Latest revision- April 13, 2023
This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series about Black (African American) church processions.
Part I provides information about possible cultural influences on Black (African American) church usher, nurses, or choir processions.
This post also features videos of what I believe are some of the cultural influences on contemporary African American Black church processions.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/03/seven-videos-of-african-american-black.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases several videos of Black (African American) processions by church ushers or Black church nurses.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/03/eight-videos-of-black-african-american.html for Part III of this series. Part III showcases eight videos of Black (African American) choir march ins during church services or anniversaries.
Selected comments from discussion threads for some of these videos are also included in this post.
A bonus video of a Black Canadian church choir marching during collection is included in this post along with my description of a similar march that I observed in March 2019 that was done by an African Methodist Episcopal church choir that is directed by my brother Dr. R.E.B. Manning.
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The church denominations that are showcased in the videos that are found in Part II and Part III of this series are AME (African Methodist Episcopal); AME Zion (African Methodist Episcopal Zion); COGIC (Church of God In Christ); Baptist; Missionary Baptist; Pentecostal, and United Methodist.
It's possible that other predominately African American Christian denominations also have (or had) church processions, but I didn't find any YouTube videos of those processions.
In addition to those above mentioned denominations, the 2011 series on Black church choir processions featured a video of an Apostolic church in the USA.
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*Although this pancocojams series focuses on the custom of processions in African American churches, church processions are also found in some other Black churches in the Caribbean, Canada, and in some African countries. Click the "Black Church Processions" link found below to find some earlier pancocojams posts on those subjects.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, 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 these videos and thanks for the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE [Revised April 13, 2023]
[The first three paragraphs of this section are comments that I wrote in 2011 for this pancocojams post http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/11/marching-for-jesus-black-church.html.]
Marching into the church sanctuary is an old tradition among African Americans and some other Black people. However, judging from my experiences, and the comments that have been added to a number YouTube videos on this subject, church processions are viewed as an "old school" tradition that is done by fewer and fewer Black churches, partly because some churches have replaced formal choirs with praise & worship groups, partly because some churches consider processions to be irreligious, or for other reasons.
A number of persons commenting on discussion threads of YouTube videos of Black church note that processions help set the tone of the worship service. Processions add energy to the service. They are a way to praise God and "make a joyful noise to the Lord".
Marching for Jesus adds to the dramatic nature of religious worship. Group marches also adds to the entertainment and pageantry of celebratory group events such as anniversaries and conventions. Choir marches into the church's sanctuary mark the beginning of church service. Processions of choirs, ushers, nurses, or other groups that march into their anniversary program or their convention events enhance the celebratory nature of those programs & events. But processions are more than a way for groups to make a grand entrance. Processions signify that the service or program is something special, since processions are outside the norm of everyday occurrence.
I grew up in a Baptist church in Atlantic City, New Jersey (Union Baptist Temple Church) where the church service always began by the choir "marching in" in pairs down the center aisle of the sanctuary to the choir stand behind the altar. I also remember watching my mother's (then young and middle age adult) Spiral Chorus march down the center aisle of the sanctuary during that choir's anniversary services. My home church in Atlantic City still starts the morning service with the choir marching in singing.
Many years later during my recent visit to my family in Southern New Jersey (March 2019), I was pleased to experience the choir of Saint Paul AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Church in Pleasantville, NJ. (directed by my brother Dr. R.E.B. Manning) marching in pairs into the sanctuary to the choir stand. That choir also marched around the sanctuary when it was their turn to participate in the main church offering. That experience motivated me to return to the topic of Black church processions that I had first focused on in a four part 2011 pancocojams series.
This post expands on that earlier one by exploring what I believe to be various elements that have influenced performances of African American church processions. Particular attention in this post is given to the use of the term "Grand March" to refer to some of these church processions. Based on my personal experiences and watching a number of YouTube videos of Black church processionals, I think that the term "Grand March" may now apply to any type of Black church procession (processional). However, "Grand March" may have originally been used in churches to refer to a procession that was made up of groups from more than one church marching one after another (such as members of usher boards from several churches of the same denomination marching at a conference).
There are four types of marches (processionals) that I believe are performed by some African American and some Black Canadian church groups:
1. At the beginning of the Sunday church service, the choir "march ins" down t he center aisle of the church sanctuary to the choir loft or choir seats
2. During the during the (main) collection portion of the church service. the choir marches "march around" the church sanctuary placing their offerings in the basket or collection plates when they pass them and following a set pattern, continue to march around until they return to their seats.
