Stories passed down by the word of mouth
Vernacular tradition, the passing down of stories and traditions by word of mouth, is significant in older African American culture. Of the many hardships that slaves endured in early America, being denied education was a common practice on most plantations. Slaves were only taught enough English so that they could be told what to do, and a lot of the time, slaves had to teach their children without any help from their masters. Despite these hardships, African Americans were still able to create literature of their own in a way. While slaves rarely did anything other than work and sleep, they did so together, which created a sense of community. Through these communities, they made their own songs and stories, which they passed down by mouth, almost as if they were being written. One main example of vernacular tradition typical among slaves was singing. There is only so much you can do with your words while doing grueling work in fields, so creating simple rhymes that are easy to ...