Whether or not quilts were used to encode hidden clues guiding enslaved people on the Underground Railroad is controversial.Most of what is known about this topic comes through limited oral tradition.
There is no known written history based on factual information about the use of quilts, nor are there identifiable, surviving pre-Civil War quilts which indicate a direct relationship with the UGRR. However, it is probable that the enslaved people and the abolitionists used a great many means of coding. Since there is an oral tradition regarding the use of quilts, it is possible that quilts were used even to a small degree at some point and in some places to pass along information.
Tapestries with symbolism were and still are made in certain parts of Africa. In Benin, for example, tapestries with symbolic figures are part of the Abomey cultural traditional .
please see:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Abomey+quilts&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=np&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=cKwVUMbZK6-t0AHlsIDgCA&biw=1024&bih=502&sei=e6wVUNfFNeTw0gGF74GgCA
There is no known written history based on factual information about the use of quilts, nor are there identifiable, surviving pre-Civil War quilts which indicate a direct relationship with the UGRR. However, it is probable that the enslaved people and the abolitionists used a great many means of coding. Since there is an oral tradition regarding the use of quilts, it is possible that quilts were used even to a small degree at some point and in some places to pass along information.
Tapestries with symbolism were and still are made in certain parts of Africa. In Benin, for example, tapestries with symbolic figures are part of the Abomey cultural traditional .
please see:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Abomey+quilts&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=np&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=cKwVUMbZK6-t0AHlsIDgCA&biw=1024&bih=502&sei=e6wVUNfFNeTw0gGF74GgCA
In the book Hidden in Plain View, Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard discuss the oral tradition of one family, as related to her by Ozella McDaniel Williams of South Carolina.
Click here to see some patterns thought to be secret codes.
A beautiful picture book, Show Way, by Jacqueline Woodson refers to the quilt tradition. The story is about her ancestors who were enslaved in South Carolina, making quilts with secret codes and symbols.
Whether or not quilts were actually used, the point of this song is to illustrate the ingenious ways that probably were used to pass along information about escaping to freedom... something that was on the minds of enslaved people all the time. In any case, quilts are part of the UGRR legend.
THE SONGTHE INSTRUMENTAL
LYRICS
I'll take me a needle and I'll take some thread,
Some fabrics bright blue, and brown and red.
I'll sew a quilt with a beautiful design.
Wash it then hang it out on the line.
I'll make that quilt with lots of hidden clues.
For my sisters and my brothers to use.
Helpin' as a guide, hangin' out on the line.
A tool for escapin' created by design.
A big brown wheel means a wagon is waitin',
Bear Claw pattern shows the path to be taken,
The drinkin' gourd's are stars, a symbol you must know.
Stitches make a map,show the best way to go.
The blue quilt tells you that it's time to move,
To a better place where your life will improve.
So look at the code in the quilt on the line...
And plan your escape, an escape by design.
The codes are secret, but still you can see.
The very best way, to run away free.
The very best way, to run away free.
Transcription by Dylan Roberts
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