The Ring Shout: A Ritual of Religious Unity

Slaves had no way of verbal communication, so they turned to musical tactics. The use of drums, vocal sounds, and call-and-response (I.e., cries, moans, and slurs) were their means of communication. With the use of these different demonstrations, they were able to bring these styles into the Ring Shout as a form of a religious community. The Ring Shout was not only a religious ritual but the molding of African American cultural attributes.  

Here is an example of a Ring Shout. Slaves would perform this ritual within praise houses so slave masters would not discover this practice.

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