Europe

After reading about the Jesuits in Ethiopia, it made sense to go back a little further in time to understand relations between Solomonic Ethiopia and Latin Europe in the Middle Ages. Medieval Ethiopian Kingship, Craft, and Diplomacy with Latin Europe by Verena Krebs is a good place to start since it focuses on a period from c.1402 to the 1520s, a period before the calamitous invasions of Ahmad Gran. Arguing against the grain of past scholarship which has emphasized Ethiopian interest in military alliances or "superior" European technology, Krebs focuses on the various diplomatic missions from Ethiopia as examples of Solomonic kingship and prestige. No clear interest from the Ethiopian side in a military alliance with Rome or Aragon or Portugal emerges until the 1500s, in an era of millenarian prophecies, Ottoman expansion, and Adal incursions. 

Nor were Ethiopians necessarily interested in European "technology" per se. According to Krebs, Solomonic rulers were instead primarily interested in acquiring relics, ecclesiastical items such as chalices or vestments, and master craftsmen associated with construction. While one could argue that these craftsmen represented an aspect of European "technology" through their assumed superiority as builders, masons, carpenters, or smiths, Solomonic interest in their skills was associated with the ambitious royal churches, chapels, and monasteries constructed throughout the highlands. Solomonic dynasts saw the construction of stone churches decorated with luxurious imports from abroad as a way to strengthen their authority, prestige, and continue the legacy of the Biblical Solomon, their purported ancestor. 

Krebs is quite persuasive and reanalyzes some of the same textual sources used by other historians to demonstrate how Solomonic diplomacy with the Latin "West" was based on their own terms. Instead of seeing Christian Ethiopian as a passive recipient of Western technology or diplomatic initiatives, it was, beginning with Dawit and ending with Lebna Dengel, a largely Ethiopian initiative to acquire relics, religious paraphernalia and skilled artisans to boost their power. One is tempted to see an example of possible Solomonic adoption of architectonics of Western or foreign origin as an additional source of power through ecclesiastical power, something visible in the Jesuit-era churches, yet Krebs points to several examples of local churches that followed earlier Ethiopian precedents or influences. So Solomonic relations with Rome, Venice, Aragon, or Portugal should not be seen as one of European technological superiority motivating Ethiopian diplomacy but properly contextualized in the nature of the highland state. In fact, it was usually European perceptions of Ethiopia or Prester John's might and ability to divert the Nile that interested the papacy or European courts in establishing relations. Unfortunately for them, relations were not consistently maintained and later Solomonic rulers sent fewer envoys to Europe in the later period covered in this study. 

One wonders where and how Christian Nubia fit into this period of Ethiopian and Latin European relations. Mamluk Egypt was unavoidable as an land passed through by Ethiopians and Europeans in the period, but what about Nubia? The kingdom of Dotawo was still relevant and perhaps future scholarship can shed light on an interest in the Crusades from Nubia that was absent in the Solomonic state. Some of the medieval sources demonstrate knowledge of Ethiopian geography, languages, and the regional political climate. Nubia, on the other hand, appears to have been little known or a terra incognita, in spite of European contacts with Nubian kingdoms in the Middle Ages. 

Kingdoms of Faith

Since we have been trying to read more histories of North Africa, the Mediterranean and Islam, we recently read Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain by Brian Catlos. While one would think such a topic is not one of our immediate interests, Islamic Spain did have a connection to Kanem in the medieval era. Indeed, one of the earliest known West African poets of the Arabic language, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim al-Kanemi, lived in Almohad Spain after establishing himself as a grammarian and respected poet in the Maghrib. Moreover, al-Andalus was definitely linked to our Sahelian area of interest through trans-Saharan trade networks. So, Islamic Spain enjoyed global connections through Europe, the Mediterranean, the Near East, and Africa, although the ties to sub-Saharan Africa are often ignored or little known. 

