Living in the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida ( and about 30 miles inland) is the Gullah/Geechee Nation, comprised of the descendants of Africans once enslaved in the Lowcountry and Coastal Empire.
The words Gullah and Geechee refer to West African ethnic groups. “However, amongst ourselves, we don’t use these designations,” notes historian Marquetta L. Goodwine. “We know we’re all kin. We’re all the same culture, heritage, and legacy.”
Gullah language combines elements of West African dialects with English pidgin bases. Gullah is the only surviving English-based Creole language in America. The language developed as a way for Africans of various tribes to communicate with one another, a way that plantation owners would not understand.
Gullah is an oral history, and younger generations have kept the traditional spirit of Gullah alive through language, religion, arts, crafts, stories, and song. Gullah/Geechee people reflect a more African influence in their behavior, self-expression, and beliefs than any other African American group in the United States of America.
|
Gullah/Geechee culture has flourished in the Sea Islands of South Carolina/Georgia.
Gullah culture is a living link between Africa and America. |