3. In the beginning of a special program such as an anniversary or a conference by one group from a church or multiple groups of the same church ministry (such as church usher boards or church nurses) from more than one church from the same denomination
4. During the during the (main) collection portion of a special program such as a church board or a church nurses board's anniversary or convention, that usher board (and/or that nurses board) march/es "march around" the church sanctuary placing their offerings in the basket or collection plates when they pass them and following a set pattern, continue to march around until they return to their seats.
-snip-
I believe that choirs are the only Black church ministry/group that march in at the beginning of regular Sunday church services..
In my experience, choirs usually sing as they are marching in to the church service and the congregation stands during this march in. Black church choirs march ins that are done at the beginning of church services appear to be much more religious oriented than special programming march ins. Choir march ins at the beginning of church services are performed to the choir singing a church hymn or a Gospel song. The purpose is to help set the tone for the rest of the church service, to help bring down the Holy Spirit. A commenter wrote on a discussion thread of a Black church procession that the marching represented "marching into heaven". The repetitive movements in some marches (such as those done as part of the choir's singing) can "bring on the Holy Spirit" (i.e. lead to a trance-like feeling) similar to the state of being that is induced during ring shouts.
In contrast, Black church march ins and march arounds during special programs are more "worldly", and celebratory. Generally speaking, the purpose of special programming march ins is to introduce the group/s or the individual group members to those in attendance at these programs and pay homage to the members of that church ministry. Although I believe that there was a Spiritual reason for church march arounds (from its ring shout origins), the contemporary reasons for church march arounds are to provide an opportunity for the usher board/s (or the choir/s or the nurses board/s to give their "offering" ("collection") while "showing off" the honored group while engaging in a bit of pageantry.
The honored church ministry/ministries at church special programming events don't wear robes or the uniforms that they usually wear during church services. Instead, the female and male group members usually wear color coordinated "dressy" outfits. These church groups -including choirs- are silent during these anniversary or convention march ins. Uptempo, percussive Black Gospel recorded or live music from vocal or instrumental recordings or choir singing (at usher board/nurses board special events) is usually the music that is used for church march ins and march arounds. These anniversary/convention march ins and march arounds often consist of social dance moves which would be considered anathema for march ins during church services.
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CULTURAL SOURCES FOR HOW AFRICAN AMERICAN & OTHER BLACK CHURCH PROCESSIONS ARE PERFORMED
Many contemporary Black choirs used to march in (or still march in) to the sanctuary to signal the beginning of the Sunday church service as a representation of the church being (in) the army of God (to combat Satan). A classic church hymns is "Onward Christian Soldiers" and a Gospel song that is still sung for church choir march-ins is "We Are Soldiers". Some churches describe marching and "gettin happy" (doing the holy dance) in church as "stomping (or trampling) all over the Devil's head". And like Holy Ghost dancing, choir march ins during the Church service and choir marching around (during church collection/offerings) are considered by some as a way of praising God.
The historical sources/influences of Black church marching processions appear to be less known. I've compiled this list based on my informal research of this subject. I'm interested in your thoughts on this list.
1. RING SHOUT
[This excerpt was included in this 2013 pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/african-american-ring-shouts-origins.html African American Ring Shouts (Origins & Examples)
"A ring shout is a form of religious song & movement. Ring shouts are performed by persons who shuffle counterclockwise in a single file in a circle (ring). The ring shout participants may also perform imitative movements to the words that are sung (for instance, acting out picking up leaves to the song "Adam In The Garden"). The accompaniment is provided by persons who stand to the side of the ring, and sing while they clap their hands. Traditionally, the only instrumental accompaniment for ring shouts was one man rhythmically beating a long stick on the ground. Later, a tambourine might also be used as accompaniment for ring shouts.
Here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_shout :
"...shout or ring shout is an ecstatic, transcendent religious ritual, first practiced by African slaves in the West Indies and the United States, in which worshipers move in a circle while shuffling and stomping their feet and clapping their hands. Despite the name, shouting aloud is not an essential part of the ritual.
The ring shout was practiced in some African American churches into the 20th century, and it continues to the present among the Gullah people of the Sea Islands."
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Some scholars such as Robert Farris Thompson indicate that the ring shout comes from the Bakongo peoples of Central Africa. Some information about the Kongo Cosmogram is found below after Video #1 of this post.
