The
Gullah are
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
s who live in the
Low CountryThe South Carolina Lowcountry is a term used to describe South Carolina's coastal counties, generally south of and including, Charleston. The region includes the South Carolina Sea Islands...
region of
South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a U.S. state that borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The colony was...
and
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
, which includes both the coastal plain and the
Sea IslandsThe Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. They number over 100, and are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of the U.S. states of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida...
. Historically, the Gullah region once extended north to the Cape Fear area on the coast of
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
and south to the vicinity of
JacksonvilleJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida, and is the county seat of Duval County. Since 1968, as a result of the consolidation of the city and county government, and a corresponding expansion of the city limits to include almost the entire county, Jacksonville became the...
on the coast of
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
; but today the Gullah area is confined to the South Carolina and Georgia Low Country. The Gullah people are also called
Geechee, after the
Ogeechee RiverOgeechee River is a long river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It heads at the confluence of its North and South Forks, about SSW of Crawfordsville and flowing generally SSE to Ossabaw Sound about south of Savannah. Its largest tributary is the Canoochee River...
near
Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, Georgia, USA. Savannah was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia...
. The term
Geechee is most commonly used in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Gullah are known for preserving more of their African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other African-American community in the United States. They speak an English-based
creole languageA creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable language that originates from a mixture of various languages. The lexicon of a creole usually consists of words clearly borrowed from the parent languages, except for phonetic and semantic shifts...
containing many African loanwords and significant influences from African languages in grammar and sentence structure. The
Gullah languageThe Gullah language is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people , an African American population living on the Sea Islands and the coastal region of the U.S...
is related to
Jamaican CreoleJamaican Patois, known locally as Patois or Jamaican, and called Jamaican Creole by linguists, is an English–African creole language spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. It is not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of English...
, Barbadian Dialect, and the
Krio languageKrio is the lingua franca and the de facto national language spoken throughout the West African nation of Sierra Leone. Krio is spoken by 98% of Sierra Leone's population and unites all the different ethnic groups in the country, especially in their trade and social interaction with each other...
of
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...
in
West AfricaWest Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...
. Gullah storytelling, foodways, music, folk beliefs, crafts, farming and fishing traditions, etc. all exhibit strong influences from West and Central African cultures.
History
The name "Gullah" may derive from
AngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...
, where many of the Gullahs' ancestors originated. Some scholars have also suggested it comes from
Gola, an ethnic group living in the border area between
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...
and
LiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2008 Census, the nation is home to 3,476,608 people and covers ....
in West Africa, another region where many of the Gullahs' ancestors originated. The name "Geechee," another common name for the Gullah people, may come from
Kissi, an ethnic group living in the border area between Sierra Leone,
GuineaGuinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea . The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
and Liberia. Some scholars have also suggested Native American origins for these words. The Spanish called the South Carolina and Georgia coastal region
GualeGuale was a Native American chiefdom that became part of Spanish Florida's Roman Catholic missionary system in the late 16th century. The people lived along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. During the late 17th century and early 18th century, Guale society was shattered...
after a Native American tribe. The
Ogeechee RiverOgeechee River is a long river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It heads at the confluence of its North and South Forks, about SSW of Crawfordsville and flowing generally SSE to Ossabaw Sound about south of Savannah. Its largest tributary is the Canoochee River...
, a prominent geographical feature in coastal Georgia, takes its name from a Creek Indian word. Regardless of the origins of these names, Gullah language and culture have strong connections to the African continent.
African roots
Most of the Gullahs' ancestors were brought to the South Carolina and Georgia
Low CountryThe South Carolina Lowcountry is a term used to describe South Carolina's coastal counties, generally south of and including, Charleston. The region includes the South Carolina Sea Islands...
through the ports of
CharlestonCharleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
and
SavannahSavannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, Georgia, USA. Savannah was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia...