A general overview of al-Andalus, like Kingdoms of Faith, does not delve into the trans-Saharan side of Islamic Spain, but it is a great overview of a complex history. Often reduced to obfuscating stereotypes or romanticized narratives of conflict or tolerance, al-Andalus was a profoundly dynamic and shifting region where alliances and conflicts occurred between people of the same or different religious traditions. While Catlos at times seems too eager to emphasize this, one cannot deny that religious identity alone never defined or solely motivated the actions of historical actors, especially in an arena where Muslims, Christians, Jews and almost certainly "pagans" from other lands like the pre-Christian Norse crossed paths and learned how to, out of convenience, come together for their own interests. Catlos is most persuasive on that point, the pragmatism of various Muslim or Christians rulers in their attempts to rule or establish stable states across the peninsula. 

So, in order to demonstrate how pragmatism and convenience motivated the political history of the Iberian peninsula from 711 to the early 17th century, Catlos outlines the development in chronological order of the peninsula from the first Muslim conquest to the emirate (and later caliphate) of Cordoba, and then the Taifa kingdoms, Almoravid and Almohad presence, and gradual expansion of the Christian kingdoms of Aragon and Castile. The reader gains some appreciation for the intellectual, cultural, technological, and economic sophistication of al-Andalus, especially under the Caliphate and the Taifa kingdoms, whose patronage for the arts and sciences definitely contributed to European philosophy and scientific knowledge. One also begins to understand how religion, ethnicity, clan, and slavery shaped this history as those of Arab lineage often occupied the best positions in government while discriminating against those of Berber origin or descendants of native converts who formed the majority of the population. This helps elucidate some of the internal dissension, civil wars, assassinations, and foreign invasions that pitted Muslim against Muslim or Christian against Christian in the broader sphere of Mediterranean history. 

Overall, Kingdoms of Faith is a good introduction to the history of al-Andalus. One might have to consider ignoring the jarring references to Andalusi elite male culture as "gangsta" or attempts to bring contemporary American politics or social commentary into the text, but those are fortunately few. All the Afrocentric extremists who love the racially-loaded term "Moor" should consider reading this, as it will establish very quickly how absurd it is to assume the "Moors" were "Black." It would also be a good read for those interested in the Sahel and how Islamic Spain was an important part of the bridge that connected the Sahelian zone with the Mediterranean and Europe in the Middle Ages. Perhaps future scholarship can shed additional light on this, particularly the West African presence in the Iberian peninsula as slaves, soldiers, students, and, in at least one case, authors whose impact might be important for shaping conceptions of difference and "race" in the early modern period. 

The Autobiography of Nicholas Said and Ambivalent Modernity

Said, via Wikipedia

Nicholas Said's relatively short autobiography is one of the most interesting textual sources produced by a native of Borno. The author of this slave narrative was kidnapped by Tuaregs and sold into slavery in North Africa. From Tripoli, Said accompanied a Turkish master who ran a tobacco shop, on the pilgrimage to Mecca. Along the way, Said traveled to Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, today's Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Muscat. One almost wishes he told us more about the Ethiopian traders he met in Khartoum, or about the African pilgrims en route to Mecca in Sudan and Ethiopia. Alas, that was not his focus, but it would have been interesting if he met others from Borno in Sudan and Ethiopia. After his master's shop is burned down (with half of Tripoli's Turkish bazaar), our protagonist is sent to Izmir, where he is sold to a politically connected Turk who then takes him to Constantinople. After brushing shoulders with the cosmopolitan elites of Constantinople, he is acquired by a Russian diplomat and aristocrat who takes him to the Russian Empire. 

