Africans, sold as slaves, developed their own language and traditions which is celebrated today.

In the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia lies a culture rich in African traditions and American history. Often unknown to many people…it is the Gullah.

Formed out of the adverse conditions of slavery, nurtured by the hope of freedom and enduring by those wanting to honor those who have past, the Gullah still survive. A small, yet powerful, example is the Gullah O’oman Shop (and museum) in Pawley Island, South Carolina.

Widely respected as historians and craftsman of the Gullah and the South Carolina rice culture Vermelle “Bunny” Rodrigues, and her husband Andrew, retired to the area after careers as a schoolteacher and an executive with a steel company. Actually Bunny returned home having grown up Gullah.

Having either of them give you a tour of their facility is a mini Masters program in the black experience.

The Gullah (or Geechee) have their own language which was often ridiculed, in the past, as poor English. Instead its roots were as a communication tool of the multi-tribe, multi linguistically Africans when forced onto slave ships in the 17th and 18th century.

Now recognized as national treasure knowledge of the Gullah language, life and traditions, like sweet grass basket weaving, is welcomed in the tangled twists of American’s tapestry.

Upon entering colorful dolls catch the eye. First crafted by mothers of the Liberian Dan tribe, they were used to teach the oldest daughter how to braid her hair. Armed with the skill, the daughter went on to teach her younger sister and the process continued and freed the mother for her other duties in the self-sustaining culture.

Now they are created to honor people who have passed on. Miss Eva Mae, stunning in gold lame, signifies her stylized return to the low country after a decade in New York City. Look at Miss Suki Mae and her pristine character comes alive by the doll’s ever- present starched white apron.

While some expect Gullah inspired voodoo or (roots) products, Miss Bunny has a disbelief in the practice, stemming from her Uncle Jake’s wise soul.

He often told her,

“If roots had worked for black people, there never would have been slavery.”

Objects from slave times, and beyond, dot the museum portion of the shop.

African puppets, legal documents, Aunt Jemima memorabilia and historical comic books are joined by intricately woven sweet grass baskets and rice cultivation tools.

Rice, not cotton, was king in the low country. Familiar with the grain’s planting and harvesting many slaves, from West Africa, imparted their knowledge on the new surroundings. "Carolina Gold" was the prize grain of the region. Along with the slaves' agricultural understandings medicinal wisdom was also key to surviving in a often harsh environment,

A display with a spider’s cobwebs, teaches how a cut often bound tight with cobweb and salt pork healed within weeks.

But the most striking objects are the colorful quilts hung on the walls.

In one Miss Bunny honored her mother – a midwife. Separated into squares with remnants of the profession, it features a bright silver dollar used to be bond tightly over a newborn’s stomach to prevent a herniated belly button.

Another quilt is dedicated to the slave experience, and offers a visual document to many a current African American’s story.

Starting at the lower left corner of the 12 squares the pyramid kingdoms of Mali, Ghana and the Sudan are stitched in yellow, green and red. The family unit is celebrated and then torn apart with a piece of netting symbolizing capture.

Almost 40% of African slaves came through South Carolina and were auctioned off in and near Charleston. Reduced to wearing nothing or a simple loincloth, the degradation is still felt in viewing a small sewn figure wearing a miniscule piece of cloth.

Given a place of honor, twice on the quilt, is the depiction of Big Mama. As both a small square and the focal piece her faceless figure represents the matriarchal force of the black experience. Common to all by both blood and experience, she was the head of the family, and served as midwife, mediator, child -care provider and doctor. Atop her head is a basket. Within its woven cloth strips it carried all the hopes and aspirations of a once enslaved people.

After a visit to Gullah O’oman you have the feeling that somewhere a lot of Big Mamas are smiling proudly!

Contact information:

The Gullah O’oman Shop

Petigru Dr. and Waverly Rd.

Pawleys Island SC 29585

Phone: 843 235-0747

Example of the Gullah Language:

We Fada wa dey een heaben,

leh ebrybody hona ya name.

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thine name.

Thanks to the American Bible Society

www.bibles.com