Although most people associate the banjo with Appalachian culture, its origins lie elsewhere – in Sub-Saharan West Africa specifically. One such instrument from Africa that shares characteristics with modern banjos was known as an akonting and played by Jola people of West Africa.
The banjo first made its debut in American culture through minstrel shows, in which white actors in blackface mocked slave music and dance. Later it would come to represent a form of folk music which promoted social justice.
Gourd-lutes
Gourd-lutes were popular instruments among West African slaves for centuries and can be considered close relatives of modern banjos. Made with round bodies made of calabash or another gourd covered with goat skin, a stick extends through it as a neck with strings attached; when struck it sounds similar to drums. Gourd-lutes could even be played using mallets as part of their personal musical expression and provided relief during harsh lives.
The Tinh Tau is a traditional Vietnamese instrument played by Tay and Nung minorities in Vietnam. Resembling modern banjos in its round shape, tight skin, metal strings, frets and versatile nature. Popular among many genres of music due to its versatile use and influence from minstrel shows which contributed to shaping instruments such as banjos. Minstrel shows were known for promoting blacks as inferior and furthered segregation while simultaneously increasing banjo popularity, leading its use in all types of popular musical forms thereafter.
In addition to its use in folk, country, and bluegrass music, the banjo has long been an integral part of American history. While its association with Jim Crow era segregation and white supremacy can make many uncomfortable when using it today, it should be remembered that its origins lie deep within Pan-African traditions.
Although once associated with white supremacy, the banjo has since evolved into an indispensable element of American roots music. It has shaped Appalachian music and the region surrounding the Appalachian Mountains have both contributed significantly to its development. But its most well-known style of playing remains bluegrass music thanks to legendary banjo player Earl Scruggs.
Even in its association with racism and oppression, the banjo remains a symbol of resilience and perseverance. Today it forms an essential component of American culture as well as global music scene.
Minstrel shows
The banjo first made its debut to the general public during 19th-century minstrel shows, a form of parlor entertainment featuring actors dressed as stereotypical African Americans in blackface makeup. This popularized the instrument and contributed to its eventual development and widespread usage across a range of music styles including bluegrass, country and pop songs as well as Caribbean genres like biguine, calypso and mento.
While these shows promoted negative stereotypes of African Americans, they did provide many white Americans with exposure to Black culture and music. Some of the earliest recorded musicians like WC Handy, Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker and Bert Williams used minstrel-themed pieces in their music reminiscent of African American styles; such as songs with subtly innuating lyrics and exaggerated pitch bends similar to African American styled tunes as well as popular fiddle and jig tunes that were fashionable at that time.
As ragtime became more popular, musicians altered their five-string banjos into four-string plectrum instruments with picks instead of claws for better playing loud dance music demanded at that time. Furthermore, this change strengthened its durability against religious persecution during early 20th century Europe that tried to restrict all kinds of musical expression including dancing.
Though banjo players tend to be white men, some musicians were keen on keeping away from minstrel shows and its associated entertainment as it caused too much anger among many Black Americans and racism that often pervaded these performances.
While not widely adopted by Black musicians, banjo became an integral part of many folk and traditional musicians’ repertoires. Additionally, its primary uses included old-time bluegrass musical styles as well as Dixieland jazz genres like biguine and calypso music from Caribbean regions; its use also became part of Irish traditional music’s repertoire through tenor banjo performance.
Afro-Caribbean influence
Afro-Caribbean culture has long served as an influential source for American country, bluegrass and ragtime music, as well as for stringed instruments like banjo. Although usually associated with White culture, many African-American musicians have adopted its heritage, most notably The Seldom Scene and singer Rhiannon Giddens who embrace its roots and traditions.
Though many African instruments share some features with the banjo, there is no single instrument which served as its predecessor. Instead, the banjo likely gained many of its early characteristics from various West African instruments including: an akonting (spike folk lute played by Jola people of Senegambia); the ngoni (spike harp played in Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau); and the ubaw-akwala stringed instrument played by Igbo people of Nigeria).
The Akonting was used in spiritual dances and rituals as an act of resistance against slavery. Slave owners banned its performance due to fears it might incite rebellion; nonetheless, this music style made its way across the Atlantic via slave ships into America in the early nineteenth century.
In the 1800s, banjos became increasingly popular among middle-class Whites who attended minstrel shows featuring Blackface actors and songs that caricatured African culture. These performances had an enormous influence on how banjos developed across America.
Today, the banjo has become closely associated with white rural culture and American racism, prompting some people to have difficulty accepting its African roots. But to continue viewing it solely as an instrument played by whites would be to ignore its rich history and lose something essential about our cultural fabric.
The banjo’s connection to Black heritage has been obscured due to its associations with white supremacist cultures such as Jim Crow. By the early twentieth century, its image had become so closely tied with racism that some still struggle accepting its African roots.
Modern banjos
Modern banjos come in many different styles, yet all share one characteristic in common: their roots in African culture. Though now commonly associated with white American music, this heritage serves as a stark reminder of slavery and colonialism’s turbulent history.
West African indigenous people were among the first to create instruments resembling modern banjos. Resonators employed hollowed out gourd bodies as resonators, producing sounds resembling that of guitar. Others, like ngonis and xalams were similar to five string banjos with metal strings strung across them and played using plectrums that worked similarly to picks.
Traveling minstrel bands introduced fretless five string banjos to Ireland during the mid 19th century as accompaniment instruments, known by their German names “bana or bana”. They would often pair these instruments with Irish fiddles to create a Celtic sound. Furthermore, these instruments proved durable enough for travel across Ireland without becoming damaged during transit.
Black artists began using the banjo as an artistic way of reflecting and analysing their experiences, thus becoming a cornerstone of Black culture. Most of its predecessor acoustic instruments were constructed out of gourds with rope strings strung between their tines for added resonance.
Banjo quickly rose in popularity among white audiences due to minstrel shows featuring white male musicians dressed up as blackface performers performing caricatured versions of slave music.
By the late 19th century, Black folk music and traditional instruments had become part of mainstream white audiences’ culture, particularly in the South where blues and banjo music came to be known as “hillbilly music.”
Rhiannon Giddens and Hubby Jenkins of Carolina Chocolate Drops have spearheaded an initiative to revive Black string bands and Banjo players’ legacy, sparking renewed interest in banjo playing among audiences as manufacturers report an uptick in sales.