. Charleston was the most important port in North America for the Atlantic slave trade. Almost half of the enslaved Africans brought into what is now the United States came through that port. Savannah was also active in the
Atlantic slave tradeThe Atlantic slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trading, primarily of African people, to the colonies of the New World that occurred in and around the Atlantic Ocean. It lasted from the 16th to the 19th centuries...
.
The largest group of Africans brought into Charleston and Savannah came from the West African rice-growing region, which stretches from what are now
SenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south, and it also encircles The Gambia on its three sides,...
, Gambia, and
Guinea-BissauThe Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in western Africa, and one of the smallest states in continental Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
in the north to
GuineaGuinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea . The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
,
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...
, and
LiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2008 Census, the nation is home to 3,476,608 people and covers ....
in the south.
African riceOryza glaberrima, commonly known as African rice, is a species of rice in the Poaceae. African rice is lesser known than the more common species of rice Oryza sativa. African rice is believed to have been domesticated 2,000-3,000 years ago in the Inland delta of the Upper Niger river, in what is...
had been cultivated in this section of West Africa for possibly up to 3,000 years. South Carolina and Georgia rice planters once called this region the "Rice Coast", indicating its importance as a source of skilled African labor for the North American rice industry. Modern historians call it the "Upper Guinea Coast." The second-largest group of Africans brought through these ports came from the
CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country located in Central Africa, with a small length of Atlantic coastline. It is the third largest country in Africa...
and
AngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...
regions in
Central AfricaCentral Africa is a core region of the African continent often considered to include Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
. Smaller numbers also were imported from the
Gold CoastGold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese, in 1471. Upon their arrival, they encountered a variety of African kingdoms some of whom controlled substantial...
(what is now
GhanaThe Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa which borders Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
) and the West Indies.
Origin of Gullah culture
The Gullah people have been able to preserve so much of their African cultural heritage because of geography, climate, and patterns of importation of enslaved Africans. By the mid-1700s, the
South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a U.S. state that borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The colony was...
and
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
Low Country was covered by thousands of acres of
riceRice is the seed of a monocot plant Oryza sativa, of the grass family . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East, South, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the West Indies...
fields. African farmers from the "Rice Coast" brought the skills for cultivation and tidal irrigation that made rice one of the most successful industries in early America.
The semi-tropical climate that made the
Low CountryThe South Carolina Lowcountry is a term used to describe South Carolina's coastal counties, generally south of and including, Charleston. The region includes the South Carolina Sea Islands...
such an excellent place for rice production also made it vulnerable to the spread of
malariaMalaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and...
and
yellow feverYellow fever is an acute viral disease. The virus, a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus of the family of Flaviviridae is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes...
. These tropical diseases were carried by mosquitoes that were brought unintentionally aboard the slave ships that came from Africa. The mosquitoes bred in the swamps and inundated rice fields of the Low Country. Malaria and yellow fever soon became
endemicIn epidemiology, an infection is said to be endemic in a population when that infection is maintained in the population without the need for external inputs. For example, chickenpox is endemic in the UK, but malaria is not...
in the region.
Africans were far more resistant to tropical fevers than the European slave owners. The white population of the Low Country grew at a slower rate than the black population because the land was devoted to large plantations. More and more enslaved Africans were brought as laborers into the Low Country as the rice industry expanded. By about 1708 South Carolina had a black majority. Coastal Georgia later acquired its own black majority after rice cultivation expanded there in the mid-1700s, and malaria and yellow fever became endemic. Fearing disease, many white planters left the Low Country during the rainy spring and summer months when fever ran rampant. They left their African "rice drivers," or overseers, in charge of the plantations. Working on large plantations with hundreds of laborers, and with African traditions reinforced by new imports from the same regions, the Gullahs developed a culture in which elements of African languages, cultures, and community life were preserved to a high degree. Their culture was quite different from that of slaves in states like Virginia and North Carolina, where slaves lived in smaller settlements and had more sustained contact with whites.
