Gullah and Geechee Sea Islands
I subscribe to the Listserv for the Multicultural Pavilion at the University of Virginia. Not long ago, I read a posting about the Gullah and Geechee Islands, along the US eastern seaboard. I had never heard of the islands, and as I read about the region's African culture, I truthfully presumed that the islands were a touristy little place. I was thinking of something along the line's of Michigan's Frankenmuth, a city settled by German immigrants which has maintained much of that culture.
Well, I was wrong. The islands, located in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, were the home to thousands of African slaves as well as Native Americans. Because of their isolation(the islands could be reached only by boat until the 1950's),slaves and their descendents were able to maintain a rich culture that is a blend of traditional West African and southern/creole culture.
Not only do residents of the Sea Island maintain many of the cultural habits of their ancestors, they have a language all their own which linguists say is a blend of creole and undetermined African language; the African verbage is thought to closely resemble that of Mende and/or Krio, both languages of Sierra Leone. Today,there are about 100,000 people who spoke Gullah, although it's now used primarily in private conversation; several groups are also trying to preserve the language.
It's also uncertain where the term "Gullah" came from; some say from the Gola people of Sierra Leone and Liberia today, others say the Angolan region formerly known as Ngola. I should add that I also found that the Gullah designation was applied to several mainland southern regions with strong African heritage as well. Admittedly, I have much more to learn about the term and the region.
I guess I'd fallen hook, line and sinker for the "mixing bowl" or "soup bowl" vision of the US. From where I sit, it looks like people are losing the culture of their ancestors and that Americans in general are becoming more alike than different. Although the Sea Islands are certainly changing to some extent, I think I have been proven wrong.
Gullah and Geechee Sea Islands Links
Go To Page: 1 2
