SOURCE: Miller, R. Baxter. “Kneeling at the Fireplace: Black Vulcan-ROOTS and the Double Artificer.” MELUS 9, no. 1 (spring 1982): 73-84.

In the following essay, Miller traces parallels in Roots between the mythological Roman Vulcan, patron of arts and crafts, and the character of Kunta Kinte, craftsman and himself a mythical character to generations of his descendants.

Most reviewers of Roots have overlooked Alex Haley's allusions to Vulcan.¹ L. D. Reddick,² a Temple University historian, observes instead that the book is a literary masterpiece, although the literary critic Larry King³ believes the book is more skillfully conceived than well-written. Still Haley does recreate the type of the Greek god Hephaestus and the Roman Vulcan who is the patron of the arts and crafts.⁴ Re-placing the type in African and Afro-American culture, Haley portrays educators such as the kintango, the trainer of men, and the marabout, the man of religion, as well...