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During the era of
slavery, many slaves escaped toward north for freedom. The slaves knew
how to locate north by using Polaris, the north star. This star became
the symbol of freedom as well as the guide to freedom. Each slave was
taught how to locate Polaris by using guide stars from the Big Dipper. To mislead their masters, the slaves created a hymn to teach each other how to follow and find the north star. The Big Dipper resembles a drinking gourd and was the main focus of this hymn. The four stars that make the "square" of the dipper is called the bowl of the gourd and the three stars leading to Polaris are called the handle of the gourd. This resemblance is what gave the hymn its title "Follow the Drinking Gourd." (see below) Follow the Drinking Gourd Follow
the drinking gourd! When
the sun comes back and the first quail calls, The
riverbank makes a very good road, The
river ends between two hills, Where
the great big river meets the little river,
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