Where Does Jumped the Broom Come from?

In Wales, Roma people's marriages were not recognized by the church, so they would have “Besom Weddings,” referring to a type of broom. With these kinds of weddings, couples would jump over the broom without touching it to get married. To annul the marriage, the couple would jump over the broom backward.

Where did the tradition of jumping the broom come from?

The oldest records we have of jumping over a broom being used as a marriage rite dates to around 1700, in Wales. Some people — particularly Roma, commonly known as "gypsies" — had marriages that weren't recognized by the church. They were married through non-church rituals.

What cultures jump the broom?

Jumping the broom was not a custom of slavery, but is a part of African culture that survived American slavery like the Voodoo religion of the Fon and Ewe ethnic groups or the ring shout ceremony of the BaKongo and Mbundu ethnic groups.