COWBOYS
The earliest cowboys in America were Africans and their descendants. Many people are unaware that numerous black cowboys of the American West existed. To differentiate themselves from Black cowboys, White people involved in the cattle business started referring to themselves as "cattlemen" after 1865. The cowboys' yearly migration patterns from North to South are closely linked to those of the Fulani cattle herders, who dispersed throughout Nigeria and Niger. Africans who knew how to manage cattle were brought in, but so was the African longhorn breed, which eventually gave rise to the Texas longhorn. Many of the things that America is familiar with today are things that have been stripped from Africa and their people. The early language connected to cowboy culture was heavily influenced by African languages. The Efik/lbibio term for "poor white man," Mbakara, is the source of the word buckra, which is also known as 'buckaroo'. It was used to characterize a group of Caucasian individuals who worked as broncobusters, causing horses to buck and break. Slaves were too valuable for planters to risk harm, so they used buckras as broncobusters. Africanisms were incorporated into cowboy songs and vocabulary by African American cowboys following the Civil War, when large-scale cattle roundups started.
It was so interesting to learn this this week. My grandfather watches those old black and white shows with the cowboys, and they are always depicted as white men, so to learn that the original cowboys were black is something I am definitely sharing with him. Why is so much of our black history whitewashed and covered up?
I recall, again, that my favorite mention from his writing was the cowboy fact. Going so far as to create a new name to adapt to, "cattleman," to simply avoid the fact is insane. I was glad to have read this entry and to, too, stumble upon that fact.
Hi Treine!
Thanks for sharing this information. I was so moved when I watched the movie Nope and learned about our history with cowboys and film. There are so many contributions made by our people that we never get credit for and know little about these days. This class is helping me to take some time and really study important key contributions made by our ancestors. I have heard the term buckaroo before and this idea of causing the horses to buck is really interesting. Reminds me of the buck breaking of slaves. Interesting how today they have wiped this idea of black cowboys out and created the picture of whites only as cowboys. Even the songs and "Countr…