Language of the Blues - Edmonton Blues Society

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When the Europeans came,
when they brought their ship from Portugal,
the ship used to start its journey from Banjul,
then it went to Snemunko Jammeh, and Mansa Demba Sanko,
and Samkala Marong, and Wali Mandeba, and Jata Sela.
Anyone who had slaves they collected them all together and took them to the
places called Aladabara and Jufure to sell them to the Portuguese.
Then the Portuguese put them in their ship
And left there and went to Jang Jang Bure.
When they arrived there they went
right to the slave house to collect slaves there
and take them to the Hollanders.
Then the Hollanders collected them and sent them to America.
It is because of this
That slaves are plenty in America.
They call them American Negroes
G RIS-G RIS, G RIS-G RIS C H UR C H
Gris-gris is a French adaptation of the Senegalese word grigri. Used as a noun, grigri
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grigri
In the Caribbean, a gris-gris is called a wanga or
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oanga bag, from the African word wanga
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Simply put, a gris-gris is an amulet or charm worn to protect the wearer from curses (a
gris-gris may also be used to cast a curse). A dime with a hole in it, worn tied around the
ankle to bring good luck, is an example of a simple Mende gris-gris that people still
wear today. 209
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pr
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Priestess Marie Laveau, known as the Voodoo Queen, is revered in New Orleans for
having consolidated and strengthened the gris-gris church into a formidable force in the
1800s. Today an estimated fifteen percent of the population of New Orleans practices the
Voodoo religion.
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hn. -gris music of
New Orleans was the main influence for the Dr. John band. People never knew what we
were doing; they just thought we was playing psychedelical music. But we snuck it in
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is-gris church, with its Reverend Mothers and