Did American slaves use steganography?

[Walter Wart]

Not to get too far off topic, but a lot of martial training
among captive and oppressed peoples has been hidden in innocent
seeming activities. Capoeira is the most famous. Players would
switch from fighting to what appeared to be dance to outsiders
depending on the situation - e.g. if the authorities were 
around. A lot of instruction was or is encoded in song and
musical rhythm. To the initiate it is full of meaning. To the
outsider it is just tunes.

Is it steganography? Undoubtedly yes in the larger sense.

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