Another theory is that "The [ring shout] ritual may have originated among enslaved Muslims from West Africa as an imitation of tawaf, the mass procession around the Kaaba that is an essential part of the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. If so, the word "shout" may come from Arabic shawṭ, meaning "a single run", such as a single circumambulation of the Kaaba, or an open space of ground for running...
"According to musicologist Robert Palmer, the first written accounts of the ring shout date from the 1840s. The stamping and clapping in a circle was described as a kind of "drumming," and 19th-century observers associated it with the conversion of slaves to Christianity.[5] [Wikipedia: Ring Shout]
-snip-
In my opinion, given the way that various African traditions were combined during slavery in the West Indies and the Americas, both the Bakongo and the West African Muslim theories about the origin and meanings of the ring shout could be true.
While the ring shout continued in among some Christians in the United States well into the the 20th century, that tradition was vehemently frowned upon by Black ministers because of their opposition to dancing and because the ring shout was considered a form of dancing. [Source: Joseph E. Halloway's book Africanisms In American Culture, p. 238 for a description of ring shout and an example of minister's opposition to ring shouts]. Furthermore, the fixed pews of contemporary churches spelled the demise of the ring shout, which needs an open space for its performance. However, the custom in some Black churches in which a church member who "feel the spirit" would circle around the church sanctuary, running from the front of that space to the back, can be attributed to the ring shout tradition. It should also be mentioned that the phrase "to sing and shout" that is found in numerous African American Spirituals and Gospel songs probably referred to the ring shout rather than the usual meaning given to it of “exclaiming loudly”.
The repetitive movements in some marches (such as those done in the march around shown in this video of the Black Canadian choir doing a "march around" for the church offering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ5xSuIMfuo can "bring on the Holy Spirit" (i.e. lead to a trance-like feeling) similar to that induced during ring shouts.
-snip-
Featured video: McIntosh County Shouters ORIGINAL GROUP.AVI
McIntoshCtyShouters, Published on Feb 23, 2010
www.mcintoshcountyshouters.com Renowned Master Artists of the Ring Shout, THIS group is the real deal. Be educated and entertained by learning about Georgia Coastal History. The ORIGINAL McIntosh County Shouters was featured on 2009 Grammy winning "Best Historical Album" by Art Rosenbaum.
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2. CAKEWALK
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cakewalk
"The cakewalk or cake walk was a dance developed from the "prize walks" held in the late 19th century, generally at get-togethers on black slave plantations after emancipation in the Southern United States. Alternative names for the original form of the dance were "chalkline-walk", and the "walk-around". At the conclusion of a performance of the original form of the dance in an exhibit at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, an enormous cake was awarded to the winning couple. Thereafter it was performed in minstrel shows, exclusively by men until the 1890s...
Early influences
The cakewalk was influenced by the ring shout, which survived from the 18th into the 20th century.[4]
[...]
Secondhand, oral-tradition accounts
A South Carolinian told of Griffin, a fiddler who played for the dances of the whites as well as for the "annual cakewalks of his own people".[8] In 1960, a story told to him by his childhood nanny in 1901 was repeated by 80-year-old actor Leigh Whipple: "Us slaves watched white folks' parties where the guests danced a minuet and then paraded in a grand march, with the ladies and gentlemen going different ways and then meeting again, arm in arm, and marching down the center together. Then we'd do it too, but we used to mock 'em every step. Sometimes the white folks noticed it, but they seemed to like it; I guess they thought we couldn't dance any better."...
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Italics added to highlight this sentence.
-snip-
Featured video: Cake Walk
LibraryOfCongress, Published on Jul 10, 2009
SUMMARY
Five African Americans--three men and two women--perform a cakewalk, a dance featuring fancy strutting that was named after the prize awarded in the original contests. The dancers wear rather formal attire, with the men in dark suits and black tie and the women in full-length, high-collared dark dresses; one woman carries a small American flag. As they step in place against a light background, the center male--holding up a top hat and twirling a cane--moves toward the camera and briefly performs some fancy steps. As he moves back, the man at the left end of the line does a quick twirling step and links arms with his partner. The other two dancers also pair off as the center male leads them in a strutting movement around the stage. When they return to the original line, all five step towards the camera with the center man slightly ahead of the others. The film ends just as they stop the cakewalk.
