ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the third part of this book. The book outlines the place that sound systems occupy in black cultures. Sound systems are central feature in black music. The book looks at some Ashmead evidence on white and Asian participation being facilitated both by gender difference and by North American influences. It focuses on to consider the way in which sound system events generate alternative social orders. The book discusses a distinction between play and ritual to differentiate the crossing from most of the uses evidenced earlier. It considers crossing in the presence of adults, and crossing in informal recreation with peers. In discussion of Creole, Handelman's distinction between ritual and play was useful in differentiating Mashuk's crossing from other people. The book concludes with a brief discussion of stylized Asian English in local dramatic performances.
