Class Insights: Symbols
X as a surname: 1)Associated with Nation of Islam and freedom from slavery; 2) later associated mostly with Malcolm himself; 3) loss, disconnection from past; 4)member of a group; 5) something negative or cancelled out (slave heritage)
Veve symbols: 1) important in Vodoun tradition as entryways; 2) may become traditional heritage and less religious 3) trance-inducing power
a) Heart: love, 1)beauty; 2) hatred; 3) revenge; 4) jealousy; 5) strong emotions
b) Serpent: 1) wealth luck; 2) medicine; 3) evil and temptation; 4) fertililty; 5) connection between husband and wife; 6) connections between Old and New Worlds
c) symbolic materials: 1) allude to cosmic nature of veve; 2) provide communal knowledge; 3) permanence or impermanence; 4) materials change over time as do the drawings
d) deities: names point to cosmic powers they possess
e) top hat: 1) western symbol moving into African-derived tradition; 2) embracing death as entry
f) cross and stars: 1) Christian tradition moving into African tradition; 2) cross has meanings in other cultures too aside from Christianity
g) swords and shields: 1) symbol of violence; 2) symbol of liberation; 3) symbol of power; 4) lines of battle; 6) Hatian liberation
h) mermaid: 1) Ariel vs. Le Sirene vs. Sirens; 2) sacred music or the siren call; 3) seduction
White man as devil: symbol of oppression (blue-eyed Christian God); incarnation of evil, greed, tyranny, lust
Water: 1) liberation, rebirth, spiritual cleansing; 2) inundation, drowing, chaos
Flags: 1) Ownership; 2) symbolize the country or group; 3) Symbolizes split in group
"Brother" and "Sister" as address: 1) way of identifying group members; 2)symbolizes restoration of family severed by slavery
Elijah Muhammed: 1) group identity as founder of powerful tradition; 2) symbol of disunity as his ideas distinct from Islam were contested by others; 2) referral names such as Lamb with its Christian associations now being used in a new context; 3) Lamb indicates humility and power together
Prayer: 1) identifying ritual with greater Islam; 2) personal connection with God
Pork: 1) pollution; 2) abstinence symbolizes purity and devotion;
Hairstyle: 1) natural indicates cultural and ethnic pride; 2) natural indicates a country bumpkin; 3) identification with Islam