"Roundheads and Ramblings"
Gullah
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Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 12:14 PM
I'm about to call a halt to blogging until after Christmas, but before I sign off entirely, I thought I'd leave you with a reading of the Christmas story from the Gullah Newe Testament. |
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Posted on Friday, December 09, 2011 2:36 PM
 We're still spending most of our time in the sun, but I've had time to do a little research. We drove back out to the Union Army cemetery today to document what I had observed. The first surprise was finding that someone had planted American flags for each soldier. The second was more disturbing. A huge limb of the live oak tree which sheltered many of the graves I had studied had fallen during Wednesday's high winds. Very sad and spooky-looking with the Spanish moss now draped over the tombstones. I've probably been reading too much Gullah folklore, but the limb almost looked like it had come down to protect the stones from further intrusion.
While I'm posting pictures, I want to include one of the hand-lettered stones so prevalent in this cemetery. This one is simply made of cement and lettered before it dried, probably with a pointed stick. It speaks powerfully of the need to remember the dead, even though there is no money for a proper stone.
But here's the real reason for this post -- an explanation of why some graves are decorated with conch shells.
 In this image one shell lies on top of the concrete vault while another is on the ground next to the vault. In Gullah folklore there is a famous saying: "Da water brought we here; da water take we home." The first reference is to the slave trade that brought the Gullah ("'Gola") people to South Carolina from Angola. The second water reference reflects that death will take them home again. The conch shell is a strong symbol of water and therefore the shells that protect the grave are there to take the spirit of the dead home. (Remember when you were a kid? You held a conch shell to your ear and you could hear the ocean? It's the same symbolism.) I was moved to see these symbols on graves of people who died in the late 20th century. That ancestral longing is still powerful today. |
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Posted on Saturday, November 12, 2011 9:09 AM
Here I am, much too early on a Saturday morning, getting ready to head out for an all-day meeting -- one that will involve financial reports, an auditor's review, and the dreaded 42-page IRS 990 form. Sound like fun? Actually, I look forward to seeing some old friends and a passable lunch, but there's somewhere else I'd really rather be.
Today is the last full day of the Annual Penn Center Heritage Days Celebration on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. The Penn Center grew out of the original Penn School, founded by Laura Towne, the heroine of my next novel, The Road to Frogmore. Sea Island delicacies, a crafts fair, exhibitions, blues, an oyster roast, a parade, Gullah traditions and entertainment -- all of these activities would provide colorful details for my novel. If you'd like to see the full program, click here.
As for me, I'll have to wait for next year's celebration, when I hope to be a part of the celebration by having a book launch for The Road to Frogmore. I'll keep you posted if I can pull all those arrangements off. But in the meantime, it's off to meetings and lots of math.
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Posted on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 1:53 PM
Gullah Grub is a matter of making something great out of whatever you happen to have on hand. In the case of the South Carolina Low Country slaves, it involved this general set of instructions.
Take a big pot (you probably only have one), and sizzle some bits of salt pork, both for the grease and for the salt. Then fry some onions (from the patch outside your cabin door).
Add whatever starch is available. This is usually rice or hominy (grits) because those are the local crops.
Add some vegetables (tomatoes and okra in the summer, dried field peas of some kind in the winter, and greens in the spring and fall).
Toss in an old chicken that quit laying eggs or whatever you can fish out of the local waters -- oysters, clams, shrimp, croakers (that's a fish, not a frog, although in a pinch a frog might work), or even a turtle.
Season with some kind of hot pepper if you have it.
Cook it all into a thick stew that you can eat, using oyster shells for spoons.
 You probably don't need any other recipe, but here are a couple of examples of how the basic dish changes with the seasons.
Hoppin' John
. . . .is a traditional Southern feast on New Year’s Day. It’s a wonderful blend of rice, black-eyed peas, and ham that will bring you luck all year.
- 1 1/2 cups dried black-eyed peas
- 6 strips salt pork or bacon, diced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
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2 cups cooked rice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Dash of hot sauce
- 1/2 cup minced green onions, including tops
Rinse peas and pick them over. Cover with cold water; add 1 tablespoon salt and let stand overnight.
Drain peas, discarding water, and place in a 6 to 8-quart stockpot. In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, saute salt pork or bacon until crisp; add it to the peas, reserving the drippings.
Add onion, a little salt and 2 cups water. Bring just to a boil, lower heat, and simmer until peas are tender, about 20 minutes. A small amount of the cooking liquid should remain; if liquid is absorbed too quickly, add fresh water by1/4 cups.
Stir in 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon drippings, salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes longer so flavors combine and rice absorbed some of the remaining cooking liquid.
To serve, garnish with green onions.