Via travels with a Russian employer, he traverses Europe, experiencing all the aesthetic, technological, and cultural advances of mid-19th century West. Eventually, when in London and planning a return to Borno, a Dutch client offers him employment for an extended trip to North America and the Caribbean. Visiting US cities, the Bahamas, Haiti, and Jamaica, Said and his employer return to the US and Canada, where Said is abandoned after loaning his boss funds. Stranded in Canada, he is encouraged to go to Buffalo, New York, where there are more "colored" people. Thus began Said's experiences in the US on a permanent basis. Perhaps due to the delicate post-Civil War conditions in the US South, Said does not disclose his service in the Union Army. One is also struck by the number of elite or royal people Said claims to have met or served, including receiving a gift from the Czar Nicholas I. One almost senses in this a Kanuri cultural practice of dependents seeking wealthy or powerful men as patrons, and perhaps Said's namedropping was a reflection of that. Or perhaps it served as a counter to US racism, as a "black" man, though in a servile position, was valued and respected by cosmopolitan European elites and experienced little to no racial prejudice. One can sense some tensions, perhaps tied to his race, with European domestics in Russia, and we can be sure there was a lot more that happened to Said in Europe or Turkey than he's willing to admit. Alternatively, Said may have looked to the famous "Negro" of Peter the Great as a model for refashioning his life in the Russian Empire.

So, what does Nicholas Said's biography tell us about Borno and the experience of Borno's peoples in the modern world? First, Said himself represents Borno as a political project encompassing a variety of ethnic groups, including the Kanuri, Shuwa, Kanembu, and, in the case of Said, "Mandra" (Mandara) and Molgoy. Molgoy were a people whose ruling chief accepted a tributary relationship with Borno under Mai Barnoma. Said's mother, Dalla, was the daughter of a Mandra chief. Yet despite these non-Kanuri origins, Said seems to identify wholeheartedly with Borno and refers to the Borno or Kanuri language as his vernacular. Perhaps this a reflection of his father's military service under Shehu al-Kanemi, which meant Said grew up in Kukawa, the capital, and socialized with a son of Shehu Omar. Either way, this is an interesting example of how multiethnic the empire of Borno was, and to what extent people from "pagan" tributary or vassal states in the region could ascend the ranks of the military and social status. 

After all, Mohammad Ali ben Said was the son of Barca Gana, a famous general who defended Borno against the Fulani, Bagirmi, Wadai, and other enemies or raiders. Indeed, it was presumably through his father's prominence and connections with al-Kanemi and his successor that Said was sent for schooling to Malam Katory, a reputed scholar described as being well-versed in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. Presumably having such a respectable teacher in Arabic was expected for people of elite origins in Borno. Moreover, it was open to people who were not of Kanuri, Kanembu, or Shuwa origins, though Said clearly thought the Kanuri were the ruling class or caste and not above oppressing Shuwa, Kanembu, or other groups.

After establishing how internally diverse and dynamic Borno society was in the 19th century, it's important to consider Said as a native of Borno in the volatile 19th century world, experiencing steamships, railroads, European architecture and science. There is a long-running, underlying current of racial uplift in Said's autobiography, perhaps acquired from his experience in the US with African-Americans and whites. In his own manner, he attacks the argument of African inferiority, while implicitly casting Africans as primitive and the "race" as one in need of elevation through education and uplift. This is the basis for sensing some ambivalence in Said's experience of 'modernity' and tradition, one in which he can praise aspects of Borno and the Ottoman Turks while cursing African Islam as retrograde. Indeed, in Said's retelling of Borno's past and the history of African achievements in technology and handicrafts, he seems to think the palace ruins at Gambaru and Ngazargamu were the achievements of pre-Islamic Borno. Consequently, one can sense an ambivalence in Said's autobiography in terms of religion and race in a changing world. Thus, he can praise the example of the Haitian Revolution as an achievement for our race while wishing Haiti remained colony.