Gullah customs and traditions
African influences are found in every aspect of the Gullahs' traditional way of life:
- The Gullah word guber for peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume family native to South America, Mexico and Central America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing 30 to 50 cm tall...
derives from the KiKongoKikongo is the Bantu language spoken by the Bakongo and Bandundu people living in the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Angola. It is a tonal language and formed the base for Kituba, a Bantu creole and lingua franca throughout much of west...
word N'guba.
- Gullah rice dishes called "red rice" and "okra soup" are similar to West African "jollof rice
Jollof rice, also called 'Benachin' meaning one pot in the Wolof language, is a popular dish all over West Africa. It is thought to have originated in Ghana but has since spread to the whole of West Africa, especially Nigeria and Gambia amongst members of the Wolof ethnic group.There are many...
" and "okra soup". Jollof rice is a style of cooking brought by the WolofThe Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 40% of the population self-identifying as Wolof. They are also the majority in the region stretching from Saint-Louis in the north, Kaolack in the center, and Dakar...
and MandéOften misused to refer to the Mandinka people, who constitute a branch of the Mandé: Mandinka peopleMandé or Manden refers to a large group of related ethnic groups in West Africa who speak any one of the many Mande languages spread throughout the region...
peoples of West Africa.
- The Gullah version of "gumbo
Gumbo is a stew or soup originating in Louisiana which is popular across the Gulf Coast of the United States and into the U.S. South. It consists primarily of a strong stock, meat and/or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable "holy trinity" of celery, bell peppers, and onion. The soup is...
" has its roots in African cooking. "Gumbo" is derived from a word in the UmbunduUmbundu, or South Mbundu, is a language spoken by the Ovimbundu people in the central highlands of Angola. Umbundu is the most widespread Bantu language in Angola. About one third of Angola is represented by Ovimbundu people...
language of Angola, meaning okraOkra , known by many other names, is a flowering plant in the mallow family , valued for its edible green fruits. Okra's scientific name is Abelmoschus esculentus; it is occasionally referred to as Hibiscus esculentus L.The species is an annual or perennial, growing to 2 m tall...
.
- Gullah rice farmers once used the mortar and pestle
A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix substances. The pestle is a heavy bat shaped stick whose end is used for pounding and grinding, and the mortar is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, marble, clay, or stone...
and "fanner" (winnowing basket), similar to tools used by West African rice farmers.
- Gullah beliefs about "hags
A Boo Hag is a mythical creature in the folklore of South Carolina's Gullah culture. It is a regionalized version of the Hag myth.-The legend:...
" and "haunts" are similar to African beliefs about malevolent ancestors, witchesWitchcraft, in various historical, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers. Witchcraft can refer to the use of such powers in order to inflict harm or damage upon members of a community or their property...
, and "devils" (forest spirits).
- Gullah "root doctors" protect their clients against dangerous spiritual forces using similar ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers, or dictated purely by logic, chance, necessity, etc..A ritual may be...
objects to those employed by African medicine menA witch doctor originally referred to a type of cunning man who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. It is currently used to refer to healers in some third world regions, who use traditional healing rather than contemporary medicine....
.
- Gullah herbal medicines
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy...
are similar to traditional African remedies.
- The Gullah "seekin" ritual is similar to coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
ceremonies in West African secret societies such as the PoroThe Poro, or Purrah or Purroh, is a secret society of Sierra Leone and Liberia.-Structure:Only males are admitted to its ranks, but two other affiliated and secret associations exist, the Yassi and the Bundu, the first of which is nominally reserved for females, but members of the Poro are admitted...
and SandeSande is a women's association found in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea that initiates girls into adulthood, confers fertility, instills notions of morality and proper sexual comportment, and maintains an interest in the well-being of its members throughout their lives...
.
- The Gullah ring shout
A shout or ring shout is an ecstatic dance ritual, first practiced by African slaves in the West Indies and the United States, in which worshippers move in a circle while shuffling their feet and clapping their hands...
is similar to ecstatic religious rituals performed in West and Central Africa.
