In the low country, Gullah refers to several things: language, people, and a culture. Though not all speak it, most locally-born African-Americans in the area understand Gullah. More than 300 years old, this rhythmic language has survived, in part, because of the geographic isolation of the people who speak it. Gullah (the word itself is believed to be a version of Angola), an English-based dialect rooted in African languages, is the unique language of the African-Americans of the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia. Descended from thousands of slaves who were imported by planters in the Carolinas during the 18th century, the Gullah people have maintained not only their dialect but also their heritage.
Much of Gullah culture traces back to the African rice coast culture and survives today in the art forms and skills, including sweet-grass basket making, of Sea Islanders. During the colonial period, when rice was king, Africans from the West African rice kingdoms drew high premiums as slaves. Those with basket-making skills were extremely valuable because baskets were needed for agricultural and household use. Still made by hand, sweet-grass baskets are intricate coils of a marsh grass called sweet grass. Highly prized by residents and visitors alike, the baskets are named for the sweet, haylike aroma of the sweet grass. Other Gullah art forms can be seen in hand-carved bateaus and gourds and in hand-tied nets used to catch shrimp in local creeks and rivers.
Nowhere is Gullah culture more evident than in the foods of the region. Rice, of course, appears at nearly every meal. Africans taught planters how to grow rice and how to cook and serve it as well. Like many African dishes, low country dishes use okra, peanuts, benne (the African word for sesame seeds), field peas, and hot peppers. Gullah food reflects the bounty of the islands: shrimp, crabs, oysters, fish, and vegetables such as greens, tomatoes, and corn. Watermelons, indigenous to West Africa, are grown all over the low country.
Many dishes are prepared in one pot, similar to the stew-pot cooking of West Africa. Frogmore stew calls for cooking shrimp, potatoes, sausage, and corn together in one large pot. Hoppin' John -- a one-pot mixture of rice and field peas traditionally served on New Year's Day -- is similar to rice and pigeon peas, a mainstay in West Africa.
The practices of plantation owners unknowingly helped the Gullah culture survive: from praise houses -- one-room houses of worship where Christianity was introduced to keep slaves from running away -- came plantation melodies. These songs live on in performances by groups including the Hallelujah Singers, Sea Island Singers, Mt. Zion Spiritual Singers, and Ron and Natalie Daise, all of whom perform regularly in Charleston and Beaufort.
The Penn Center on St. Helena Island near Beaufort is the unofficial Gullah headquarters, preserving the culture and developing opportunities for Gullahs. Until 1927 or so, St. Helena felt little influence from the outside world. Blacks retained the land, their language, and their unique culture. Many still go shrimping with hand-tied nets, harvest oysters, and grow their own vegetables. Nearby on Daufuskie Island, as well as on Edisto, Wadmalaw and Johns islands near Charleston, Gullah communities can still be found, though development continues to encroach.
A famous Gullah proverb says: If oonuh ent kno weh oonuh dah gwine, oonuh should kno weh oonuh come f'um. Translation: If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you come from.