Experiencing the trans-Saharan slave trade first-hand, and 2 distinct but connected routes that carried him from Tripoli to Mecca and back), it is fascinating to see how someone who was reared Muslim and received an Islamic education for at least 2 years struggled with Islam. After baptism in Riga, at the pressure of his Russian aristocratic employer, Said appears to have gradually adopted more severe and dismissive attitudes to Islam. The religion of his homeland, indeed, is blamed for bringing destruction, fanaticism, and slave raiding. Since his audience for the autobiography consisted of Christian Americans in the 19h century, perhaps one can see Said embellishing or exaggerating his religious sentiments or identity. Yet he could have been sincere in those beliefs, and struggled to make sense of the "contest" between Christianity and Islam, the former better for Africa (and the "race"). In this light, it is interesting to compare Said with Edward Blyden. Unlike Blyden, who was not a product of an Islamic West African society, Said presented himself as a Christian who rejects Islam's influence in the continent. Blyden, on the other hand, saw Islam as preparing Africa for eventual Christianization, and in the meantime, promoting education and moderation for moral uplift. Like Said, Blyden did not truck with "fetishism" but both claimed to be for the race. Both also saw in the "mulatto" an implacable obstacle to countries like Haiti. How is it that two men with extensive traveling and education, both in favor of improving the "race," develop ambivalent attitudes toward Africa in the modern world while stressing the benefits of opposing religions? And what does this suggest for the role of Borno in the larger theme of Islam and modern Africa?

Barbarian Europe

 

A very useful lecture for those interested in some of the historical context for Norse sagas, literature, and mythology. Will be revisiting this for my additional forays into Icelandic sagas and medieval literature, particularly those set in the pre-Viking past. 

Egil's Saga

Decided to finally read an Icelandic saga after reading about them in an unorthodox history of the novel. Although clearly based on historical figures with precise genealogies and specific events in the history of Norway and Iceland, Egil's Saga is undoubtedly a fictionalized account of Egil Skallagrim's adventures and exploits as a poet, warrior, Viking raider, farmer, and respected figure across the Viking world of the 10th century. It is clearly fictionalized because of the constant references to magic arts, giants, trolls, and other fantastic or supernatural phenomena which occur in the text, not to mention the imprecise dates and superhuman accomplishments of Egil himself. Translated by Scudder, the saga itself is very readable and engaging, consisting of short chapters that progress the plot from Egil's ancestors to his descendants in Iceland after a feud. 

Along the way, we see how events in previous generations reverberate for their descendants as Egil's family feuds with the King of Norway (first Harald, then Eirik and his wife, Gunnhild). Egil and his brother Thorolf also make a name for themselves (and increase their wealth and position) through Viking raids across the Viking world. Thus, this saga is richly detailed for those interested in pre-Christian Norway and Iceland, particularly in understanding how status, rank, honor, kinship ties, and political structures functioned. Its use of verse by Egil further enhances the story by giving full expression to the protagonist for expressing himself and his inner, often contradictory thoughts or moods. This adds a breath of fresh air to a narrative which, otherwise, often tells rather than shows. 

For prose narratives from medieval Europe, this is certainly much more interesting and exciting than hagiographies of the saints. However, does it really qualify as a novel? We have a general plot, of sorts, with conflict, resolution, and it is written largely in prose. Structurally, it seems to fit the bill, even if stylistically it falls short of most of the kinds of characterization one would like. Indeed, besides Egil and a few of his kinsman, most of the characters are flat and serve as obstacles or opponents in the incessant feuding, raiding, battling, and killings that take our hero on various journeys across Scandinavia, England, Iceland, the Baltic, and Frisia. One will have to read more Icelandic sagas to see how the genre changed over time and possible stylistic differences that enrich the history of prose writing of the medieval era. 

Bertin Depestre Salnave

Salnave

Bertin Depestre Salnave deserves our attention as one of the Haitians involved with the evolution of jazz music. Unfortunately, finding information about his life and work can be difficult. Most information about his career in Europe refer to an interview published in a 1978 issue of Storyville, a jazz publication. Salnave discusses his musical origins in Haiti through influences from a musician uncle and Occide Jeanty, the illustrious director of the Musique du Palais. Then, in 1913, he went to France, where he studied classical music before joining a variety of bands and orchestras in the 1910s and 1920s. Indeed, the French and European music scene included a plethora of forms of music, so Salnave was exposed to Antillean, tango (he claimed to have performed with Tano Genaro's band), "syncopated" music from the US, and Western classical genres.

