In settlements along the Hudson River Valley and in Albany on the hill where the New York State Capitol sits today, enslaved and free African descendants once gathered with family and friends to celebrate Pinkster.
During the holiday, taking place in late May or early June, the Dutch attended religious services but also gathered socially to play games and eat holiday foods. Enslaved Africans had leave to travel and gather during the festivities, which was not allowed during most of the year.
Over the past few decades, the Pinkster celebration has enjoyed a resurgence in New York State. And in recent years, historic sites in New York State have served as venues to carry on the deeply rooted cultural tradition.
A History of Pinkster
Settlers in New Netherland, the 17th century Dutch colonial province on the east coast, practiced their religious observance of Pentecost (Pinksteren in Dutch) or Whitsunday in the Americas. Pentecost signifies the Holy Spirit being sent to the disciples, roughly fifty days after the resurrection, as described in the New Testament of the Christian bible.
In 1803, a published account of Pinkster in the Albany Centinel newspaper described the scene: “readiness, on Monday morning, blacks and a certain class of whites, together with countries and colours, begin to assemble on Pinkster from every part of the city and from the adjacent country miles around, forming in the whole a motley group of thousands.”
While the roots of the holiday rest with the observance of Pentecost under the Dutch, Pinksteren slowly became Pinkster. It was largely known as an African celebration during the late 1700s and early 1800s, mostly in places where the Dutch settled in the Hudson River Valley, northern New Jersey, and Long Island.
There was storytelling, food, music, and dance. Vendors constructed stalls from brush and branches found on site. Pinkster traditions also included a parade and the selection of the Pinkster King. The crowning of the King was an opportunity for the enslaved community to honor their own elders.
If we understand enslavement not solely as an economic system but as an effort to strip away the core humanity and identity of another human being, it becomes clear that Pinkster celebrations were a form of cultural resistance to slavery through the preservation of traditions.
The dances, drumming, and foodways are all markers of culture, and the cultures were distinctly African in origin.
Preserving Pinkster’s Cultural Legacy
Pinkster represents the convergence of multiple cultures and an effort to preserve cultural traditions under horrible circumstances. Modern interpretations of Pinkster – at Schuyler Mansion in Albany, Crailo State Historic Site in Rensselaer, Senate House State Historic Site in Kingston, and Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site in Yonkers, as well as others held across New York State annually – embrace the full reach of the African diaspora.
At the Pinkster celebration at Schuyler Mansion in 2023, there were historical reenactments alongside contemporary performances. As you approached the grounds once maintained and cultivated by the hands of the enslaved, you saw a vibrant community of their descendants and others gathered to celebrate their lives and culture.
You heard the music of the African diaspora, from Brazil to the Congo. You felt the rich textures of woven fabric sold by Black businesses. You smelled the aromas of southern soul food cooking to nourish the gathered crowd.
Pinkster in modern times is a remembrance of the African community in the Americas and their cultural contributions in New York, and across the continent. Beyond a cultural celebration, it is a community gathering, where people reconnect with old friends, much in the same manner that the enslaved community separated from loved ones during the year reunited.
The vendors who are part of the event in modern times harken back to the sellers in their tents and stalls providing cider, meat, fish, cakes, and fruit. This practice continues a tradition of cooperative economics and is an opportunity to invest in, rather than extract from, descendant communities.
It is also an act of remembrance. In delving deeply into why this celebration was important to the enslaved community, we increase our understanding of their lives. We honor their desire to reconnect with one another, disconnect momentarily from the system that controlled so much of their daily lives, and most of all, freely practice their own cultural traditions.
Pinkster, now, is an opportunity to gather with purpose and intentionality to remember the enslaved and free community of African descendants in early New York, to recognize and celebrate their remarkable talents, and commend them for their fierce ability to maintain and transmit their own cultural identity.
Upcoming Pinkster Events
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site’s Pinkster Festival will be May 11th.
Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site’s 2024 Pinkster festival will take place on May 18th.
Cordell Reaves is Community Affairs Coordinator for New York State Park’s Division of Historic Preservation.
Illustrations, from above, courtesy State Parks: The Pinkster Players performing at the Schuyler Mansion event in June 2023; and Operation Unite NY perform at Schuyler Mansion’s Pinkster event in 2023.
