Hilton Head is one of the most visited islands in the US. The place is filled with beach activities and Gullah Geechee culture to explore. If you are worried about missing out on important things on the beach, then start by exploring the Gullah Geechee Culture. The people from the Gullah Geechee Community are descendants of enslaved Africans that use to work in the plantations along the Atlantic Coast. Most of the African descendants came from the rice-growing region on the Western side of Africa. The Americans bought these people for their agricultural and architectural skills and knowledge. Since they were migrants, they were isolated on the Sea Island, where they maintained a unique culture filled with African food, traditions, religion, and more. The Gullah Community people have a distinctive taste for art, culture, food, language, and religion. The people from the community created the Gullah dialect and the location came to be known as the Gullah region. Gullah language The traditional Gullah language, which was spoken by many enslaved women and following generations, is a creole language that mixes English with the languages of many West African peoples. While many in the Lowcountry mistook Gullah creole for "broken English" in the twentieth century, linguists such as Lorenzo Dow Turner established Gullah as a creole language and noticed its unique usage of West African intonation and grammatical structures. Slaves' narrative relied heavily on the Gullah language. Tools Used by Gullah People Another example of African culture in the historical record and now is tools used during enslavement. The family employed African basketry techniques and sewing patterns passed down to them when the sun fell on the marsh and enslaved Lowcountry families gathered together after the day's work was completed. The baskets were functional as well as attractive, with Lowcountry women employing specific baskets for specific tasks. Some were used to winnow rice, for example, while others were used to store dry goods. Now known as sweet grass baskets due to the name of the grass currently used, these baskets were originally sewn using a plant commonly called bulrush, a dark marshy grass. After slavery, it was women who carried on the basket making, still sewing patterns reflective of several African basket-sewing patterns but changing the basket material to sweet grass. Food habits Cuisine became creolized when African women and their many generations of ancestors prepared meals along the Lowcountry coast. Gullah cuisine developed as agricultural patterns, local markets, and seafood availability changed. Rice and okra were mainstays in the Lowcountry for enslaved African women. They then combined local seafood and vegetables like collard greens, sweet potatoes, and maize with herbs and spices they remembered from their African roots as well as new ones accessible in the Lowcountry. Enslaved women remade or innovated new recipes as they combined old and new world knowledge, culminating in one-pot soups and stews. These were especially useful on plantations, where food preparation and consumption were done in a communal environment. As proof of early Gullah women's imaginative Lowcountry cuisine, dishes like shrimp gumbo, she-crab soup, and shrimp and grits may still be found on Charleston restaurant menus.
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Gullah Heritage Trail Tours
Gullah Heritage Trail Tour is a group of authentic Gullah islanders who have opened their doors to the world that surrounds them. This allows everyone to have the opportunity to witness the beauty and culture of Hilton Head. Archives
January 2024
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