Florius Notte and His Creole Band Jazz de la Coupole included at least 2 Haitians in its early formation, Salnave and Emile Chancy. Chancy is presumably the same Chancy who launched his own band in Haiti, Jazz Chancy, one of the groups playing jazz-influenced music near the end of the US Occupation.

Salnave also joined Will Marion Cook's group in England, where he met a number of African American, Puerto Rican, and Caribbean musicians, such as Sidney Bechet. Like Jim Reese Europe, the Southern Syncopated Orchestra was a sort of transitional band that linked early jazz with ragtime and other forms of American popular music of the era. According to the Storyville piece, by the 1920s, Salnave was playing "jazz" proper with American musicians like Crickett Smith, a trumpeter. In addition, Salnave played saxophone in the band of Arthur Briggs, although he may have left the group before they were recorded. Nonetheless, he participated in a number of black American groups in Europe who were pivotal in exporting jazz. This meant Haitian and other Caribbean musicians were able to learn techniques, methods of playing, and stylistic conventions of African American musicians, which they later brought back to the Caribbean. 

Salnave with Arthur Briggs' Savoy's Syncopators Orchesta ca. 1924.

By the time he formed his own group, Emile Chancy, Jeff Sevestre, Firmin, and Florius Notte were members. Jeff Sevestre, possibly Geffrard Cesvet, may have become a bandleader in Haiti after returning from France. Undoubtedly, Salnave's band played a pivotal role in the transmission of jazz music to Haiti through musicians returning from France after performing with European, African American, Latin, and Antillean groups. These musicians, plus the presence of US Marines and their radio station, inundated the country with foxtrots, blues, tango, and Cuban music. According to Averill's study on Haitian popular music, the radio established by the US Marines was not accessible to the majority of Port-au-Prince, but concert programs for broadcasts in Le Matin and Le Nouvelliste indicate many bands that performed a repertoire of Cuban, American, and Haitian meringue tunes. Many of these bands also performed in clubs, bars, and public events, such as the Musique du Palais (directed by Occide Jeanty, then Luc Jean-Baptiste). Thus, the impact of jazz on Haitian dance music was shaped not only by the forces of US Occupation and its cultural impact, but Haitian musicians themselves who incorporated it into their local repertoire. 

1927 recording of "Mean Dog Blues" by the group of Arthur Briggs. Salnave is not featured, but this may be an indication of how the band sounded in 1924, when he was a member.

Lamentably, what became of Salnave after his return to Haiti is difficult to deduce. The Storyville article indicates his career as a jazzman ended when he returned to the island. But, in light of others affiliated with him who appear to have continued their music careers in Haitian dance bands, perhaps Salnave gave lessons or performed with local bands. Perhaps Haitians like himself may have refined some of the jazz influences with local groups who, since the late 1920s, included standards of that era in their performances. Some of the elements of jazz he claimed to have learned in Europe, such as call and response, going without written arrangements and saxophone improvisation may have been in-demand skills for their novelty and authenticity. In terms of recordings, "Brown Love," from 1933, features some of these techniques. Salnave plays in the "hot" style with fellow Haitian, Emile Chancy,, and the record features some intriguing but too brief soloing. The interesting thing to uncover here would be if the local jazz bands that formed by the late 1920s in Port-au-Prince were playing in a similar manner to Salnave's group in France. However, until someone uncovers any possible recordings of Jazz Scott, Jazz Chancy, or Orchestre Pantal Jazz, all we have to go on are 1930s recordings of a few Haitian dance bands from Alan Lomax. 

