Roots: The Saga of an American Family Religion Quotes
How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Kunta's grandfather had followed a family tradition of holy men that dated back many hundreds of rains into Old Mali. (5.6)
The Kinte Clan is devoutly religious, especially after Kunta's grandfather single-handedly saved Juffure from starvation. Because of this, religion isn't just about spirituality and doctrine to Kunta—it's about a connection to the past.
Quote #2
A holy-marked piece of goatskin, sewn into a treasured saphie charm [...] would insure the wearer's constant nearness to Allah. (20.31)
We see "saphies" (small, wearable religious icons) pop up a few times in Roots. First, we see the one that Nyo Boto makes for Kunta, which he affixes a goatskin to here. But he makes a second one after before an escape attempt in America. What do you think the symbolic significance of that might be?
Quote #3
Even more than in the village mosque, he felt here how totally were everyone and everything in the hands of Allah. (33.5)
Kunta feels a strong sense of spirituality when he's out in the natural world. It gives him an idea of how small he is in the grand scheme of things, first off, but it also connects him to his ancestors, knowing that they looked at the same natural world in the distant past.
Quote #4
What sins was he being punished for in such a manner as this? He pleaded to Allah for an answer. (34.6)
When he's first enslaved, Kunta desperately tries to find some reason behind it, some grave religious sin he committed that earned him such brutal punishment. But he finds none, which tests his faith harder than it's ever been tested before.
Quote #5
Kunta was deeply shaken. The shocked realization that he lay with a pagan burned into his brain. (37.18)
To be fair, Kunta has little fondness for the paganism of some of his African peers. After he makes it to America, however, he'll have his ability to deal with people of other religions tested even more.
Quote #6
Back in his hut, Kunta kneeled and touched his forehead to the hard dirt floor in the direction in which he knew the next sun would rise. (44.21)
After being brought to America, Kunta feels a great deal of comfort taking part in the simple rituals he took for granted when he was home in Juffure. They might've been a nuisance back then, but now they're a lifeline to a place and time he may never get back.
Quote #7
Kunta felt that in some unfathomable way, all of this suffering must have some meaning, some reason, that Allah must have willed it. (56.35)
The trick, we think, might be to create your own meaning in your suffering. That's the point of religion, right? By giving us a guidebook through life, religion gives us a sense that we are not alone in our struggles, and that good can rise up against evil.
Quote #8
Unshaken, he had been born with Allah and he was going to die with Allah—although he hadn't been praying to Him regularly again ever since he started seeing a lot of Bell. (64.42)
It's a story as old as time—devoutly religious boy meets devoutly religious girl of a different faith. We're teasing of course, but the truth is that Kunta's growing relationship with Bell shows him that Christians aren't so bad after all. They might not call the dude upstairs by the same name, but they're not the heathens he initially assumed them to be.
Quote #9
Kunta was astonished at how much it reminded him of the way the people of Juffure sat at the Council of Elders' meetings once each moon. (73.17)
Kunta still isn't all that enthusiastic about Christianity, but he's made his peace with the religion after seeing how much of his African heritage is present in their rituals. This is an important reminder of the communal and cultural aspects of religion, which are just as important as its spiritual components.
Quote #10
[T]he family—led by Matilda—turned its attention to an enterprise they considered no less important to their welfare: the construction of a church. (114.36)
The Kinte clan remains devoutly religious well into the future, and they end up playing a big role in the construction of the first black church in Henning, Tennessee. This church becomes their sanctuary every Sunday, their place to scope out potential hunks, and their place to show off their children and grandchildren. Not too shabby.