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3. "GRAND MARCH" -19TH CENTURY EUROPEAN DANCE
From http://dancetimepublications.com/resources/social-dance-timeline/romantic-era-1850-1869
"Romantic Era (1850-1869)
The Grand March created the grand opening for balls during most of the 19th century. Dancers paraded around the room in simple formations for “as many as will.” It was an opportunity to see and be seen—to view prospective partners for the evening’s dances. A Dancing Master led the formations, allowing easy participation by all.
-snip-
From http://www.mnopltd.com/cdance/grandmarch.html:
"The Grand March is a traditional way in which to being [sic] a formal ball. All the couples line up in promenade order, and prance around the hall in various figures."
Editor: That site includes examples of simple line drawings of the formations that are generally performed for The Grand March.
-snip-
Featured video: Late Nineteenth-Century Dance: Grand March
AdaziDotCom, Published on Jan 29, 2008
also known as The March, Polonaise, Grand Promenade, Opening March
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4. "GRAND MARCH" - LIBERIA, WEST AFRICA WEDDING DANCE & DANCE FOR OTHER SPECIAL OCCASIONS
[The following excerpt is part of this 2012 pancocojams post: https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/grand-march-liberia-west-africa.html The Grand March - Liberia, West Africa]
Here is an excerpt of a web post about the Grand March In Liberia:
http://www.radiolib.net/component/content/article/25-bloggers/88-the-march-of-identity-
"The Grand March in Liberia and the Diaspora
- Dr. Yolanda Covington-Ward is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.
One evening while I was listening to D.J. Ryhem on Radiolib.com, he started taking callers for a segment he called, "You know you're Liberian if". As the phone ran off the hook, people called out foods, ways of dress, speech, and many other things. Another behavior that someone called in to add to the list was something along the lines of, "You know you're Liberian if you do the Grand March at every wedding and major event." Like many others, I have marched along arm in arm in a couple, grasped the shoulders of the person in front of me as we formed circling lines of dancers, and tried to march with poise and still rock to the beat of Lucky Shango while moving under the bridge formed by the arms of other couples participating in the dance. But just what is this Grand March? How has it come to represent Liberian identity, and does it have the same meaning here in the United States as it had back in Liberia?
Based on my historical research so far, I have found that the origins of the Grand March in Liberia rest with the freeborn and formerly enslaved African Americans who came over to Liberia in the 19th century. In Liberia, this Americo-Liberian population, which came to constitute the elite over the indigenous population, continued to reproduce certain practices from the United States such as food, architecture, and dress. Another practice that they continued was performing a number of dances at balls, inaugurations, and other events, including a dance called the Grand March. The Grand March is an elegant couple dance based on dance suites of European origin that were brought to Liberia with free Blacks from the United States (Szwed and Marks 1988:31). Dances such as the cotillion, reel, Grand March, and in particular, the quadrille (which originated in courtly dances in 18th century France, became popular in the rest of Europe, and spread to the United States) all became familiar to a wide variety of Americans, white and black, enslaved and free. It is these dances (and interestingly enough, NOT other dances that were more closely linked with slavery, such as the ring shout or buzzard lope) that seemed to have been consciously reproduced in Liberia by the elite"...
-snip-
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5. MILITARY MARCHES/DRILL TEAM ROUTINES
In my opinion, United States military cadence marching and (drill team social groups) marches have had the most influence on contemporary African American church processions. That influence can be seen by how the participants march single file or in pairs, and move to various synchronized formations. The sharp pivots (turns) at the foot of the center aisle when one person in the pair moves left and the other move right also comes from military marches. The custom of moving sideways or moving forward while facing backwards are creative takes on military/drill team steps.
However, sometimes (as in the video of "old school" African American church choir processions (Example #2 in Part III), the choirs walk into the church, but don't march.
Based on comments in that video's discussion thread, the custom of choirs walking in processions with the right hand raised to God and the left hand held behind your back appears to be seldom done anymore. However, from YouTube videos and my personal experiences (in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania) a number of usher boards still hold their left hand folded behind their back during the church services.
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6. INTERPRETIVE DANCE MOVEMENTS AND CONTEMPORARY R&B/HIP HOP DANCE MOVEMENTS
Some African American church usher boards, nurses boards, and choirs marches incorporate or totally consist of choreographed movements from interpretive dancing and/or contemporary Rhythm & Blues/Hip-Hop. These rhythmic motions are particular found among church special event processions for children & teens, but are also incorporated in special event marches performed by adults.