Dexter Gordon & Kenny Drew & Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen

I'm really enjoying this today, particularly the second song, "Fried Bananas" (based on the changes of "It Could Happen To You"). It's a delight to hear Niels-Henning and Kenny Drew live with another jazz legend. I believe the drummer is the legendary South African Makaya Ntshoko, too. I need to find some books on the Jazz Diaspora in Europe...

Rambling Thoughts on Gobineau, Haiti

While discussing with a friend Gobineau's racial theories and beliefs in degeneration (and its positive benefits, surprisingly), I was reminded of Gobineau's thoughts on Haiti. For Gobineau, the explanation of why societies collapse was rooted in degeneration. To him, degeneration occurred when a people no longer have the same intrinsic value as they previously possessed (Gobineau 25). He also stated that there were two laws: repulsion and attraction to the crossing of blood. Naturally, Gobineau takes it for granted that there are distinct (and unequal) human races and the white or Aryan race is at the apogee. Furthermore, his approach to history is built on a model of civilization in which the ten greatest civilizations were founded by white Aryans who mixed with blacks (who cannot initiate civilization on their own), Semites, and "yellow" Asiatics, leading to degeneration and decline (211). This path to degeneration progressed as more hybrids formed with different strengths and weaknesses over time (210).

Nonetheless, Gobineau admitted that every mixture or example of miscegenation is not harmful, such as the artistic genius of black-white mixing or Malayan yellow and black miscegenation producing a race more intelligent than either forebear (208). Indeed, Gobineau even wrote that the happiest blend for human beauty is the marriage of black and white (151). Yet, he also argued that it was impossible to fuse different races in a civilization because of racial antagonism and difference in culture (179). As evidence, he cited the failure to communicate civilization to savages in Algeria, India, and Java under colonial rule (171). Furthermore, so-called "savage races" stay savage, even when imitating superior races (173). Of course, class was also part of this, thus Gobineau viewed the French lower classes as an abyss over which civilization is suspended (101). Hence, Gobineau supported monarchy as the best form of government, organizing society under a rational individual to lead collective will and unite interests (159).

Now that we have arrived at some idea of Gobineau's views on history, racial miscegenation, and civilization, with degeneration as the driving cause of a society or civilization's fall, let us examine his thoughts on Hispaniola. Because of his fusion of race and civilization, he saw the island of "San Domingo" as one in which European models were inapplicable for the inhabitants (46). Contrasting the Dominican Republic with Haiti, Gobineau saw the "mulattoes" of the eastern part of Hispaniola as being able to reproduce European customs to a certain extent (48). Considering his aforementioned acknowledgement of some of the benefits of racial mixing, one should not be surprised that the Dominican Republic was an example in which racial mixture produced an uplifting affect (208).

However, on the subject of Haiti, Gobineau's "scientific racism" is unleashed. Gustave d'Alaux's articles in the Revue des deux mondes provided the source for his knowledge of Haiti, and it shows (48). He perceived Haiti as an example in which enlightened French and European laws conflicted with the population, comparing Haiti to Dahomey. Haitians, to Gobineau, were lazy and the black majority of Haiti, limited by African ideals of laziness and murder, prevented open-minded mulattoes from maintaining or imitating civilization (49). To Gobineau, the history of Haiti was nothing but massacres of mulattoes versus blacks. Black or African savagery was the true spirit, and Haitian blacks were allegedly opposed to other races through a hatred of foreigners (50). Mulattoes in Haiti, on the other hand, could be tutored and remain on the coasts while blacks in the interior revert to tribes and fight each other (51).