- Gullah stories about "Bruh Rabbit
Br'er Rabbit is a central figure in the Uncle Remus stories of the Southern United States...
" are similar to West and Central African tricksterIn mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
tales about the clever and conniving rabbit, spider, and tortoise.
- Gullah spirituals, shouts, and other musical forms employ the "call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener", as stated by Smitherman....
" method commonly used in African music.
- Gullah "sweetgrass baskets" are almost identical to coil basket
A basket is a container which is traditionally constructed from stiff fibres, often made of willow. . The top is either left open or the basket may be fitted with a lid....
s made by the Wolof peopleThe Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 40% of the population self-identifying as Wolof. They are also the majority in the region stretching from Saint-Louis in the north, Kaolack in the center, and Dakar...
in SenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south, and it also encircles The Gambia on its three sides,...
.
- Gullah "strip quilt
A quilt is a type of bedding— a bed covering composed of a quilt top, a layer of batting, and a layer of fabric for backing, generally combined using the technique of quilting. Another technique for securing the quilt layers is tying. Tying refers to the technique of using thread, yarn or ribbon to...
s" mimic the design of cloth woven with the traditional strip loomA loom is a machine or device for weaving thread or yarn into textiles. Looms can range from very small hand-held frames, to large free-standing hand looms, to huge automatic mechanical devices. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese used looms as early as 4000 BC.The basic purpose of any loom is to...
used throughout West Africa. The famous kente cloth from Ghana is woven on the strip loom.
- The folk song Michael Row the Boat Ashore
"Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" is an African-American spiritual. It was first noted during the American Civil War at St. Helena Island, one of the Sea Islands of South Carolina....
(or Michael Row Your Boat Ashore) comes from the Gullah culture.
Civil War period
When the
U.S. Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
began, the Union rushed to blockade the
ConfederateThe Confederate States of America was a separatist political entity existing between 1861 to 1865, established by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America, each of which had previously declared their secession from the United States...
shipping. White planters on the Sea Islands, fearing an invasion by the US naval forces, abandoned their plantations and fled to the mainland. When Union forces arrived on the Sea Islands in 1861, they found the Gullah people eager for their freedom, and eager as well to defend it. Many Gullahs served with distinction in the
Union ArmyThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
's First South Carolina Volunteers. The Sea Islands were the first place in the South where slaves were freed. Long before the War ended, Quaker missionaries from
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
came down to start schools for the newly freed slaves. Penn Center, now a Gullah community organization on
Saint Helena IslandSt. Helena Island is one of the South Carolina Sea Islands in Beaufort County, South Carolina that are historic sites of early European colonization of North America. St. Helena is also the center of African-American Gullah culture and language...
, South Carolina, began as the very first school for freed slaves.
After the Civil War ended, the Gullahs' isolation from the outside world actually increased in some respects. The rice planters on the mainland gradually abandoned their farms and moved away from the area because of labor issues and hurricane damage to crops. Free blacks were unwilling to work in the dangerous and disease-ridden rice fields. A series of
hurricanesOn August 27, 1893 a major hurricane which came to be known as the Sea Islands Hurricane struck the United States near Savannah, Georgia. It was one of two deadly hurricanes during the 1893 Atlantic hurricane season; the storm killed an estimated 1,000–2,000 people, mostly from storm surge...
devastated the crops in the 1890s. Left alone in remote rural areas in the Low Country, the Gullahs continued to practice their traditional culture with little influence from the outside world well into the 20th Century.
Modern times
In recent years the Gullah people—led by Penn Center and other determined community groups—have been fighting to keep control of their traditional lands. Since the 1960s, resort development on the Sea Islands has threatened to push Gullahs off family lands they have owned since
emancipationThe Emancipation Proclamation consists of two executive orders issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. The first one, issued September 22, 1862, declared the freedom of all slaves in any state of the Confederate States of America that did not return to Union...