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This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams posts on Black church processions.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
"Romantic Era (1850-1869)
The Grand March created the grand opening for balls during most of the 19th century. Dancers paraded around the room in simple formations for “as many as will.” It was an opportunity to see and be seen—to view prospective partners for the evening’s dances. A Dancing Master led the formations, allowing easy participation by all.
-snip-
From http://www.mnopltd.com/cdance/grandmarch.html:
"The Grand March is a traditional way in which to being [sic] a formal ball. All the couples line up in promenade order, and prance around the hall in various figures."
Editor: That site includes examples of simple line drawings of the formations that are generally performed for The Grand March.
-snip-
Featured video: Late Nineteenth-Century Dance: Grand March
AdaziDotCom, Published on Jan 29, 2008
also known as The March, Polonaise, Grand Promenade, Opening March
**
4. "GRAND MARCH" - LIBERIA, WEST AFRICA WEDDING DANCE & DANCE FOR OTHER SPECIAL OCCASIONS
[The following excerpt is part of this 2012 pancocojams post: https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/grand-march-liberia-west-africa.html The Grand March - Liberia, West Africa]
Here is an excerpt of a web post about the Grand March In Liberia:
http://www.radiolib.net/component/content/article/25-bloggers/88-the-march-of-identity-
"The Grand March in Liberia and the Diaspora
- Dr. Yolanda Covington-Ward is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.
One evening while I was listening to D.J. Ryhem on Radiolib.com, he started taking callers for a segment he called, "You know you're Liberian if". As the phone ran off the hook, people called out foods, ways of dress, speech, and many other things. Another behavior that someone called in to add to the list was something along the lines of, "You know you're Liberian if you do the Grand March at every wedding and major event." Like many others, I have marched along arm in arm in a couple, grasped the shoulders of the person in front of me as we formed circling lines of dancers, and tried to march with poise and still rock to the beat of Lucky Shango while moving under the bridge formed by the arms of other couples participating in the dance. But just what is this Grand March? How has it come to represent Liberian identity, and does it have the same meaning here in the United States as it had back in Liberia?
Based on my historical research so far, I have found that the origins of the Grand March in Liberia rest with the freeborn and formerly enslaved African Americans who came over to Liberia in the 19th century. In Liberia, this Americo-Liberian population, which came to constitute the elite over the indigenous population, continued to reproduce certain practices from the United States such as food, architecture, and dress. Another practice that they continued was performing a number of dances at balls, inaugurations, and other events, including a dance called the Grand March. The Grand March is an elegant couple dance based on dance suites of European origin that were brought to Liberia with free Blacks from the United States (Szwed and Marks 1988:31). Dances such as the cotillion, reel, Grand March, and in particular, the quadrille (which originated in courtly dances in 18th century France, became popular in the rest of Europe, and spread to the United States) all became familiar to a wide variety of Americans, white and black, enslaved and free. It is these dances (and interestingly enough, NOT other dances that were more closely linked with slavery, such as the ring shout or buzzard lope) that seemed to have been consciously reproduced in Liberia by the elite"...
-snip-
**
5. MILITARY MARCHES/DRILL TEAM ROUTINES
In my opinion, United States military cadence marching and (drill team social groups) marches have had the most influence on contemporary African American church processions. That influence can be seen by how the participants march single file or in pairs, and move to various synchronized formations. The sharp pivots (turns) at the foot of the center aisle when one person in the pair moves left and the other move right also comes from military marches. The custom of moving sideways or moving forward while facing backwards are creative takes on military/drill team steps.
However, sometimes (as in the video of "old school" African American church choir processions (Example #2 in Part III), the choirs walk into the church, but don't march.
Based on comments in that video's discussion thread, the custom of choirs walking in processions with the right hand raised to God and the left hand held behind your back appears to be seldom done anymore. However, from YouTube videos and my personal experiences (in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania) a number of usher boards still hold their left hand folded behind their back during the church services.
**
6. INTERPRETIVE DANCE MOVEMENTS AND CONTEMPORARY R&B/HIP HOP DANCE MOVEMENTS
Some African American church usher boards, nurses boards, and choirs marches incorporate or totally consist of choreographed movements from interpretive dancing and/or contemporary Rhythm & Blues/Hip-Hop. These rhythmic motions are particular found among church special event processions for children & teens, but are also incorporated in special event marches performed by adults.
****
This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams posts on Black church processions.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
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