Gobineau's bicolored view of Haiti reflected a problematic reliance on biased sources like Gustave d'Alaux, but also brings to mind something a Haitian academic pointed out about Firmin's work. According to him, Firmin never really disputed Gobineau. Gobineau admitted that there are black individuals, for example, who can be more intelligent than whites, such as African chiefs being superior to French peasants or average middle-classes (180). On the question of racial mixture and degeneration, Gobineau's views were complex, since black-white mixture could produce hybrids with artistic genius or physical beauty. Here, I believe, Firmin and other Haitian writers did disprove the silliness of racial theories on degeneration, since to Firmin, the mulatto is proof of racial equality since his presumed intellectual equality with the white forebear could only happen if the black parent is also as intelligent.

However, what interests me beyond the ways in which Gobineau and Haitian writers used the example of Haiti in their theories of race, is to what extent Gobineau's work may have influenced Dominican writers in the 19th century (for Balaguer, it is obvious, but he represents the 20th century). For example, in Pedro Francisco Bonó's well-known essay on Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as well as some of his other writings, Haiti represents racial exclusivism in which the only mixed-race persons represent civilization. The Dominican Republic, on the other hand, possesses cosmopolitan tendencies and is open to all races, which echoes Gobineau's perception of Haiti as racially exclusive, xenophobic, savage, and despotic. Of course, Dominican writers also drew on other French and European writers when it comes to Haiti, but one cannot help but think Gobineau, whose views on racial miscegenation were nuanced, could be appropriated to defend mestizaje for those in the Hispanic Caribbean while maintaining certain racist or racialist beliefs. If, for example, one reads Dominican writers of the late 19th century in light of Gobineau, Bonneau, St. Remy, or Benjamin Hunt, how does that change elite narratives of national identity, race, and the Caribbean? Is Caribbean mestizaje as problematic as that of the Latin American mainland?

Works Consulted

Bonó, Pedro F, and Demorizi E. Rodríguez. Papeles De Pedro F. Bonó. Para La Historia De Las Ideas Políticas en Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo, R.D, 1964.

Firmin, Joseph-Anténor. The Equality of the Human Races. Trans. Asselin Charles. New York: Garland, 2000.

Gobineau, Arthur. The Inequality of Human Races. Los Angeles: Noontide Press, 1966.

Hot House...Live

Still on a Eric Dolphy kick these days. There's truly no one else who has such a unique voice in bop that amazingly bridges the gap between traditional and the "new thing." Dolphy's angular solo here is only a portent of things to come with Out to Lunch! in 1964.

Rebel Music: Race, Empire, and the New Muslim Youth Culture

Hisham Aidi's new book was a great read, although I can't help but feel that perhaps it was too ambitious or endeavored to cover to many regions and topics. Also, at times I could not find a link to music and popular culture in some chapters, even though they were fascinating nonetheless (I am thinking specifically of the 'not quite white' chapter on Arab-Americans in the US racial order), but Aidi is certainly 'breaking new ground' by linking music and popular culture to these new stages in Muslim identities around the world. Before reading this dense text full of intriguing references, I already knew about the influence of hip-hop and African-American music and social movements on people of color and Muslim youth around the world, but this book goes even further by examining the impact of jazz and African-Americans on the explosion of gnawa music's recognition (thank you, Randy Weston), as well as exploring some of the long-established links between Islam among people of African descent in both the US and Brazil. In addition, Aidi offers an interesting analysis on Arab-Americans and where they 'fit' in the US racial schema, particularly now that there are more 'black Arabs' in the US, and because of the ways in which Westerners racialize Islam and discriminate against Muslims in government agencies and popular culture.

Moreover, the book remains accessible to scholars and the lay public who lack a deeper understanding of the various strains of Islam thought, including Salafism or even the deeper history of Maghrebi immigration in France and how music (particularly gnawa) was reappropriated by North African youths in the diaspora and at home as a result of gaining international attention in the West. It would seem that popular music across much of the Islamic world and its diaspora owes much to immigration, as well as experiences of alienation, racism, and social unrest in Europe and the US, although it clearly reverberates back in the homeland. Although much of popular music among Muslim youth around the world is influenced by African-American music (hip-hop, jazz, rock) and Afro-Caribbean forms (reggae), there also exists the tremendous influence of Islam on African-American musical forms, especially jazz (the Ahmadiyya stand out as one example, as well as other forms of Islam) and hip-hop (Nation of Islam, Sunni Islam). All in all, an enjoyable read full of unexpected facts and details that will have one reading more into Afro-Arab histories and Islamic youth cultures.

