GULLAH CELEBRATION
February is a month of celebrating tradition and history here in the Lowcountry. Every February, the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina in Hilton Head helps bring back time and share some great culture that exemplifies the heritage with a Gullah Fest located at 14 Shelter Cove Lane in Hilton Head, "A Taste of Gullah" from Noon-until 4:00 p.m. This is a great festival to indulge in some "original island gumbo", ribs, and chicken.
For more contact information, you may contact (843) 255-7303 or www.gullahcelebration.com
February is a month of celebrating tradition and history here in the Lowcountry. Every February, the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina in Hilton Head helps bring back time and share some great culture that exemplifies the heritage with a Gullah Fest located at 14 Shelter Cove Lane in Hilton Head, "A Taste of Gullah" from Noon-until 4:00 p.m. This is a great festival to indulge in some "original island gumbo", ribs, and chicken.
For more contact information, you may contact (843) 255-7303 or www.gullahcelebration.com
The Gullah are the descendants of slaves who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands.
Historically, the Gullah region extended from the Cape Fear area on the coast of North Carolina south to the vicinity of Jacksonville on the coast of Florida; but today the Gullah area is confined to the South Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry. The Gullah people and their language are also called Geechee, which some scholars speculate is related to the Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia. The term "Geechee" is an emic term used by speakers (and can have a derogatory connotation depending on usage). "Gullah" is a term that was originally used to designate the language spoken by Gullah and Geechee people, but over time it has become a way for speakers to formally identify both their language and themselves as a distinctive group of people. The Georgia communities further identify themselves as either "Saltwater Geechee" or "Freshwater Geechee" depending on their proximity to the coast.
The Gullah have preserved much of their African linguistic and cultural heritage. They speak an English-based creole language containing many African loanwords and significant influences from African languages in grammar and sentence structure. Properly referred to as "Sea Island Creole," the Gullah language is related to Jamaican Creole, Barbadian Dialect, Bahamian Dialect, and the Krio language of Sierra Leone in West Africa. Gullah storytelling, cuisine, music, folk beliefs, crafts, farming and fishing traditions, all exhibit strong influences from West and Central African cultures.
Historically, the Gullah region extended from the Cape Fear area on the coast of North Carolina south to the vicinity of Jacksonville on the coast of Florida; but today the Gullah area is confined to the South Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry. The Gullah people and their language are also called Geechee, which some scholars speculate is related to the Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia. The term "Geechee" is an emic term used by speakers (and can have a derogatory connotation depending on usage). "Gullah" is a term that was originally used to designate the language spoken by Gullah and Geechee people, but over time it has become a way for speakers to formally identify both their language and themselves as a distinctive group of people. The Georgia communities further identify themselves as either "Saltwater Geechee" or "Freshwater Geechee" depending on their proximity to the coast.
The Gullah have preserved much of their African linguistic and cultural heritage. They speak an English-based creole language containing many African loanwords and significant influences from African languages in grammar and sentence structure. Properly referred to as "Sea Island Creole," the Gullah language is related to Jamaican Creole, Barbadian Dialect, Bahamian Dialect, and the Krio language of Sierra Leone in West Africa. Gullah storytelling, cuisine, music, folk beliefs, crafts, farming and fishing traditions, all exhibit strong influences from West and Central African cultures.
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.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah
