“Ah tulk to de dead all de time:” Religion among Gullah/Geechee women of the Carolina lowcountry
Abstract (summary)
To date, scholars have turned their attention to the African American members of coastal communities in South Carolina and Georgia, also known as the Gullah or Geechee. These inhabitants are among the most interesting microcosm of African American culture available. Their culture developed and was maintained in relative geographic isolation as coastal residents had marginal contact with residents beyond their immediate boundaries, bridges connecting barrier islands to mainlands were not constructed until the 1940s, and slaves were actively imported into these areas until the Civil War. These factors contributed to a rich cultural viscosity exemplified in Gullah/Geechee religion.
Studies of these communities have been limited to descriptions of their culture, speculations about their African geographical origins, and inquiries about the existence of African cultural retentions. This project is distinct and explores the relationship between identity and representation in religion, music, and practice among seven women in South Carolina. Drawing upon the contributions of contemporary womanist scholars and anthropologists, this work employs "womanist ethnography." This integrated, interdisciplinary, triangulated method joins perspectives from history, ethnomusicology, anthropology, and theology. Alongside archival research, review of published and unpublished source materials, participant observation, and personal interviews, this study takes what lowcountry women say about themselves, places them in dialogue with what writers have theorized about them, and notes similarities and differences between the interpretations.
The comparison of scholarly and local perspectives on religion uncovered the practice these women call "tulking to de dead," an ongoing exchange between the living and the dead. Talking to the dead is prevalent in their song traditions, worship services, and daily activities of church work, storytelling, and sweetgrass basketry. Through exploration of this practice, this project illuminates the religious experiences of women from the South Carolina lowcountry, whose narratives have largely been excluded from investigations of South Carolina religion, history, and culture. It also expands the discourse on the Gullah/Geechee beyond the parameters of African cultural retentions by focusing on what Africa means to these women. In so doing, this work speaks to the contributions of African American women on the landscape of American religious culture.
Indexing (details)
Cultural anthropology;
Music;
Womens studies
0326: Cultural anthropology
0413: Music
0453: Womens studies