Pattin Juba, Hambone, And The Bo Diddley Beat

Edited by Azizi Powell

[Latest Revision August 22, 2018]

This pancocojams post provides information about the history of and descriptions of pattin[g] juba, hambone, and the Bo Diddley beat. Videos of pattin Juba are also included in this post.

This post also includes text examples of the Hambone song. The Addendum to this post provides comments and an example of the retention of pattin juba in some historically Black fraternity and sorority stepping routines.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in the video, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT PATTIN JUBA
From https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0812201000 Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras and America's Creole Soul, Roger D. Abrahams, 2010, p. 46
"The contribution of black dancers to New Orleans history centered on old Congo Square, located between what is now the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium and Rampart Street. There, in the nineteenth century, African dancing was visible to the public. Blacks danced in circles, miniature citadels of spirit and certainty. Kongo competed with other African people in the formation of local culture. Prominent among these were the Yoruba, Mande, and Fon. But the Bakongo were singularly influential in dance. Numerous dances named “Congo” were recorded in nineteenth-century Louisiana along with the Kongo derived bamboula..Whole systems of motions and gestures crossed the Atlantic and took root in the city and parishes. An immediate example is nzuba, a thigh slapping dance from kingdom of Kongo. The name derives from the Ki-Kongo verb “to slap” zuba. With a lightly creolized title “juba” or “patting juba” is spread up the river and diffused far and wide. Among the Black Hawk Spiritualist churches of African American New Orleans, it is one of the steps that come back from the past when people dance in the spirit."...

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CORRECTION OF WIKIPEDIA PAGE ON JUBA DANCE THAT CITES A PAGE FROM MY COCOJAMS.COM WEBSITE [Update August 22, 2018]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juba_dance includes this sentence: "Modern variations on the dance include Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley Beat" and the step-shows of African American Greek organizations.[1].[This is the end of quote as of August 22, 2018. An earlier version of this sentence read "African American and "Latino Greek organizations"]

That sentence is footnoted as #1 and cites a post on my voluntarily deleted cocojams.com cultural website. As of August 22, 2018 that footnote leads to an early cocojams.com post on the song “Jim Along Josie”. Previously, the wayback.com machine linked to an early cocojams.com post on the song "Hambone". The "Jim Along Josie" page doesn't mention "pattin Juba" or "Hambone", but the "Hambone" page noted that some* stepping routines that are performed by historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities include body chest and thigh body patting which can be considered a contemporary form of pattin Juba (hamboning). Because all step show routines don't include body patting, it's a misinterpretation of my comments to indicate that I said that that step-shows are modern variations of the Juba Dance, Hambone, and/or the Bo Diddley beat

*The bold font is used here to emphasize this point.

The Addendum on stepping below includes additional comments and a YouTube example of body patting in a stepping routine.

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HAITIAN JUBA DANCING
It's interesting to note that body patting isn't a feature of Juba dancing in Haiti as shown in this video of that dance filmed in 1936-1937

Haitian Djouba Dancing



Cunya jele muePublished on Nov 15, 2012

This clip is from a field recording done by the American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax during his trip to Haiti in 1936-1937. This scene was filmed in Carrefour DuFort/Kalfou Difó, at a dance held by a Sosyete Djouba, which is an old traditional mutual aid and communal work society once prevalent in the Haitian countryside. This is an excellent example of djouba drumming and dancing -also known as danse Matinik. The tanbou djouba (or tanbou Matinik) was a barrel drum, headed with a goatskin, and played laid down on the floor in a "transverse-heeled style" by the tanbouyé. Two kata sticks provide the accompanying rhythm, and are played on the back of the tanbou by the katalyé. The dance is led by a Komandyé, who first demonstrates his dancing prowess by executing steps in front of the assembled dancers and audience. Then the dance is executed, which is a figure dance in the form of a square Contredanse, with the komandyé calling out the changes in figures for the couples. NOTE - the music playing here is NOT actually djouba. The original field recording did not have audio, and the music heard here is actually a Kongo rhythm played by the same drummers at the same event, and with the djouba instrumentation. The sosyete played both djouba and kongo as part of their traditional repertoire

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AFRICAN ROOTS OF BODY PATTING - Traditional Jola dancing