, but they have fought back against uncontrolled development on the islands through community action, the courts, and the political process.
The Gullahs have also struggled to preserve their traditional culture. In 2005, the Gullah community unveiled a translation of the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
in the Gullah language (a project that took more than 20 years to complete). The Gullahs achieved another victory in 2006 when the U.S. Congress passed the "Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Act" that provides $10 million over ten years for the preservation and interpretation of historic sites relating to Gullah culture. The "heritage corridor" will extend from southern North Carolina to northern Florida. The project will be administered by the US
National Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
with strong input from the Gullah community.
Gullahs have also reached out to West Africa. Gullah groups made three celebrated "homecomings" to
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...
in 1989, 1997, and 2005. Sierra Leone is at the heart of the traditional rice-growing region of West Africa where many of the Gullahs' ancestors originated.
Bunce IslandBunce Island is the site of an 18th century British slave castle in the Republic of Sierra Leone in West Africa....
, the British slave castle in Sierra Leone, sent many African captives to Charleston and Savannah during the mid- and late 1700s. These dramatic homecomings were the subject of three documentary films—"
Family Across the Sea" (1990), "
The Language You Cry In" (1998), and "
Priscilla's Homecoming" (in production).
Celebrating Gullah culture
Over the years, the Gullahs have attracted many historians, linguists, folklorists, and anthropologists interested in their rich cultural heritage. Many academic books on that subject have been published. The Gullah have also become a symbol of cultural pride for blacks throughout the United States and a subject of general interest in the media. This has given rise to countless newspaper and magazine articles, documentary films, and children's books on Gullah culture, and to a number of popular novels set in the Gullah region.
Gullah people now organize cultural
festivalA festival is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community.Among many religions, a feast or festival is a set of celebrations in honour of God or gods. A feast and a festival are historically interchangeable...
s every year in towns up and down the Low Country.
Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaHilton Head Island or Hilton Head is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is 20 miles north of Savannah, Georgia, and 95 miles south of Charleston. The island features 12 miles of beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean and is a popular vacation destination...
, for instance, hosts its "Gullah Celebration" in February, which includes "De Aarts ob We People" show, the "Ol’ Fashioned Gullah Breakfast," "National Freedom Day," the "Gullah Film Fest", "A Taste of Gullah" food and entertainment, a "Celebration of Low Country Authors and Books," an "Arts, Crafts & Food Expo," and "De Gullah Playhouse."
Beaufort, South CarolinaBeaufort is a city and county seat in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,950 in the 2000 census...
hosts its "Gullah Festival" in May, and nearby Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina holds its famous "Heritage Days" in November. Other Gullah festivals are celebrated on
James Island, South CarolinaJames Island is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. It is located in the central and southern parts of James Island. As defined by the U.S...
and
Sapelo Island, GeorgiaSapelo Island is a state-protected island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is only reachable by boat, with the primary ferry coming from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven mile, twenty-minute trip.Approximately 97 percent of the island is owned...
.
But Gullah culture is now being celebrated throughout the United States.
Purdue UniversityPurdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six campuses within the Purdue University System...
in West Lafayette, Indiana recently held an event to showcase the Gullah culture. Purdue's Black Cultural Center maintains a bibliography of Gullah publications as well. And Metro State College in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
recently hosted a conference on Gullah culture, called "The Water Brought Us: Gullah History and Culture" which featured a panel of Gullah scholars and cultural activists. Metro State students and members of the community attended the event, which was covered in the local press. These events in
IndianaIndiana is a U.S. state, the 19
th admitted to the Union. It is located in the Great Lakes region, and with approximately 6.3 million residents, is ranked 16
th in population and 17
th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38
th in land area, and is the...
and Colorado are typical of the attention Gullah culture now receives on a regular basis throughout the United States.
