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Showing posts from November 16, 2010

Thanks to blogger Tiffany Dodson for her notes on her visit to Daufuskie Island with her family.

OPINION: Gullah, Gullah Island Exist in Daufuskie Monday, 15 November 2010 14:17 Tiffany Dodson Alligators are not the only thing to look out for when visiting Daufuskie Island DAUFUSKIE ISLAND, SC - Upon traveling to Daufuskie Island near Hilton Head Island, S.C. last summer with my family, I did not know what to expect. I had heard little to nothing about it, apart from the supposed dolphins that tourists usually saw when traveling there. Sadly, within that 45 minute boat ride, I only spotted two dolphin fins for about 5 minutes, but traveling in itself served as an interesting way for my family and me to discover new aspects of the South Carolinian Island that we often frequent. The first thing I noticed about the Daufuskie Island was the public restrooms located outside the General Store and the simplicity of my surroundings. Being that there was a General Store in the first place made me feel as if I was transported into a bad Western movie, but I disregarded that though...

The Gullah People and their connection to Daufuskie Island

Origin of the Gullah The Gullah people are the descendants of the slaves who worked on the rice plantations in South Carolina and Georgia. They still live in rural communities in the coastal region and on the Sea islands of those two states, and they still retain many elements of African language and culture. Anyone interested in the Gullah must ask how they have managed to keep their special identity and so much more of their African cultural heritage than any other group of Black Americans. The answer is to be found in the warm, semitropical climate of coastal South Carolina and Georgia; in the system of rice agriculture adopted there in the 1700s; and in a disease environment imported unintentionally from Africa. These factors combined almost three hundred years ago to produce an atmosphere of geographical and social isolation among the Gullah which has lasted, to some extent, up until the present day. The climate of coastal South Carolina and Georgia was excellent for the cultivat...