In Moon and the Mars, I found the discussion of “Pinkster” interesting as it seemed to correlate with Roach’s discussion surrogation and genealogies of performance. Pinkster or Pinksteren in Dutch was originally a religious holiday to celebrate Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles 50 days after Easter. It was then adopted by enslaved Africans who made it a holiday to reunite with their loved ones and celebrate. It was often the only time of year where enslaved people would get a slave-owner sanctioned break from work so it definitely meant much to them. In some ways it still remained similar to the Dutch celebration while in others the African Americans made it their own. For the Dutch, it was a time to take off work, go to church, and visit family and friends. while African Americans kept those aspects but added more festivities into the mix. In the book, we can see Theo’s black side of the family keeping with the Dutch by inviting family, friends, and neighbors over, not working, and attending their A.M.E. Zion church, while also going to a Carnival and celebrating their ceremonial black king, King Charles, who was crowned amongst the slaves. While looking into the holiday on my own, I also found that it combined elements from both Africans and Europeans like drinking, games, music, and dance. It was also a way for them to retain West-African traditions with their style of dance and the complex rhythms of the drummers and clappers.
This example of surrogation differs from some of Roach’s examples in the sense that there was no overt intent to erase its Dutch origins, and both cultures were able to come together and celebrate. Although the event did become more associated with African-American culture, it was because the Dutch shifted their focus to newer American holidays and had no desire maintain some kind of dominion over Pinkster. They let it evolve and become displaced but conversely, the African Americans respected the original tradition and maintained some of its cultural integrity.