"Submitted by Jamiylah M."I recently watched a film called Jumping the Broom. It is about two individuals getting married that come from two different backgrounds. The bride, played by Paula Patton, was raised in a more wealthy and suburban upbringing. The groom, played by Laz Alonso, was raised in a single parent home closer toward the city. Both individuals are African American as well as their parents, but when it came time for the two families to meet, there were a lot of clashing moments because of different viewpoints on certain wedding traditions. In the movie there is a disagreement between the bride’s mother and the groom’s mother about whether or not the couple should “jump the broom” after exchanging vows at the altar. The tradition of “jumping the broom” is a social norm among African American culture. I could not understand why the bride’s mother would not want to include a tradition that age back to the days of slavery. So, I decided to go into further research about what “jumping the broom” symbolizes and how and why it is an important tradition.
Jumping the broom was a tradition that began back in the 1600s during slavery. Slaves were not allowed to legally marry and have lavishing weddings in a church. Most of their ceremonies took place within their living quarters on the plantation. A huge part of the ceremony was the tradition of “jumping the broom.” A broom would be placed on the floor and the couple would jump over the broom as a symbol of stepping into a new world as husband and wife. The broom was a household item that the couple would have for years to come. The hairs of the broom represented the members of the family. Where the handle was represented the family as a unit and the ribbon tied around the handle would signify the marriage that will bind the family of the groom and the bride as one.
Culture is defined as the beliefs, values and norms that are passed on through generations. The broom in the tradition would be considered material culture because it is a physical object that passes on the heritage of the African culture. For the slaves to not be able to publicly express the union and love of two individuals was tragic but they were able to find an alternative way of expression. The nonmaterial culture within “jumping the broom” is the belief that once the couple steps over the broom they are unified and officially husband and wife. Nonmaterial culture is defined as a belief or value that is shared among everyone pertaining to the culture. Although union through jumping a broom is not through legal documents or anything it is accepted among the people because the belief is part of the culture.
In the world today, African Americans continue with the tradition of “jumping the broom” for many reasons. Some do so because it is tradition that they have seen their parents and grandparents do. Some exercise the custom as a norm which is something worldly accepted within the culture. And majority of African Americans do so to keep the beliefs and values of their ancestors, slaves who were not allowed to have wed, alive and continuous throughout generations to come.
All in all, I think that the bride's mother's refusal of letting the couple jump the broom is not a good idea. She felt as though it would be tacky and did not want to do something that would remind her of slavery. I think she is completely wrong and that having the couple jump the broom would be a positive contribution to the wedding. It would be a good tradition of the African culture for her to pass down to the newlyweds as well as pay homage to their ancestors by keeping the belief and values that "jumping the broom" brings to a marriage in their culture.
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