Going to South Carolina? Learn About the Gullah People
Herb Leibacher asked:
Are you thinking about a trip to South Carolina? You might be interested in learning about the Gullah People.
It is thought that the Gullah people of the Low Country of South Carolina originally came to the Sea Islands as slaves from Angola. The reach of these people once extended up as far as North Carolina and down as far as Georgia and the upper reaches of Florida. The Gullah people are also known as Geechee’s. The Gullah language is still spoken in the Low Country of South Carolina. It is a blend of the original language that came with the natives from Africa and a pidgin English that they learned during their days in America. Many professors from Cambridge, Yale and Harvard have tried to write this language down but this effort has not had great success.
The Gullah have tried to preserve their heritage and teach it to their children so that it would not disappear. They have special foods, crafts, stories music and traditions that they happily share with anyone who wants to learn about their history.
Most of the Gullah people in history originally came to America through Charleston on slave ships from the West Indies and Africa. They were from Angola, Sierra Leone and other gold coast areas. These people were rice farmers and some even came willingly to the new world.
The areas they came from were well known as rice growers and it was not long before rice became a major crop in North and South Carolina and the Georgia coast. Unfortunately, along with their knowledge of rice farming the slaves also brought the mosquito. Once in the Low Country, the mosquito bred and thrived. It was not long before yellow fever and malaria also became a part of the Low Country. Daufuskie Island is a famous Gullah area that was brought to the attention of the general public through a movie called Conrack. It was adapted from a book written by Fripp Island, S.C., resident Pat Conroy (The Water is Wide). It has long been a joke on Daufuskie that the mosquito is their island bird. According to natives on the island, the mosquitoes often discuss whether they will eat their victim there or take him with them.
There are a lot of Southern words that originated with the Gullah people. For instance, everyone has heard of Gubers(pronounced goobers); it is a name for peanuts. This word came directly from the Congo word N’Guba. Red rice and okra soup and Gumbo are all Gullah foods.
Gullah people are well known as superstitious. Although they mixed their native religions with Christianity and do not openly practice Voodoo, they still paint their front doors blue to keep away evil spirits and they put blue bottles in their trees so the wind will blow through them and keep the spirits at bay. One of the most famous Gullah practitioners of “root medicine” is Dr. Buzzard. Dr. Buzzard was real and his root medicine was legend. He was said to be able to make a criminal talk in court if he and his biggest nemesis, Sheriff MacTeer, could come to an agreement. He has recently been brought to attention in the movie and book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. There are still root doctors in the Low Country today; although Dr. Buzzard has gone on to his rewards.
The book about Brier Rabbit is loosely based on a Gullah children’s story about Bruh Rabbit and his tricks and friends.
The Gullah are well known for their arts and crafts; most specially their sweet grass baskets which they still weave at the side of the road on U.S. 17 South between Georgetown and Charleston, S.C. Every year in Beaufort, S.C., there is a Gullah Festival where their arts and crafts are shown and enjoyed. Jonathan Green, from S.C., is a famous artist who paints beautiful pictures of the Gullah people in their every day lives. Many of the Gullah people who were slaves fought for the South in the Civil War. They were eager to defend their new country. Many had already been given their freedom and were working for wages for the plantation owners. After the Civil War they isolated themselves and their Gullah lifestyle flourished.
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Are you thinking about a trip to South Carolina? You might be interested in learning about the Gullah People.
It is thought that the Gullah people of the Low Country of South Carolina originally came to the Sea Islands as slaves from Angola. The reach of these people once extended up as far as North Carolina and down as far as Georgia and the upper reaches of Florida. The Gullah people are also known as Geechee’s. The Gullah language is still spoken in the Low Country of South Carolina. It is a blend of the original language that came with the natives from Africa and a pidgin English that they learned during their days in America. Many professors from Cambridge, Yale and Harvard have tried to write this language down but this effort has not had great success.
The Gullah have tried to preserve their heritage and teach it to their children so that it would not disappear. They have special foods, crafts, stories music and traditions that they happily share with anyone who wants to learn about their history.
Most of the Gullah people in history originally came to America through Charleston on slave ships from the West Indies and Africa. They were from Angola, Sierra Leone and other gold coast areas. These people were rice farmers and some even came willingly to the new world.
The areas they came from were well known as rice growers and it was not long before rice became a major crop in North and South Carolina and the Georgia coast. Unfortunately, along with their knowledge of rice farming the slaves also brought the mosquito. Once in the Low Country, the mosquito bred and thrived. It was not long before yellow fever and malaria also became a part of the Low Country. Daufuskie Island is a famous Gullah area that was brought to the attention of the general public through a movie called Conrack. It was adapted from a book written by Fripp Island, S.C., resident Pat Conroy (The Water is Wide). It has long been a joke on Daufuskie that the mosquito is their island bird. According to natives on the island, the mosquitoes often discuss whether they will eat their victim there or take him with them.
There are a lot of Southern words that originated with the Gullah people. For instance, everyone has heard of Gubers(pronounced goobers); it is a name for peanuts. This word came directly from the Congo word N’Guba. Red rice and okra soup and Gumbo are all Gullah foods.
Gullah people are well known as superstitious. Although they mixed their native religions with Christianity and do not openly practice Voodoo, they still paint their front doors blue to keep away evil spirits and they put blue bottles in their trees so the wind will blow through them and keep the spirits at bay. One of the most famous Gullah practitioners of “root medicine” is Dr. Buzzard. Dr. Buzzard was real and his root medicine was legend. He was said to be able to make a criminal talk in court if he and his biggest nemesis, Sheriff MacTeer, could come to an agreement. He has recently been brought to attention in the movie and book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. There are still root doctors in the Low Country today; although Dr. Buzzard has gone on to his rewards.
The book about Brier Rabbit is loosely based on a Gullah children’s story about Bruh Rabbit and his tricks and friends.
The Gullah are well known for their arts and crafts; most specially their sweet grass baskets which they still weave at the side of the road on U.S. 17 South between Georgetown and Charleston, S.C. Every year in Beaufort, S.C., there is a Gullah Festival where their arts and crafts are shown and enjoyed. Jonathan Green, from S.C., is a famous artist who paints beautiful pictures of the Gullah people in their every day lives. Many of the Gullah people who were slaves fought for the South in the Civil War. They were eager to defend their new country. Many had already been given their freedom and were working for wages for the plantation owners. After the Civil War they isolated themselves and their Gullah lifestyle flourished.
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Tags: Fripp Island, Georgia Coast, Slave Ships
Travel And Leisure | admin December 20, 2010
2 Comments to “Going to South Carolina? Learn About the Gullah People”
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By S Jackson, May 3, 2011 @ 4:19 pm
As a person of Gullah heritage your assertion that many enslaved people of Gullah ancestory fought in the civil war on the side of those that enslaved them is without academic merit, and is a very troubling perversion of american history. Please correct or provide any crediable evidence of such cases. I suggest you research the story of Robert Smalls. Look forward to your reply
By Madge Dresser, May 9, 2011 @ 3:59 am
Interesting post. I’m wondering what is known about why Fripp island is named Fripp?
Has it anything to do with the Fripps of Bristol, England?
Best wishes,
Madge Dresser
Bristol, England