Limpin' Susan
This Low Country dish combines okra, rice and shrimp for a hearty one-pot meal in the summer. Legend has it that Limpin’ Susan was the wife of Hoppin’ John.
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced • 1/4 cup yellow onion, diced • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 1 pound okra, stems and tips removed, sliced 1/4 inch thick • 1 pound shrimp, peeled • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil • 1 cup long-grain white rice • 2 cups chicken stock • 1 teaspoon salt • Ground black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
In a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat, saute the the onion and pepper in the oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes, being careful not to burn it.
Add the rice and stir well with a fork until the grains are coated and cook, stirring often about 3 to 4 minutes or until rice is opaque.
Add the okra, stock, salt, and black and cayenne peppers and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and and simmer, covered, until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Adjust seasonings, stir in the shrimp and cook until the shrimp curl and turn pink, about 4 to 6 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and serve.
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Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 9:12 AM
"Fa de fus time, God taak to me de way I taak."
One of the most remarkable new accomplishments to come out of the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, is a translation of the New Testament into the Gullah language. The work took twenty-six years and was based on the King James Version of the Bible, since that was the language in which the Gyullah slaves first heard the Gospel. The translation was accomplished by The Sea Island Translation Team, in cooperation with Wycliffe Bible Translators. De Nyew Testament is published by the American Bible Society; its release came in 2005 at the Penn Center.
Here is the Gullah text so that you can follow along:
De Tomb Empty
1Aaly een de maanin, de fus day ob de week, wen de place been still daak, Mary Magdalene gone ta de tomb. E see dat de stone wa dey been pit oba de door ob de tomb fa kiba um been moob fom dey. 2Mary ton back an ron ta Simon Peter an de oda ciple, de one wa Jedus lob. E tell um say, “Dey done tek way de Lawd body outta de tomb an we ain know wa dey done wid um!” 3So Peter an de oda ciple staat off ta de tomb. 4Bof dem beena ron, bot de oda ciple ron mo fast den Peter, so e git ta de tomb fus. 5E bend oba an e look eenside de tomb. An e see jes dem piece ob linen closs dey, wa de two man dem been nyuse fa wrop op Jedus body. Bot dat ciple ain gone eenside de tomb. 6Den Simon Peter, wa come hine um, git ta de tomb too. E gone eenside de tomb an e see dem piece ob linen closs da lay dey. 7An e see de closs wa dey been nyuse fa wrop roun Jedus head. Dat been pon noda side, fole op by esef. 8Den de oda ciple, wa fus git ta de tomb, gone eenside too. Wen e see all dat, e bleebe. 9Stillyet dey ain ondastan wa done been write een God Book, dat say dat Jedus haffa git op fom mongst de dead an lib gin. 10Den de ciple dem gone back ta dey house.
Jedus Appeah ta Mary Magdalene
11Mary beena stanop da cry close ta de tomb. Wiles e beena cry, e bend oba an look eenside. 12Dey eenside de tomb e see two angel. Dey beena weah white cloes an beena seddown een dat place dey weh Jedus body done been. One angel been ta de head, an de oda angel been ta de foot weh Jedus done been. 13De angel dem aks Mary say, “Hoccome ya da cry?” Mary ansa um say, “Dey done tek me Lawd an gone way, an A ain know weh dey pit um.” 14Wen Mary say dat, e ton roun an e see Jedus da stanop dey. Bot Mary ain know dat been Jedus. 15Jedus aks um say, “Hoccome ya da cry? Who ya da look fa?” Mary tink dat de man wa wok de gyaaden, so e say, “Sah, ef ya done tek um way, tell me weh ya pit um an A gwine go an git um.” 16Jedus say, “Mary!” Mary ton an look pon Jedus an say, “Rabboni!” (Een de Hebrew language dat wod mean “Teacha.”) 17Jedus tell um say, “Mus dohn hole on ta me, cause A ain gone back op yet ta de Fada. Bot go ta me bredren an tell um fa me say, ‘A da gwine back op ta me Fada, wa oona Fada too. E me God an e oona God too.’ ” 18So Mary Magdalene gone ta de ciple dem an tell um e been see de Lawd. An e tell um dat Jedus say dem ting.
Jedus Appeah ta E Ciple dem
19Fus daak de fus day ob de week, de ciple dem been geda. Dey lock all de door dem, cause dey been scaid ob de Jew leada dem. Wiles dey been dey, Jedus come outta noweh an e stanop mongst um. E tell um say, “Peace pon oona.” 20Atta e say dat, e show um de cut een e han an e side. An wen de ciple dem see de Lawd, dey been full op wid joy. 21Jedus tell um gin say, “Peace pon oona. Same like de Fada sen me fa come eenta de wol, same fashion A da sen oona fa go fa do me wok.”
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