Br'er Rabbit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Br'er Rabbit /brr/ (Brother Rabbit), also spelled Bre'r

Rabbit or Brer Rabbit or Bruh Rabbit, is a central figure as Brer Rabbit
Uncle Remus tells stories of the Southern United States. Br'er
Rabbit is a trickster who succeeds by his wits rather than by
brawn, provoking authority figures and bending social mores
as he sees fit. The Walt Disney Company later adapted this
character for its 1946 animated motion picture Song of the
South.

Contents
First 19th century
1 Tar-Baby story appearance

Created by Traditional, Robert Roosevelt, Joel

2 African origins
Chandler Harris, Alce Fortier
3 Cherokee origins Voiced by Johnny Lee (Song of the South)
4 In popular culture Jess Harnell (Splash Mountain and
modern Disney appearances)
4.1 Under Disney
Nick Cannon (2006 adaptation)
4.2 Non-Disney Information

5 See also Aliases Riley, Compair Lapin

Species Rabbit
6 References
Gender Male
7 External links Occupation Trickster

Tar-Baby story
In one tale, Br'er Fox constructs a doll out of a lump of tar and dresses it with some clothes. When Br'er Rabbit
comes along he addresses the Tar-Baby amiably, but receives no response. Br'er Rabbit becomes offended by
what he perceives as the Tar-Baby's lack of manners, punches it, and in doing so becomes stuck. The more Br'er
Rabbit punches and kicks the tar "baby" out of rage, the more he gets stuck. When Br'er Fox reveals himself,
the helpless but cunning Br'er Rabbit pleads, "please, Br'er Fox, don't fling me in dat brier-patch," prompting
Fox to do exactly that. As rabbits are at home in thickets, the resourceful Br'er Rabbit uses the thorns and briers
to escape. The story was originally published in Harper's Weekly by Robert Roosevelt; years later Joel Chandler
Harris included his version of the tale in his Uncle Remus stories.

African origins
The Br'er Rabbit stories can be traced back to trickster figures in Africa,
particularly the hare that figures prominently in the storytelling traditions in
West, Central, and Southern Africa. These tales continue to be part of the
traditional folklore of numerous peoples throughout those regions. In the
Akan traditions of West Africa, the trickster is usually the spider Anansi,
though the plots in his tales are often identical with those of stories of Br'er
Rabbit.[1] However, Anansi does encounter a tricky rabbit called "Adanko"
(Asante-Twi to mean "Hare") in some stories. The Jamaican character with
the same name "Brer Rabbit", is an adaptation of the Ananse stories of the
Akan people.[2]

Some scholars have suggested that in his American incarnation, Br'er

Rabbit represented the enslaved Africans who used their wits to overcome
adversity and to exact revenge on their adversaries, the White slave- Br'er Rabbit's dream, from Uncle
owners.[3] Though not always successful, the efforts of Br'er Rabbit made Remus, His Songs and His
him a folk hero. However, the trickster is a multi-dimensional character. Sayings: The Folk-Lore of the Old
While he can be a hero, his amoral nature and his lack of any positive Plantation, 1881
restraint can make him into a villain as well.[4]

For both Africans and African Americans, the animal trickster represents an extreme form of behavior that
people may be forced to adopt in extreme circumstances in order to survive. The trickster is not to be admired in
every situation. He is an example of what to do, but also an example of what not to do. The trickster's behavior
can be summed up in the common African proverb: "It's trouble that makes the monkey chew on hot peppers."
In other words, sometimes people must use extreme measures in extreme circumstances.[5] Several elements in
the Brer Rabbit Tar Baby story (e.g., rabbit needing to be taught a lesson, punches and head-butting the rabbit
does, the stuck rabbit being swung around and around) are reminiscent of those found in a Zimbabwe-Botswana
folktale.[6]

Folklorists in the late 19th century first documented evidence that the American versions of the stories
originated among enslaved West Africans based on connections between Br'er Rabbit and Leuk, a rabbit
trickster in Senegalese folklore.[4][7] The stories of Br'er Rabbit were written down by Robert Roosevelt, an
uncle of US President Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his autobiography about his aunt from
the State of Georgia, that "She knew all the 'Br'er Rabbit' stories, and I was brought up on them. One of my
uncles, Robert Roosevelt, was much struck with them, and took them down from her dictation, publishing them
in Harper's, where they fell flat. This was a good many years before a genius arose who, in 'Uncle Remus',
made the stories immortal."

