Stono Slave Rebellion gave birth to "Juba" aka "Hambone" mixed with the Irish Jig invented Tap Dance

Belle Montgomery

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Danny 'Slapjazz' Barber talks about the beat history and the lyrics at 2 minutes into the video:
Dancing the Juba:
Juba and elements of the Irish jig (clogging) evolve to tap dancing:

In 1842, the great English novelist Charles Dickens toured the United States and wrote a book about it called American Notes. He described a visit to Almack’s, a dance hall in Manhattan’s notorious Five Points, and a dancer by the name of Master Juba:


"The corpulent black fiddler, and his friend who plays the tambourine, stamp upon the boarding of the small raised orchestra in which they sit, and play a lively measure. Five or six couple come upon the floor, marshalled by a lively young negro, who is the wit of the assembly, and the greatest dancer known."

The Stono Rebellion (sometimes called Cato's Conspiracy or Cato's Rebellion)
was a slave rebellion that began on 9 September 1739, in the colony of South Carolina. It was the largest slave uprising in the British mainland colonies, with 25 white people and 35 to 50 black people killed.
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The Juba dance or hambone, originally known as Pattin' Juba (Giouba, Haiti: Djouba), is an African American style of dance that involves stomping as well as slapping and patting the arms, legs, chest, and cheeks. "Pattin' Juba" would be used to keep time for other dances during a walkaround. A Juba Dance performance could include:

  • counter-clockwise turning, often with one leg raised
  • stomping and slapping
  • steps such as "the Jubal Jew," "Yaller Cat," "Pigeon Wing" and "Blow That Candle Out."
The dance traditionally ends with a step called "the Long Dog Scratch". Modern variations on the dance include Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley Beat" and the step-shows of African American Greek organizations.[1]

History of the dance
The Juba dance was originally brought by Kongo slaves to Charleston, South Carolina.[2] It became an African-American plantation dance that was performed by slaves during their gatherings when no rhythm instruments were allowed due to fear of secret codes hidden in the drumming. The sounds were also used just as Yoruba and Haitian talking drums were used to communicate.[3] The dance was performed in Dutch Guiana, the Caribbean, and the southern United States.[4]

Later in the mid-19th century, music and lyrics were added, and there were public performances of the dance. Its popularization may have indirectly influenced the development of modern tap dance. The most famous Juba dancer was William Henry Lane, or Master Juba, one of the first black performers in the United States. It was often danced in minstrel shows, and is mentioned in songs such as "Christy's New Song" and "Juba",[5] the latter by Nathaniel Dett.[6]
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