Cultural survival
Gullah culture has proven to be particularly resilient. Gullah traditions are strong not only in the rural areas of the Low Country mainland and on the Sea Islands, but also in urban areas like Charleston and Savannah. But some of the old fashioned ways have persisted even among Gullah people who have left the Low Country and moved far away. Many Gullahs migrated to New York starting at the beginning of the 20th century, and these urban migrants have not lost their identity. Gullahs have their own neighborhood churches in
HarlemHarlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands.Harlem has been defined by a series...
,
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
, and
QueensQueens is the largest in area, the second-largest in population, and the easternmost of the Five Boroughs which form New York City. The Borough of Queens' boundaries are identical to those of the County of Queens , a subdivision of the State of New York in the Northeastern United States.Located on...
. Typically they send their children back to rural communities in South Carolina and Georgia during the summer months to be reared by grandparents, uncles and aunts. Gullah people living in New York also frequently return to the Low Country to retire. Second- and third-generation Gullahs in New York often maintain many of their traditional customs and sometimes still speak the Gullah language.
Overview of Gullah Culture
Gullah cultural topics
Gullah historical topics
- List of topics related to Black and African people
- Lorenzo Dow Turner
Lorenzo Dow Turner was an African American linguist who did seminal research on the Gullah language of coastal South Carolina and Georgia.-Early life:...
- Gullah Language
The Gullah language is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people , an African American population living on the Sea Islands and the coastal region of the U.S...
- Ambrose E. Gonzales
Ambrose Elliott Gonzales was born in Paulo Parish, South Carolina. Gonzales was the son of General Ambrosio José Gonzales and Harriet Rutledge Elliot. His father was a Cuban revolutionary leader, who opposed oppressive Spanish rule...
- Virginia Mixson Geraty
Virginia Mixson Geraty was a writer and outspoken defender of the Gullah language. She authored poetry and books in the Gullah language and produced popular recordings in Gullah...
- Peter H. Wood
Peter H. Wood is an American historian, and author of Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion , one of the most influential books on the history of the American South of the past 50 years....
- Dale Rosengarten
- Sweetgrass Baskets
- Joseph Opala
Joseph Opala is the scholar who identified the "Gullah Connection," the historical link between the Gullah people in South Carolina and Georgia and the West African nation of Sierra Leone....
- Bunce Island
Bunce Island is the site of an 18th century British slave castle in the Republic of Sierra Leone in West Africa....
- Bilali Document
The Bilali Muhammad Document is a handwritten, Arabic manuscript on West African Islamic Law. It was written by Bilali Mohammet in the nineteenth century. The document is currently housed in the library at the University of Georgia.-History:...
- Stono Rebellion
The Stono Rebellion was a slave rebellion begun on Sunday, September 9, 1739, in the colony of South Carolina. It was the largest slave uprising in the British mainland colonies prior to the American Revolution...
- Black Seminoles
The Black Seminoles is a term used by modern historians for the descendants of free Africans and some runaway slaves and Gullahs who escaped from coastal South Carolina and Georgia rice plantations into the Spanish Florida wilderness beginning as early as the late 1600s...
- Ebos Landing
- Port Royal Experiment
The Port Royal Experiment was a program begun during the American Civil War in which former slaves successfully worked on the land abandoned by plantation owners. In 1861 the Union liberated the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and their main harbor, Port Royal. The white residents fled,...
Gullah historical figures
- Jemmy
- Bilali (Ben Ali)
- Denmark Vesey
- Gullah Jack
Gullah Jack , also known as Couter Jack and sometimes referred to as "Gullah" Jack Pritchard, was a Methodist, an African conjurer, and a slave to Paul Pritchard in Charleston, South Carolina...
- Jehu Jones, Sr.
- Jehu Jones, Jr.
- Edward Jones
- Robert Smalls
- Joseph Rainey
Joseph Hayne Rainey was the first African American person to serve in the United States House of Representatives and the second black person to serve in the United States Congress Joseph Hayne Rainey (June 21, 1832 – August 1, 1887) was the first African American person to serve in the...