Ulf Jägfors, Uploaded on Sep 29, 2006

This video shows traditional Jola body patting and dances by girls from Mlomp, Casamance region, Southern Senegal. It was recorded at The Akonting Center for Senegambian folkmusic, Mandinari, Gambia July 2006

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VIDEOS OF PATTIN JUBA (HAMBONE)

Video #1: Derique McGhee @ Lincoln Center 8-12-10

Derique McGhee @ Lincoln Center 8-12-10



Uploaded by newsriffs on Aug 13, 2010

"The International Body Music Festival, offered this performance of traditional African American Hambone. When the man takes your drums away, this is the alternative."

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Example #2: Traditional Hambone



Uploaded by atn151 on Aug 28, 2008

Dry Branch Fire Squad founding member Ron Thomason performs traditional Hambone at the Gettysburg Bluegrass festival, 2008.

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Example #3: hambone - Steve McCraven



mycompasstv, Uploaded on Oct 26, 2011

Great hambone technique from Archie Shepp's drummer Steve McCraven.

Recorded in Tunisia at the Tabarka International Jazz Festival.

video: Stephen Smith

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THE BO DIDDLEY BEAT
The rock & roll singer/musician Bo Diddley used this beat so much in his records that it became known as the "Bo Diddley" beat. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Diddley to read more about Blues and R&B singer, musician, song writer Bo Diddley. Here's an excerpt from that Wikipedia page:
"He [Bo Diddley] recorded for Chicago's Chess Records subsidiary label Checker. Bo Diddley is best known for the "Bo Diddley beat", a rhumba-based beat (see clave) also influenced by what is known as "hambone", a style used by street performers who play out the beat by slapping and patting their arms, legs, chest, and cheeks while chanting rhymes.

In its simplest form, the Bo Diddley beat can be counted out as a two-bar phrase:

One and two and three and four and one and two and three and four" etc."
-snip-
Bo Diddley used the "Hambone" beat in so many of his songs that the beat was referred to as the "Bo Diddley Beat". Here's a video of one of his hit songs "Bo Diddley":

BO DIDDLEY 1965



SURFSTYLEY4, Uploaded on Mar 20, 2011
-snip-
Here are the lyrics to that song:

Bo Diddley
(Ellas McDaniel) 1955

Bo Diddley bought his babe a diamond ring,
If that diamond ring don't shine,
He gonna take it to a private eye,
If that private eye can't see
He'd better not take the ring from me.

Bo Diddley caught a nanny goat,
To make his pretty baby a Sunday coat,
Bo Diddley caught a bear cat,
To make his pretty baby a Sunday hat.

Mojo come to my house, ya black cat bone,
Take my baby away from home,
Ugly ole mojo, where ya bin,
Up your house, and gone again.

Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley have you heard?
My pretty baby said she wasn't for it.
From www.stlyrics.com/songs/b/bodiddley598/bodiddley335168.html

-snip-
Ellas McDaniel is Bo Diddley's real name.

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LYRICS - HAMBONE
(Like other folk songs, there are multiple versions of the song "Hambone". Here are two of those versions. These versions aren't presented in any particular order. Notice the similarities between example #2 and Bo Diddley's song.)

HAMBONE (Example #1)
Hambone Hambone pat him on the shoulder
If you get a pretty girl, I'll show you how to hold her.

Hambone, Hambone, where have you been?
All 'round the world and back again.
Hambone, Hambone, what did you do?
I got a train and I fairly flew.

Hambone, Hambone where did you go?
I hopped up to Miss Lucy's door.
I asked Miss Lucy would she marry me.
(in falsetto) "Well I don't care if Papa don't care!"
First come in was Mister Snake,
He crawled all over that wedding cake.
Next walked in was Mister Tick,
He ate so much it made him sick.
Next walked in was Mister Coon,
We asked him to sing us a wedding tune,
Now Ham-....
Now Ham....
-Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes, "Step It Down, Games, Plays, Songs & Stories From The Afro-American Heritage (Athens, Ga; University of Georgia Press, 1972, pps 34-36)
-snip-
Notice the similarities between this song and the song "Frog Went A Courtin."

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HAMBONE (Example #2)
Hambone! Hambone!