The American Discovery of Europe

Just finished The American Discovery of Europe by Jack D. Forbes. By far, the best thing about this rather speculative text that awaits further confirmation via archaeology is in reversing the usual paradigm of pre-Columbian contact with indigenous peoples of the Americas as agents. Indeed, I love how Forbes reclaims 'Americans' as a term for indigenous people, instead of the less accurate 'Indian.' Moreover, if Forbes is correct about the winds and streams (Gulf Current) favoring indigenous seafarers heading east across the Atlantic rather than the opposite, it would certainly seem likely that indigenous Americans arrived in Europe at various times, although the question of sustained, purposeful contact remains unconfirmed prior to the Norse. If American harpoon points, flora, and peoples had crossed the North Atlantic due to favorable waters and winds prior to Columbus in the North Atlantic, it certainly calls for a revising of the navigational skills of Americans. 

In addition to challenging the traditional Eurocentric (or, for that matter, Afrocentric and Sinocentric) view, Forbes goes to great lengths to show how intercontinental trade and links existed between various centers of civilizations in the pre-Hispanic Caribbean, Mexico/Central America, North America, and South America. And not just in the Atlantic, but also along the Pacific coasts! Contact between the Caribs and Arawaks of the Caribbean for instance, and Mesoamerica is proved by similarities in the ballgame played by both groups, as well as linguistic and trade ties to northern South America (Venezuela and Colombia). Similarities in religion, material culture, and evidence of trade also links Mesoamerica with the Caribbean and North America, more evidence of long-distance trade networks and advanced sailing and seafaring by native peoples. 

In conclusion, the text's weakness relies on the nature of its incomplete evidence, unclear ancient textual and colonial-era sources, and the rather limited knowledge available at the time to the pre-Columbian Americas. It does seem very likely that Americans could have crossed the Atlantic during the Dorset or Thule cultures (the Inuit or "Eskimos"), but as of 2007, the year Forbes published the book, irrefutable evidence has yet to be presented. The strangeness of cocaine and nicotine found in ancient Egyptian mummies and northern European folklore and medieval writings on dark-visaged 'mer-men' may all reveal some incomplete picture of indigenous Americans crossing the Atlantic, but there are still too many gaps to 'prove' it. Nonetheless, Forbes has certainly corrected my erroneous understandings of American navigational ability, links between northern Europe and northeastern America, and the complexity of American civilizations before 1492. 

Un Sarao de la Chacona

Lovely recording of a dance music of New World origins (and thus, perhaps African influences) that became extremely popular in Spain and the rest of Europe. It enlivened Baroque art music while finding its way into the courtly music of European elites. I could not find much about this particular song, but it dates to the late 16th century or early 17th century. 

Jazz and Nazi Propaganda

Nazi propaganda against jazz music (negermusik). Despite the rhetoric and anti-black, anti-Semitic ideology, jazz remained popular with the rank and file German soldiers, as well as being used by Nazi propagandists against the British, French, and US. Fascinating to hear how jazz was transported to Europe and used in such a contradictory way by Nazis. Check out this and this for some interesting reads, as well as these Nazi propaganda covers of some jazz standards of the day, here and here. 

Soviet Jazz and Soul

With all the talk of Russia and Ukraine in the news these days, I've been thinking about the music of the Soviet era. Despite the whole Cold War thing, US musical influences proved pervasive in the Soviet Union, including jazz, soul, and funk. I'm loving this jam, too. I am quite certain the USSR and the modern states of the former USSR are an untapped reservoir of excellent or at least interesting music.