The Term "Massa"

[Grabenkater]

I was recently having a discussion with a friend about Civil War era lingo and manner of speech. The discussion brought up the term "massa" as used often in Hollywood movies or used in a derogatory manner.

Someone once told me that this term is not period correct for the Civil War era, but that "marsh" was a more period correct term. I was hoping that someone here could elaborate on the term, since a cursory google search did not turn up any information.

Thanks

[FranklinGuardsNYSM]

Re: The Term "Massa"

I've seen both used in period texts, both comic and documentarian in nature, in decades prior to and after the war.

[Silas]

Re: The Term "Massa"

You mean, Marse, not Marsh.

As for Massa, you can find it in antebellum music. A quick example is from De Blue Tail Fly from 1846 :

Ole Massa's gone, now let him rest,
Dey say all tings am for de best ;
I neber shall forget till de day I die,
Old Massa an de blue tail fly,
An' scratch 'im wid de briar too.

Source : http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/le...es=4;range=0-3

If you look, you can find many other references in published music which predates the war.

[Hank Trent]

Re: The Term "Massa"

It's worth remembering that both were simply a mispronounciation of master. So, if one is using it for real, one would simply say "master" in one's own dialect (or the dialect one is using for the portrayal). If one is using it as a period imitation of black speech, what Silas said. Massa and Marse both show up frequently in dialect writing, though Massa seems a bit more common.



Marse

Massa

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[guad42]

Re: The Term "Massa"

The term "massa" can be found on page 49 of George Ballantine's "A English Soldier in the Mexican War" which was written in the 1850s and is probably one of the best and oft quoted first person accounts of the US-Mexican War. If I remember correctly it comes up when Ballantine and his fellow inductees are aboard ship and headed from New York to Florida in 1845 and one of the soldiers does a bit of horsing around on deck:

"...from behind his back, he began to vigorously belabour poor darkey's shoulders. 'Oh Lor, massa! Oh Golly! What you trike poor debil for? What hell dis? ' shouted Morris who had no idea that he was discovered..."

George Ballantine was a mill worker who was born in England, served in the British Army and then came to the US in 1844 or 1845. Unable to secure work in a woolen mill he enlisted in the US Army in 1845 and was sent to Florida where he served in an Artillery regiment. In 1847, Ballantine's unit, which was operating as Infantry landed at Vera Cruz as part of Scott's Army and was a part of the campaign for Mexico City. If you have not read his book, you should. Its a good one.

-Sam Dolan

[Michael Comer]

Re: The Term "Massa"

The term 'massa' also appears with some regularity in post-war slave narratives, especially those done as WPA projects in the 1930's. While the interviews are done quite some time after the war, many of the ex-slaves referred to former masters as 'massa'. I would assume it was the term they used during their period of slavery also.

[Boucher42]

Re: The Term "Massa"

"All de darkies am a weeping, Massa's in de cold cold ground"

Stephen C. Foster

[Grabenkater]

Re: The Term "Massa"

Thank you, gentlemen.

I knew that I could get an educated answer here.