Significance of Gullah and the Black Experience in Georgia Lowcountry
Gullah people are known to be the descendants of the slaves that earlier worked on the rice plantations in Georgia and South Carolina. However, the Gullah people gives significant information about the experiences of the black people in Lowcountry Georgia. The documentary, The Family Across Sea does a recommendable work in distinguishing the kind of retentions the Gullah-Geechee people had while living in Georgia. The film further links different groups of slaves from different countries including Sierra Leone and Georgia based on their commonness and significance. Furthermore, the significance of the Gullah people and the black experiences in Georgia are still evident even in the current societies. The aim of this paper therefore is to determine the significance of the Gullah people and the black experiences of the Georgia Lowcountry based on the documentary, The Family Across Sea.
One element that indicates the significance of the Gullah people and the black experiences of Georgia is the fact that the slaves were able to verbally, culturally and strategically preserve and persevere the African culture and Heritage despite the vast distance from the coastal region. That is the distance between Georgia and Serre Leone was more than thousands of miles but still the Gullah people were able to preserve their African Heritage. Gullah people in this case took advantage of their prior knowledge and understanding of their homeland, hence they used their communication skills to increase or gain independence. In their longer stay in Georgia, the slaves who came from different regions were ready and able to learn from one another appropriate ways to survive and maintain the African Heritage (watch?v=rCR1rmm6Xew). The Gullah people, thus, used their knowledge and understanding to learn more about the coastal region of Georgia to aid their escape plan. It is therefore important to understand that Gullah people and the black experience is of significance as it indicates the unity between Africans and the level of maintenance of the African Heritage even in slavery.
The other element that makes the Gullah people and the black experience significant in Georgia Lowcountry is the fact that the Gullah people were able to come up with a unified language, which aided in their communication for survival. That is Gullah people were composed of people from diverse cultures and languages. Due to their higher level of misunderstanding as a result of language barrier, they people were able to compose a unified language for communication (www.folkstreams.net/film). The language was ideal for the slaves as the Europeans were not in a position to interpret their language. Hence the Gullah people used the advantage and the opportunity to collaborate and escape. The language was considered ideal and it is still applicable in Serre Leone as it was brought forth by the freed slaves. The language known as Krio is the major language used by freed slaves in different regions including Serre Leone and even in the local day market.
Finally, the Gullah people and the black experiences of Georgia Lowcountry is considered ideal based on the fact that through folklore songs, food, language, Fannah baskets and fishing, the Gullah people were able to keep the African cultures even though the skills were majorly used as survival tactics in Georgia. The use of the mentions elements was an indication that the Gullah people maintained the African culture based on the fact that the Gullah people were engaged in all African activities just as they are used and done in Africa. Unlike most African slaves, the Gullah people were not under constant control due to the unfavorable weather in Georgia((www.folkstreams.net/film). That is, most Europeans were not able to survive in Georgia based on constant malaria attacks. Based on the Gullah people’s lack of control, the slaves were able to use the opportunities to maintain all the African activities and cultures.
Overall, the efforts placed by Gullah people in Georgia Lowcountry brought forth a significant black experience during slavery and it is still remarkable even in the present day as it indicates the strategic knowledge and skills Gullah people used to gain independence.