Hambone, hambone
Where you been?
Round the world and I'm going again
What you gonna do when you come back?
Take a little walk by the railroad track
Hambone

Hambone, hambone
Have you heard?
Papa's gonna buy me a mocking bird
And if that mocking bird don't sing
Papa's gonna buy me a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring don't shine
Papa's gonna take it to the five and dime
Hambone

Hambone, hambone
Where you been?
Round the world and I'm going again
I just skinned an alley cat
To make my wife a Sunday hat
Took the hide right off a goat
To make my wife a Sunday coat

Hambone, hambone
Where's your wife
Out to the kitchen, cooking beans and rice
Hambone
Hambone

Hambone, hambone
Trying to eat
Ketchup on his elbow, pickle on his feet
Bread in the basket
Chicken in the stew
Supper on the fire for me and you

Look at him holler, look at him moan
That hambone just can't hambone
Hambone
Hambone

Hambone Lyrics
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
PERKINS, CARL / WALKER, WAYNE P.

Source: http://www.cduniverse.com/tennessee-ernie-ford-hambone-lyrics-6008330.htm
-snip-
Notice the similarities between this song and the song "Hush Little Baby Don't You Cry".

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ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT STEPPIN & A VIDEO OF STEPPIN; (Revised August 22, 2018)
"Steppin" is an African American movement art. When other American groups (including Latino/a groups) perform steppin, they are basing their performance on a tradition that originated with African Americans. That said, steppin could also be influenced by various African dance traditions, particularly the traditions of South African gumboot dancing.

That said, an argument could be made that South African gumboot dancing was influenced by historically Black Greek letter fraternity and sorority stepping. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/correcting-record-south-african-boot.html

Here's one excerpt from that post that quotes passages from Elizabeth C. Fine's book SoulStepping: African American Step Shows :
p. 78
The rubber boot or gumboot dancing... is an excellent example of the complex relationships between African and African American music and dance. Gumboot dancing (isicathulo), one of the first urban working-class dances in South Africa, may have been developed in rural missions by Zulu pupils who were not allowed to perform traditional dances. The word isicathulo, Hugh Tracey notes, means “shoe”. When the students danced the shoes that missions required them to wear created louder sounds than did bare feet. Around the time of World War I “rural, urban, mission, and working-class performance traditions” intermingled in isicathulo, which “as a step-dance” was closely related if not identical to other dance forms that had evolved earlier among farm laborers and inhabitants of the rural reserves.” (3)

Erlmann suggest that isicathulo dancers “frequently indulge in sophisticated solo stepping, prototypes of which had been available to migrant workers, from the mid-1920s through Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire movies as well as touring black tap dance groups.” Indeed, South Africans were exposed to African American music and dance traditions as early as 1890, when Orpheus M. McAdoo and the Virginia Jubilee Singers spent almost five years touring South Africa. In subsequent years, black South Africans came to the United States. One, the famous “ragtime composer Reuben T. Caluza, renowned “as a skilled isicathulo dancer”, enrolled in Virginia’s Hampton Institute in 1930 to earn a B.A. in music. Caluza and three other students from Africa formed the African Quartette performing both songs and dances along the East Coast.

They even sang for Franklin D. Roosevelt Quartet member Dwight Sumner wrote that in their summer tour of 1931 the “African Quartette sang Zulu songs, under the direction of Mr. Caluza, and also gave African folk dances.” It is likely that Caluza shared his talents with students. If so, members of fraternities and sororities could have incorporated some gumboot movements into stepping. Caluza went on to earn a masters degree at Columbia University in 1935, where again he could have shared gumboot dancing with students.

Malone notes that during the 1970s and 1980s gumboot dancing “was introduced in North American urban areas and showcased by many of the dance companies that performed styles of traditional African dances.” Evidence from Erlmann, however, suggest the possibility if a much earlier exposure to gumboot dancing and, conversely, the incorporation of African American influences into South African dances. Caluza’s story is only one small example of the continuous interactions among Africans and African Americans that created a complex interaction between music and dance forms on both continents"...

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Here's one example of a steppin routine that includes body patting that is performed by a historical Black Greek lettered fraternity:

Alpha Phi Alpha Steps



Willy R·Uploaded on Nov 2, 2006

DI Step Show

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