Maintaining Cultural Identity in the Face of Adversity
"At the turn of the century, Sea Island Gullahs, descendants of African Captives, remained isolated from the mainland of South Carolina and Georgia.
As a result of their isolation, the Gullah created and maintained a distinct, imaginative, and original African American Culture.
Gullah communities recalled, remembered, and recollected much of what their ancestors brought with them from Africa…"
- Prologue to Julie Dash’s "Daughters of the Dust"
The people who settled in the United States from all over the world built the rich history of the country. Indeed, the U.S. is a country that has been built on immigration. The first non-indigenous arrivers were European and with them they brought to the United States all of the western ideologies of their homeland. This is true of all of the groups that immigrated here over the course of the next several hundred years. However, the initial settling of the Europeans in America created a standard by which other immigrants would have to compete against. Once a particular group saturates an area, it is difficult for diversified outgroups to bring their own culture and belief systems into a society that has already established itself. This rift in cultures is evident at the turn of the 20th century. There are communities of like-minded people carefully segregated in New York City, for example. The Italians, the Irish, and the Jews and the Blacks all had their own niche carved for themselves in the big city. These pockets of ethnic groups are created for several reasons. First, people are most comfortable with what they already know. Imagine coming to a new country for the first time. If you can go to an area where you know they will speak your native tongue and embrace the values and traditions that are important to your way of life, you’re most certainly going to settle in that particular area. Secondly, people instinctively defend what is theirs. Therefore whether it be a tangible piece of land or an intangible cultural belief, people are not initially receptive to the invasion of their culture by another. However benign the incoming culture is, the established people in the community are bound to feel threatened by this new presence. There is an inherent and unstoppable critiquing process concerning which culture is superior and an equally natural inclination to maintain one’s native culture.
In "Daughters of the Dust," the geographical location of the Gullah people facilitated the preservation of their African heritage. Isolated on the Sea Islands off of the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, the Gullah were able to maintain the customs and beliefs of their homeland more so than any other immigrated ethnic group in history. Although they are brought to the States via the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, western ideology did not completely usurp their native culture. On the mainland, white, western slave owners were silencing African culture. Blacks were not able to speak in their native tongue, perform music, practice their religion, or read. Conversely, the inhabitants of Ibo Landing, the location of movie’s main characters, may practice Islam, carry out their superstitions as in the building of the bottle tree, and speak in African words and sounds when they so choose.
Although the Sea Islands segregated the Gullah from the larger, western society, the Gullah people are not quarantined. A select number of Peazant family members had traveled to the mainland and brought back with them a new notion of what would be best for the family. For the people who inhabited both of these spheres, the choice to adopt a western ideology was voluntary. However for other family members such as Nana and Myown, leaving the only home they had known was like another slave trade. The introduction of the European mindset into the Gullah culture creates conflicts for the Peazant family on several different levels. The first and most obvious conflict being should they travel to the mainland and leave the only home they have ever known. Then there is dissonance between religions and the denial of the African ancestry. Lastly, there is the more socially relevant topic of whether or not to participate in the anti-lynching campaign that was gaining momentum at the time.
Although the mainland was only a few hours away by boat, it was a monumental journey for the Peazant family whose only home for decades had been the Sea Islands. This voyage was so memorable, in fact, the family gathered together for a commemorative picnic. During the two-day time span, over which the movie takes place, family members discuss whether or not to leave Ibo Landing and leave behind their ancestry. For Nana Peazant the conflict is especially strong because of her ties to the living and the dead. Although she would like to remain with her extended family, she cannot leave the modest habitat she created out of dust so many years ago. She is now a great-great Grandmother and time has made her set in her ways.
However old age is not the only impediment to change. The young Myown, Nana Peazant’s granddaughter, is torn but for different reasons – young love. Along with the Gullah people on the island, there are also some Muslim Africans and Native Americans. One of these young men has professed his love to Myown and asked her to stay. Thus there are ties to the past and hopes for the future that create conflict for the Peazant family.
Nana Peazant’s conflict concerning the importance of ancestors and showing respect for their memory is one that she tries to instill in her family. The Afro-centric worldview is based in heritage and ancestry. There is a deep connection with those who have passed on because it is the African belief that the dead are an extension of the living. Nana Peazant tells her son Eli, "It’s up to the living to keep in touch with the dead…man’s power doesn’t end with death." Even if the family is to separate, as long as they keep the memory of their ancestors with them, they will never truly be alone. Nana tries diligently to instill this paramount, old-world African belief in the face of Western progress.
Further combating Nana’s efforts to keep the traditions of the Peazant family and the African culture alive is the introduction of Christianity from one of her nieces, Viola. Viola at one time lived on Ibo Landing and has since moved to the mainland. She is the catalyst for the family’s leaving the Sea Islands. While living on the mainland, Viola has found religion in the form of Christianity, a stark contrast to the voodoo superstition that Nana Peazant practices. The rituals that Nana performs, though, are a strong bridge to the ancestors who have passed on. By practicing Christianity, Viola has forgotten the past of her people. Nana sees this as a sign of things to come and the possible deterioration of not only the Peazant family but also their African heritage.
"Daughters of the Dust" not only addresses the past of the African people, it also addressed their future. A subplot of the story line is the anti-lynching campaign that was gaining momentum at the turn of the century. Pioneered by journalist Ida B. Wells, grassroots efforts were being formulated throughout the country to continue the demand for blacks’ human rights. Although slavery had ended and the slave trade had been declared illegal, equality for Africans was hardly achieved. Nana’s grandson, Eli, is conflicted over his role in the campaign. Although he shares the African heritage, he is segregated from the society that lynches its African members. Getting involved would pull him more away from his African roots and submerge him more in the Western society.
The issues that are surrounding the Peazant family are a question of balance between a Euro-centric world view and the Afro-centric mindset. Can equilibrium be achieved? It would appear that writer and director Julie Dash is saying yes. The mere fact that she is making this movie about her ancestors is a testament to that fact. The only way balance can be achieved, though, is if the past is not forgotten. African Americans must "recall, remember, and recollect much of what their ancestors brought with them from Africa… ."
Online; Internet. available at http://www.lik.berkeley.edu/MRC/africanambib2.html.
Pabis, Dr. George S. "Sub-Saharan Africa Under Foreign Rule." Online; Internet. available at http://www.gpc.peachnet.edu/~gpabis/lecdoc1503/lec23-Africa_Foreign.htm.
University of Georgia Press. "The Gullah People and Their African Heritage." Online; Internet. available at http://www.uga.edu/ugapress/newsite/books/shelf/0820320544.html.
Members of Honors Religious Traditions of the African Diaspora 1997. "The Gullah People and Their Link to West Africa." Online; Internet. available at http://dickinsg.intrasun.tcnj.edu/diaspora/gullah.html.
Copyright (c) 2001 by Jennifer Puma, Undergraduate at The College of New Jersey.