Gullah leaders, artists, and cultural activists
Famous African Americans with Gullah roots
- Jim Brown
James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor and social activist. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965...
- Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter best known for popularizing the The Twist with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
- Joe Frazier
Joseph "Billy" Frazier, known as Smokin' Joe , is an Olympic and World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, active mostly from the later 1960s to the mid 1970s....
- James Jamerson
James Lee Jamerson was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s , and he has become regarded as one of the most influential bassists & the father of modern bass guitar players in modern music history...
- Jazzy Jay
Jazzy Jay , also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay, is a pioneering American hip hop DJ and producer. He has collected roughly 400,000 records....
- Michelle Obama
- Clarence Thomas
Gullah cultural festivals
- Gullah Celebration, Hilton Head Island, SC
- Gullah Festival, Beaufort, SC
- Penn Center Heritage Days, St. Helena Island, SC
- Island Heritage Festival, James Island, SC
- Geechee-Gullah Festival, Sapelo Island, GA
Further reading
Gullah history
- Ball, Edward (1998) "Slaves in the Family,” New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.
- Carney, Judith (2001) "Black Rice: The African Origins of Rice Cultivation in the Americas," Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Fields-Black, Edda (2008) "Deep Roots: Rice Farmers in West Africa and the African Diaspora," Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
- Littlefield, Daniel (1981) Rice and Slaves: Ethnicity and the Slave Trade in Colonial South Carolina," Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
- Miller, Edward (1995) "Gullah Statesman: Robert Smalls from Slavery to Congress, 1839-1915," Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
- Pollitzer, William
Dr. William Sprott Pollitzer was an US anatomist. He was a professor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and past president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists , and the Human Biology Council .The William S. Pollitzer Prize was created in honor of him.- External...
(1999) "The Gullah People and their African Heritage," Athens: University of Georgia Press.
- Smith, Julia Floyd (1985) "Slavery and Rice Culture in Low Country Georgia: 1750-1860," Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.
- Smith, Mark M. (2005) "Stono: Documenting and Interpreting a Southern Slave Revolt," Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
- Wood, Peter (1974) "Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion," New York: Knopf.
Gullah language and storytelling
- Bailey, Cornelia & Christena Bledsoe (2000) "God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talks about Life on Sapelo Island," New York: Doubleday.
- Geraty, Virginia Mixon (1997) "Gulluh fuh Oonuh: A Guide to the Gullah Language," Orangeburg, SC: Sandlapper Publishing Company.
- Jones, Charles Colcock (2000) "Gullah Folktales from the Georgia Coast," Athens: University of Georgia Press.
- Jones-Jackson, Patricia (1987) "When Roots Die: Endangered Traditions on the Sea Islands," Athens: University of Georgia Press.
- Mills, Peterkin and McCollough (2008) "Coming Through: Voices of a South Carolina Gullah Community from WPA Oral Histories collected by Genevieve W. Chandler," The University of South Carolina Press.
- Montgomery, Michael (ed.) (1994) "The Crucible of Carolina: Essays in the Development of Gullah Language and Culture," Athens: University of Georgia Press.
- Sea Island Translation Team (2005) "De Nyew Testament (The New Testament in Gullah)," New York: American Bible Society.
- Stoddard, Albert Henry (1995) "Gullah Animal Tales from Daufuskie Island, South Carolina," Hilton Head Island, SC: Push Button Publishing Company.
- Turner, Lorenzo Dow (2002) "Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect," Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
Gullah culture
- Campbell, Emory (2008) "Gullah Cultural Legacies," Hilton Head South Carolina: Gullah Heritage Counsulting Services.
- Carawan, Guy and Candie (1989) "Ain't You Got a Right to the Tree of Life: The People of Johns Island, South Carolina, their Faces, their Words, and their Songs," Athens: University of Georgia Press.
