throughout the country, but retain distinct pride in their common heritage. Through language, food and a From then 'til Now commitment to family and community, Gullah ethnicity is A Short History resisting the pull of assimilation.

Daufuskie Day,held each June, is a "homecoming" event that brings former residents, relatives and friends back Daufuskie Island Gullah are to the island for renewal and to celebrate their unique descendents of slaves brought from the legacy. "Rice Coast" of West Africa to till the rice fields of the Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry. Daufuskie Island proved unsuitable for commercial rice cultivation. Rice was grown only for domestic consumption. Indigo was the first commercial crop on the island's plantations, replaced by the extremely profitable SeaIsland cotton. Making a Living

Freed slaves who lived on the island after Emancipation had to provide for themselves. Some were able to buy plots of land; others worked for absentee landowners growing cotton. In the early nineteen hundreds the boll weevil ended the cotton industry on the island. With oystering jobs gone, Being resourceful, Daufuskie many Daufuskie Islanders left the Islanders plied the local waters island to find work elsewhere. for shrimp, oysters, crab and From an all-time high of nearly Following fish. Hand-made bateaux, small 2000 residents, the Gullah Emancipation, former "rocker-bottomed" boats, population dropped to around fifty slavesreturned to live on MaggioniOyster Cannery c.1910 provided transportation for in 1985 when the first residential communities (Haig Point Daufuskie Island as Tabby Ruins at HaigPoint gathering the bounty of the nearby waters and transporting and Melrose) opened. The new properties provided some owners of small farms or as workers for the new owners of it to Savannah for sale. Islanders also grew produce for sale employment opportunities but better paying jobs were to former plantations. With no bridge to the mainland, the in Savannah. Rowing a bateau to market was a long and be found elsewhere. The Gullah population on the island is continued isolation allowed their unique way of life to arduous trip. In this way, however, people earned enough now lessthan 20 individuals. remain relatively unchanged until the mid 20th century money to buy the necessities they could not produce on when the arrival of electricity (1953) and telephones (1972) their own. The arrival of brought instant connection to the world-at-Iarge. steam boats and later motorized boats made In years past the travel to and from the Gullah descendents' distinct island easier and faster. dialect and customs brought them disrespect in the broader community. Recently, however, Gullah crafts reflect their African origins and, the depth and richness of their although items were created for utilitarian uses,they reflect remarkable culture and heritage great artistry and design. Lowcountry Gullahs are known for have emerged as an integral and highly valued chapter of baskets made of bulrushes, long-leaf pine needles and, most American history. Gullah descendents are dispersed of all, sweetgrass. Unfortunately little evidence of these crafts remains on Daufuskie. Religious practice Day to Day Living took on African attributes with "ring shouts", an Education adaptation of African song and dance. Worshippers Very few ~hildren of slaves received any formal moved in circles accompanied Daufuskie Island education. After the Civil War missionary groups sent by rhythmic hand clapping, Vacation Ilible School 1966 Gullahs were self sufficient teachers to Daufuskie Island to teach the children of freed foot and stick stomping, and people. They had to be. They slaves. Praise houses and empty homes were used as repeated shouted expressions of praise and thanksgiving. hunted, fished, gardened and classrooms until two The call/response sequencing of Gullah hymns is also African raised animals to put food on churches were built on in origin. the table. "They the island and were used accommodated to their needs, for classrooms during the not wants:' They used traditional folk remedies and herbal week. School was held medicine to treat disease. Food was shared in good times four months during the and the community came to the aid of anyone in need when year and only grades one times were bad. They lived in a tight knit community of Mary Fields School to four were taught. respect and closely held family values, only interacting with Discipline was severe. the world '~on the other side of the water" as needed. Family history, traditions, folklore, recipes and such were Because of that, their African origins remained ingrained in passed down orally from generation to generation. their daily living and were passed down orally from generation to generation.