These stories were popularized for the mainstream audience in the late 19th century by Joel Chandler Harris
(18451908), who wrote down and published many such stories that had been passed down by oral tradition.
Harris also attributed the birth name Riley to Br'er Rabbit. Harris heard these tales in Georgia. Very similar
versions of the same stories were recorded independently at the same time by the folklorist Alce Fortier in
southern Louisiana, where the Rabbit character was known as Compair Lapin in Creole French. Enid Blyton,
the English writer of children's fiction, retold the stories for children.

Cherokee origins
Although Joel Chandler Harris collected materials for his famous series of books featuring the character Br'er
Rabbit in the 1870s, the Br'er Rabbit cycle had been recorded earlier among the Cherokees: The "tar baby" story
was printed in an 1845 edition of the Cherokee Advocate, the same year Joel Chandler Harris was born.[8]

Rabbit and Hare myths abound among Algonquin Indians in Eastern North America, particularly under the
name Nanabozho. The Great Hare is generally worshipped among tribes in eastern Canada.

In "That the People Might Live: Native American Literatures and Native American Community" by Jace
Weaver, the origins of Br'er Rabbit and other literature are discussed. To say that a story only originates from
one culture and not another can only be true when a group of people exist in complete isolation from others.
Although the Cherokee had lived in isolation from Europeans in the remote past, a substantial amount of
interaction was to occur among North American tribes, Europeans, and those from the enslaved population
during the 18th and 19th centuries. It is impossible to ascertain whether the Cherokee story independently
predated the African American story.

In a Cherokee tale about the briar patch, "the fox and the wolf throw the trickster rabbit into a thicket from
which the rabbit quickly escapes."[9] There was a "melding of the Cherokee rabbit-trickster ... into the culture of
African slaves."[10]

In popular culture
Under Disney

The 1946 Disney film Song of the South is a

frame story based on two Br'er Rabbit stories,
"The Laughing Place" and "The Tar Baby".
The character of Br'er Rabbit was voiced by
Johnny Lee in the film, and was portrayed as
more of a "lovable trickster" than previous
tales.[11] Disney comics starring that version of
Br'er Rabbit have been done since 1945.[12]
The Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, and
Br'er Rabbit in Disney's Song of Disneyland Tokyo thrill rides, both known as
the South (1946). Disney's version Splash Mountain, are based on the above 1946
of the character is drawn in a more film's animated segments featuring Br'er
humorous and lovable style than Rabbit. Br'er Rabbit also appears at the Walt
the illustrations of Br'er Rabbit in Disney Parks and Resorts for meet-and-greets,
Harris' books.[11] parades and shows. He also has a cameo
appearance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and
appears as one of the guests in House of
Mouse. He also appears in the film Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in Eatonton, Georgia's
at the House of Mouse, often seen hopping in the applauding crowd, as well statue of Br'er Rabbit
as in the video game Kinect Disneyland Adventures. Starting with the first
Splash Mountain Disney park attraction in 1989, Jess Harnell has provided
the voice acting for Br'er Rabbit in all his modern Disney appearances since.