- Creel, Margaret Washington (1988) "A Peculiar People: Slave Religion and Community Culture among the Gullahs," New York: New York University Press.
- Cross, Wilbur (2008) "Gullah Culture in America," Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.
- Joyner, Charles (1984) "Down by the Riverside: A South Carolina Slave Community," Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
- Kiser, Clyde Vernon (1969) "Sea Island to City: A Study of St. Helena Islanders in Harlem and Other Urban Centers," New York: Atheneum.
- McFeely, William (1994) "Sapelo's People: A Long Walk into Freedom," New York: W.W. Norton.
- Parish, Lydia (1992) "Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands," Athens: University of Georgia Press.
- Robinson, Sallie Ann (2003) "Gullah Home Cooking the Daufuskie Way" and (2006) "Cooking the Gullah Way Morning,Noon, and Night." Charlotte: University of North Carolina Press.
- Rosenbaum, Art (1998) "Shout Because You're Free: The African American Ring Shout Tradition in Coastal Georgia," Athens: University of Georgia Press.
- Rosengarten, Dale (1986) "Sea Grass Baskets of the South Carolina Lowcountry," Columbia, South Carolina: McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina.
- Twining, Mary & Keigh Baird (1991) "Sea Island Roots: The African Presence in the Carolinas and Georgia," Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press.
- Young, Jason (2007) "Rituals of Resistance: African Atlantic Religion in Kongo and the Lowcountry South in the Era of Slavery," Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University.
Historical photos of the Gullah
- Georgia Writer's Project (1986) "Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies among the Georgia Coastal Negroes," Athens: University of Georgia Press.
- Johnson, Thomas L. & Nina J. Root (2002) "Camera Man's Journey: Julian Dimock's South," Athens: University of Georgia Press.
- Minor, Leigh Richmond & Edith Dabbs (2003) "Face of an Island: Leigh Richmond Miner's Photographs of Saint Helena Island," Charleston, South Carolina: Wyrick & Company.
- Ulmann, Doris & Suzanna Krout Millerton, New York: Aperture, Inc.
Children's books on the Gullah
- Branch, Muriel (1995) "The Water Brought Us: The Story of the Gullah-Speaking People," New York: Cobblehill Books.
- Clary, Margie Willis (1995) "A Sweet, Sweet Basket," Orangeburg, South Carolina: Sandlapper Publishing Company.
- Geraty, Virginia (1998) "Gullah Night Before Christmas," Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company.
- Jaquith, Priscilla (1995) "Bo Rabbit Smart for True: Tall Tales from the Gullah," New York: Philomel Books.
- Krull, Kathleen (1995) "Bridges to Change: How Kids Live on a South Carolina Sea Island," New York: Lodestar Books.
- Seabrooke, Brenda (1994) "The Bridges of Summer," New York: Puffin Books.
- Raven, Margot Theis (2004) "Circle Unbroken," New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Works of fiction set in the Gullah region
- Conroy, Pat (1972) "The Water Is Wide," Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
- Dash, Julie (1999) "Daughters of the Dust," New York: Plume Books.
- Gershwin, George (1935) "Porgy and Bess," New York:Alfred Publishing.
- Heyward, Dubose (1925)"Porgy," Charleston, S.C.: Wyrick & Compnay.
- Hurston, Zora Neale (1937) "Their Eyes Were Watching God," New York: Harper Perennial.
- Siddons, Anne Rivers (1998) "Low Country," New York: HarperCollinsPublishers.
- Naylor, Gloria (1988) "Mama Day," New York: Ticknor & Fields.
- Straight, Susan (1993) "I Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots," New York: Hyperion.
Other media
Television
Gullah Gullah IslandGullah Gullah Island is a children's television series starring Ron Daise and his wife Natalie Daise. It was the first show designed for preschoolers to feature a Gullah family...
; Children's show on Nickelodeon.
Films
Radio programs