[Ads-l] ringshout

[Amy West]

I just listened to an excellent episode of the Afropop podcast about the 
African-American Georgia ringshout and the LA Easter Rock.

https://afropop.org/audio-programs/the-ring-and-the-shout

The etymology is given at the 34:30 mark, citing Lorenzo Dowd Turner.

In it there's an etymology cited for "shout" here, which refers to the 
sliding step not the vocalizing. The etymology cited derives it from an 
Arabic word referring to the spiraling walk done around the Kabah(sp?) 
in Mecca. And that's also what the "rock" refers to in Easter Rock. And 
there's a group, the Mackintosh County Shouters, that performs this, and 
so, again "Shouter" has that reference to the step.

Folklorists think that elements derive from Congo traditions.

I don't have access to OED Online, so I don't know if this is already in it.

---Amy West

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