Gullah Geechee 4-6

The Gullah
Geechee

This Photo by Unknow n author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC.

Open Ended

What do you know about Gullah Geechee culture?

Who are the Gullah
Geechee?

 Gullah Geechee culture comes from a mixing of different African cultures and
ethnic groups from West and Central
Africa who were brought to the
Americas during the 17th and 18th
centuries.

 These groups spoke several languages, holding different religious beliefs that over time evolved into a unique creole culture.

Multiple Select

Gullah Geechee culture comes from a mixing of different African cultures from which 2 areas of Africa?

• North

• Central

• West

• East

What is Gullah Geechee?

 Both terms were once used to describe Africa's Angolan tribes, many of whom were taken and sold as forced
laborers.

 Today, they are used in a wide variety of identities, with people considering themselves one or the other.

 Ex. Someone in Georgia might consider themselves "Geechee" while someone in South Carolina might consider themselves "Gullah."

 The term "Gullah Geechee" is an attempt to create a large umbrella term.

The Gullah Geechee
Cultural Heritage
Corridor

 The Gullah Geechee Cultural

Heritage Corridor runs from
Wilmington, North Carolina to
Jacksonville, Florida.

 The Gullah Geechee were

taken and sold as forced
laborers on many plantations
throughout the coastal region.

Open Ended

The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor runs between which 2 states?

Forming the Gullah
Geechee

 Due to the remote locations of the

plantations the Gullah Geechee were taken, these newly-formed enslaved
communities lived in relative isolation,
preserving many of the new traditions
that were formed, such as religious, artistic, and cultural practices.

 However, isolation from the mainland led to later exploitation by land developers or the tourism industry.

This Photo by Unknow n author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

Multiple Choice

Due to the remote locations of the plantations, Gullah Geechee communities were able to preserve all of the following practices, EXCEPT...

• Religious

• Artistic

• Nomadism

• Cultural

Rice
Cultivation

Low-lying swamp lands were
cultivated into rice fields, where
mosquito-borne diseases thrived.

From late spring to late fall, the
"malarial seasons," wealthy
plantation owners would flee to
their homes in Charleston, or
further inland, leaving the
enslaved workers in relative
isolation.

Many of these plantations, because of
the complex and varying
harvesting cycle, ran on a
"task system," allowing individuals free
time once their assigned task was
complete.

The task system allowed for
enslaved families and
communities to tend to their own
gardens and practice shared
African traditions.

Multiple Choice

Because of the complex and varying harvesting cycle, many plantations ran on a ______ system.

• Chain

• Task

• Seasonal

• Trunk

Gullah Geechee
Today

The United States Congress officially
recognized the Gullah Geechee in 2006,
with the corridor existing to preserve the traditional practices and history of the culture.

Gullah Geechee communities are facing
effects of tourism, both positive and
negative.

 Some large companies are trying to buy homeowner's land in places
like Plantersville.

 In places like John's Island, community members sell sweetgrass baskets on road side stands during tourist season.

With tourism and commercialization
impacting these communities, many
have been lost to real estate
development, migration of outsiders, and economic hardship.

Multiple Choice

With tourism and commercialization impacting the Gullah Geechee, many of these communities have been lost to all of the following EXCEPT...

• Real Estate Development

• Migration of Outsiders

• Political Opposition

• Economic Hardship