The word _barbecue_ is said to be derived from a combination of two
French words, signifying _from the head to the tail_, or rather,
“according to the moderns,” _the whole figure, or the whole hog_. By
some, this species of entertainment is thought to have originated in the
West India Islands. However this may be, it is quite certain that it was
first introduced into this country by the early settlers of Virginia;
and though well known throughout all the Southern States, it is commonly
looked upon as a “pleasant invention” of the Old Dominion. The idea was
evidently conceived by a rural population, and in a district where
villages and the ordinary public buildings of the present time were few
and far between. For purposes of business or pleasure, the people found
it necessary, or advisable, to meet together in masses, at stated
periods; and as these meetings were made a kind of rural festival, and
as the animals served up on such occasions were commonly roasted entire,
it was not unnatural that the feast should eventually have become known
as a barbecue.
Of the genus barbecue, as it exists at the present time, we believe
there are only two varieties known to the people of Virginia, and these
may be denominated as social and political. The social barbecue is
sometimes given at the expense of a single individual, but more commonly
by a party of gentleman, who desire to gratify their friends and
neighbors by a social entertainment. At times, the ceremony of issuing
written invitations is attended to; but, generally speaking, it is
understood that all the yeomanry of the immediate neighborhood, with
their wives and children, will be heartily welcomed, and a spirit of
perfect equality invariably prevails. The spot ordinarily selected for
the meeting is an oaken grove in some pleasant vale, and the first
movement is to dispatch to the selected place a crowd of faithful
negroes, for the purpose of making all the necessary arrangements. If
the barbecue is given at the expense of half a dozen gentlemen, you may
safely calculate that at least thirty servants will be employed in
bringing together the good things. Those belonging to one of the
entertainers will probably make their appearance on the ground with a
wagon load of fine young pigs: others will bring two or three lambs,
others some fine old whisky and a supply of wine, others the necessary
table-cloths, plates, knives, and forks, others an abundance of bread,
and others will make their appearance in the capacity of musicians. When
the necessaries are thus collected, the servants all join hands and
proceed with their important duties. They first dig a pit, four feet
wide, two or three deep, and as long as they require, into which they
throw a quantity of wood, for the purpose of obtaining therefrom a bed
of burning coals. This done, the more expert kitchen negroes proceed to
roast (by laying them upon sticks across the fires) the various animals
prepared for the occasion. In the mean time, all the other arrangements
are progressing, such as spreading the white cloths upon the temporary
board tables, and clearing a place for dancing. The guests begin to
assemble about ten o’clock, and by noon there is hardly a tree within
hailing distance of the centre of attraction to which a horse is not
fastened. The assembly is quite large; and white dresses and scarlet
shawls are as numerous as the summer flowers upon the neighboring hills.
Old men are here with their wives and daughters, in whose veins floweth
the best of aristocratic blood; young husbands with their wives;
unmarried gentlemen with a bevy of laughing girls under their charge;
and children of every age, from the wild and boisterous boy to little
girls just old enough to totter after a butterfly. One, or perhaps two
hours, are then spent by the multitude in playing rural games, in social
converse, in telling stories, or in discussing the news of the day.
Finally, the pigs and lambs have all been roasted, and the feast is
ready; whereupon there followeth as busy and satisfactory a scene as can
well be imagined. After it is ended, the negroes come into rightful
possession of all the tables and the abundance of good things left over;
and, having quietly invited a number of their friends, with their
families, they proceed to enjoy their portion of the entertainment,
which is generally concluded by a regular negro frolic, with banjo and
fiddle, in a neighboring grove. In due time, after the more substantial
feature of the barbecue has been enjoyed, the musicians are summoned to
their allotted places, and the entire party of ladies and gentlemen
proceed to trip the light fantastic toe. The exercise continues for
whole hours, and white-haired men and little girls are seen wending
their way through the intricate mazes of the country dance and the
Virginia reel. As the sun nears the horizon, the more advanced members
of the party quietly take their departure, leaving a cloud of dust
behind them on the road. By the time the last day-flower has closed its
petal, the young men and maidens have entire possession of the barbecue
ground; and having wound up the last reel by the light of the newly
risen moon, they dismiss the musicians, gather together their hats and
shawls, and with many a song and jest return to their several homes.
With regard to the political barbecue, we have to remark that it differs
from the one already described only in the following particulars: It is
generally gotten up by the leaders of one of the political parties, and
speeches take the place of dancing, although ladies in considerable
numbers are invariably in attendance. Previous to the appointed day for
the political barbecue, a placard is nailed to all the barn doors and
blacksmith shops in the district or county where it occurs, to the
effect that “several distinguished speakers will be present on the
occasion,” and that the people of all parties are invited to be present.
If the entertainers on this occasion are of the Whig party, the first
speech, as a matter of course, is delivered by a Whig orator, and it is
no uncommon sight to see this gentleman standing literally _on the
stump_. After he has taken his seat, he is usually followed by a brother
orator of the Democratic party; and so, alternately, are the principles
of the prevailing parties fully discussed. Generally speaking, the
greatest decorum exists, not only among the speakers but among the
listeners; and if severe remarks are dropped in the heat of debate, they
are not commonly considered of sufficient consequence to create a breach
between personal friends. There are times, however, when even the
political barbecue is concluded by a dance; but as the crowd is then
particularly miscellaneous, the hilarity which usually prevails is apt
to be a little too boisterous. When given in the autumn, new cider
usually takes the place of more stimulating drinks (so far as the
multitude are concerned, at any rate), and when this is the case, it is
very seldom that any improprieties occur. But, generally speaking, a
genuine Virginia barbecue, whether of a political or social character,
is a rural entertainment which deserves far more praise than censure,
and we know of none which affords the stranger a better opportunity of
studying the character of the yeomanry of the Southern States.