Non-Disney
 An Uncle Remus and His Tales of Br'er Rabbit newspaper strip ran from October 14, 1945 through
December 31, 1972.[13]
On April 21, 1972, astronaut John Young became the ninth person to step onto the Moon, and in his first
words he stated, "I'm sure glad they got ol' Brer Rabbit, here, back in the briar patch where he
belongs."[14]
In 1975, the stories were retold for an adult audience in the cult animation film Coonskin, directed by
Ralph Bakshi.
In 1984, American composer Van Dyke Parks produced a children's album, Jump!, based on the Brer
Rabbit Tales.
The 1997 film 'A Simple Wish' references the Br'er Rabbit stories.
1998's Star Trek: Insurrection saw the Starship Enterprise enter a region of space called the Briar Patch.
At some point during a battle with the Son'a, Commander Riker states that it is "time to use the Briar
Patch the way Br'er Rabbit did".
The rapper Stephen Brackett of Flobots goes by the stage name Brer Rabbit.
A direct-to-video film based on the stories, The Adventures of Brer Rabbit, was released in 2006.
Japanese rock band MUCC released a song titled "Br'er Rabbit" as a bonus track for their DVD "MUCC
vs Mukku vs MUCC -Fukanzenban Misshitsu-" in 2012.

See also
Gullah Storytelling

References
1. Opala, Joseph A. "Gullah Customs and Traditions". The Gullah: Rice, Slavery, and the Sierra Leone-American
Connection.
2. http://anansistories.com/African_Ja_Charact.html
3. Levine, Lawrence (1977). Black Culture and Black Consciousness: Afro-American Folk Thought from Slavery to
Freedom. Oxford University Press.
4. Arnold, Albert (1996). Monsters, Tricksters, and Sacred Cows: Animal Tales and American Identities. University of
Virginia Press.
5. "Brer Rabbit and Ananse Stories from Africa (article) by Peter E Adotey Addo on AuthorsDen". Authorsden.com.
Retrieved July 3, 2010.
6. Smith, Alexander McCall (1989). The Girl Who Married A Lion and Other Tales from Africa. Pantheon Books, NY.
p. 185-89.
7. M'Baye, Babacar (2009). The Trickster Comes West: Pan-African Influence in Early Black Diasporan Narratives. Univ.
Press of Mississippi.
8. "Cherokee Tales and Disney Films Explored". Powersource.com. June 15, 1996. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
9. Latin American Indian literatures journal. Dept. of Foreign Languages at Geneva College. 6: 10. 1990. Missing or
empty |title= (help)
10. That the People Might Live: Native American Literatures and Native American Community (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=08SkJw26qoMC&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=%22brer+rabbit%22+cherokee&source=web&ots=RMF5bsVquT&si
g=jAm12HBXucpKmOoPhka2WcphA3M#PPA3,M1), p. 4
11. Brasch, Walter M. (2000). Brer Rabbit, Uncle Remus, and the 'Cornfield Journalist': The Tale of Joel Chandler Harris.
Mercer University Press. pp. 74, 275.
12. Br'er Rabbit (http://coa.inducks.org/character.php?c=BR&c1=date) at INDUCKS
13. "Disneys Uncle Remus strips," Hogan's Alley #16, 2009 (http://cartoonician.com/disneys-uncle-remus-strips/)
14. "Back in the Briar Patch". Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
External links
The Wrens Nest 100 Years OF Telling Tales (http://www.wrensnest.org/)

Full text of Joel Chandler Harris (http://www.gutenberg.org/brows

Wikisource has original
e/authors/h#a868) from Project Gutenberg text related to this article:
Brer Rabbit Stories at AmericanFolklore.net (http://www.american Uncle Remus Br'er
folklore.net/brer-rabbit.html) Rabbit stories
Robert Roosevelt's Brer Rabbit stories (http://www.webcitation.or
g/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/oldsayville/brer.htm&date Wikimedia Commons has
=2009-10-25+23:59:00) media related to Br'er
Theodore Roosevelt autobiography on Brer Rabbit and his Uncle ( Rabbit.
http://www.bartleby.com/55/1.html)
Inducks' index of Disney comic stories featuring Br'er Rabbit (http://coa.inducks.org/simp.php?lg=0&d1=
br&pagel=l)
Archived audio recording of an educational ArtsSmarts elementary school recording of "Brother Rabbit
and Tar Baby" (https://archive.org/details/BrotherRabbitAndTarBaby)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Br%27er_Rabbit&oldid=737904396"

Categories: American folklore Fictional hares and rabbits Song of the South characters
Folklore of the Southern United States Fictional characters introduced in 1881
Characters in American novels of the 19th century African-American cultural history

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