The Gullah people believed that a person's soul and spirit were two different things. After death, the soul went to heaven, but the spirit of the deceased remained behind. Food was cooked on wood burning stoves which Most cemeteries were located near also provided heat in the winter months. Recipes might list moving water so that the spirit of the ingredients, but cooking was done by memory and taste, departed could more easily travel home prepared with what was on hand. If you didn't have it, you did without. If you didn't like it, you went without. Ricewas to Africa. Burial customs included leaving favorite household articles of the the staple food of the Lowcountry and Daufuskie Island was deceased on the grave. no exception. Gumbos and rice dishes were ever-present. Daufuskie Island deviled crab is a local delicacy still prepared Mary Fields School on the island. No one went hungry and nature's bounty was In Gullah communities discipline was meted out In 1913 Beaufort County constructed the one- treated with restraint and moderation. by the church. A system of "Just Law" intervention and room White School House for white children. It was not until mediation was used. "Unjust Law" (the authorities) was the 1930's that a school for black children was built. The First Union African Baptist Church bought two acres of land as the site for a school house, using funds raised by the islanders via bake sales and other fund-raising events. The island residents then raised half of the $800 needed to build the school, a considerable amount of money in the Depression. Localtradesmen and the WPA worked together to construct the building. called upon only when" Just Law" failed. Individuals out of In 1934 the Because it was difficult favor in the community were made to sit on the "back seat" two-room Mary Fields to get from the island to the of the church, a sign of disgrace. On the other hand, those School was opened for mainland for medical care, needing healing or seeking membership in the church sat up 108 black students. The traditional home remedies front and received prayers of support. Beaufort County Board of were used in Gullah homes. Education then provided People depended on the Although the Gullah acknowledged that God had a teachers for the children efficacy of cures "taught from hand in everything, this did not stop them from using magic who attended school in yonder time from ancestors before them". Some remedies for healing and protection. They brought voodoo with them morning and afternoon were carry-overs from the days of voodoo and herbal from Africa, a practice that could shifts. School terms were six months for grades one through doctors, whereas others were concoctions learned over the be used for both good and evil. eight, later extended to nine months. There were few school years to be effective. The "root doctor" or "Doctor supplies and teachers improvised as best they £ould. Parents Buzzard" would be consulted for bought a kerosene stove so the children could receive hot medicine or protection from lunches. In 1950 an addition was built providing indoor curses. Charms were sold to be restrooms and a kitchen with a wood-burning stove. FirstUnion African Baptist Church wo rn, c hewed 0 r bur ie d . Through a combination of In 1962, the last white child then on the island Christianity, herbalism and magic, islanders felt they could graduated from the White School House, marking the end of cure illness and bad luck! bring good luck to themselves and school segregation on the island. Thereafter, white children bad luck to others. who moved to the island attended the Mary Fields School. The school closed in 1997 when the current Daufuskie Island Daufuskie Island's Elementary School was built. Mary Fields School is currently used for church and civic activities. Gullah attended two churches. The First Union African Baptist Church's first building was built in 1881 and rebuilt after an 1884 Religion and fire. It was restored in 1999 with its original pews and fixtures still Mt. Carmel Baptist Church No.2 Sniritualit in place. The church holds services every Sunday for any and all who wish to join in prayer.

Encouraged by The Mt. Carmel Baptist plantation owners to become Church No. 1 was Christians, Lowcountry slaves destroyed by a hurricane melded Christian beliefs with in 1940. Its replacement, African spiritual ritual and the Mt. Carmel Baptist practice. Their religion was a Church No.2, closed "liberation theology" providing when the island's a sense of spiritual, if not population declined. The physical, freedom. Consider the building was purchased lyrics of the spiritual: "Swing by the Daufuskie Island Low, Swing Chariot". Praise houses were one room buildings Historical Foundation in where hymns, spirituals and testifying took place. At one 2001 and currently time there were seven praise houses on Daufuskie Island. houses the Billie Burn Museum. The Gullah of Bibliography: Branch,Muriel Miller; The Water Brought Us Daufuskie Island Burn, Billie; An Island Named Daufuskie Burn, Billie; Stirrin' the Potson Daufuskie Campbell, Emory; Gullah Cultural Legacies "For almost a century THE GULLAH Goodwine, Marquetta L.,ed.; The Legacyof Ibo Landing following the Civil War the barrier islands, known as the Sea Islands, were Opala,JosephA.; The Gullah reachable only by boat, creating an Pinckney,Roger;Blue Roots of isolation in which the descendants of the Robinson,SallieAnn; Cookingthe Gullah Way enslaved were able to maintain and Robinson,SallieAnn; Gullah Cookingthe DaufuskieWay guard their cultural patrimony. The result is a rich culture with a unique form of Photography: DAUFUSKIE spoken English that maintains African GregSmith, www.imediasmith.com sonorities and a tradition of praise houses where Christianity Daufuskie Island Historic Foundation, Historic Archives is celebrated with a profound fervor, yet coexists with ISLAND, SC traditional beliefs. On these islands there is also a West-African inflected material culture that is displayed in everything from the handwoven sweetgrass baskets, which have become collector's items, to nets used for shrimping and 8qL fishing that are cast with a grace duplicating that ofthe other OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE fishermen across the Atlantic. Most of all, the islands maintained a way of life that honors old values of kinship ON DAUFUSKIE ISLAND, SC and community"

~(lIV/tMIde ISLAND HISTORICAL fOUNDATION

The Daufuskie Island Historical Foundation was founded in 2001 to preserve the historical and This exhibit is dedicated to the Gullah community cultural heritage of Daufuskie Island, South of Daufuskie Island which, for the last 300 years, has brought pride, industry, resourcefulness and a sense of kinship to the Carolina. To further public knowledge and island. Daufuskie Island now is home to people from all appreciation of Daufuskie Island, the Foundation walks of life, but present life reflects the Gullah legacy of a has acquired and restored historic buildings, close knit caring and sharing community. We hope that you established an island history museum, created a take away with you a greater understanding of these self-guided trail of historic island sites, and begun an remarkable people. island history archives. DAUFUSKIE ISLAND HISTORICAL FOUNDATION The Daufuskie Island Historical Foundation is a 501(C)3 charitable organization. Contributions may be sent to: Daufuskie Island Historic Foundation, Box 52, Daufuskie Island, SC29915.