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84-725: Historically, the Gullah region extended from the Cape Fear area on North Carolina's coast south to the vicinity of Jacksonville on Florida's coast. The Gullah people and their language are also called Geechee , which may be derived from the name of the Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia . Gullah is a term that was originally used to designate the creole dialect of English spoken by Gullah and Geechee people. Over time, its speakers have used this term to formally refer to their creole language and distinctive ethnic identity as

168-632: A Mande ethnic group inhabiting several West African countries, including Mali , Côte d'Ivoire , Ghana , and Burkina Faso . Characterized as a highly successful merchant caste , Dyula migrants began establishing trading communities across the region in the fourteenth century. Since business was often conducted under non-Muslim rulers, the Dyula developed a set of theological principles for Muslim minorities in non-Muslim societies. Their unique contribution of long-distance commerce, Islamic scholarship and religious tolerance were significant factors in

252-485: A black majority. Coastal Georgia developed a black majority after rice cultivation expanded there in the mid-18th century. Malaria and yellow fever became endemic. Fearing these diseases, many white planters and their families left the Lowcountry during the rainy spring and summer months when fevers ran rampant. Others lived mostly in cities such as Charleston rather than on the isolated plantations, especially those on

336-460: A commercial center when Malian merchants began trading in the territory which was inhabited by pagan Senufo and other Voltaic groups. The sous-préfecture of Kong, in the area of Kong to Dabakala , is said to be the “origin” area, where dyula traders first settled in the twelfth century. Dyula presence in the Kong area grew rapidly in the seventeenth century as a result of the developing trade between

420-544: A conference on Gullah culture, called The Water Brought Us: Gullah History and Culture, which featured a panel of Gullah scholars and cultural activists. These events in Indiana and Colorado are typical of the attention Gullah culture regularly receives throughout the United States. Gullah culture has proven to be particularly resilient. Gullah traditions are strong in the rural areas of the Lowcountry mainland and on

504-520: A distinct way, different from that of the enslaved African Americans in states such as North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, where the enslaved lived in smaller groups, and had more sustained and frequent interactions with whites and British American culture. When the U.S. Civil War began, the Union rushed to blockade Confederate shipping. White planters on the Sea Islands, fearing an invasion by

588-660: A dominant position in the Upper Niger region. A member of a dyula family from Sanankoro in Guinea , Samori conquered and united Dyula states during the 1860s. He gained control over the Milo River Valley in 1871, seized the village of Kankan in 1881, and became the principal power holder on the Upper Niger. By 1883, Samori had successfully brought the local chieftains under his control and officially founded

672-541: A five-CD collection of readings from the Gullah Bible, was released. This collection includes Scipcha Wa De Bring Healing ("Scripture That Heals") and the Gospel of John ( De Good Nyews Bout Jedus Christ Wa John Write ). This was also the most extensive collection of Gullah recordings, surpassing those of Lorenzo Dow Turner . The recordings have helped people develop an interest in the culture, because they get to hear

756-604: A people. The Georgia communities are distinguished by identifying as either "Freshwater Geechee" or "Saltwater Geechee", depending on whether they live on the mainland or the Sea Islands. Because of a period of relative isolation from whites while working on large plantations in rural areas, the Africans, enslaved from a variety of Central and West African ethnic groups, developed a creole culture that has preserved much of their African linguistic and cultural heritage from various peoples; in addition, they absorbed new influences from

840-516: A religious center that housed a substantial academic community of Muslim scholars, with palaces and mosques built in the traditional Sudanese style. As Kong grew prosperous, its early rulers from the Taraweré clan combined dyula and Senufo traditions and extended their authority over the surrounding region. By the eighteenth century the dyula had become quite powerful in the area and wished to rid themselves of subordination to Senufo chiefs. This

924-615: A remote village. A highly educated karamogo could become a professional imam or qadi (judge). Certain families gained a reputation for providing multiple generations of scholars. For example, the Saghanughu clan was a dyula lineage living in Northern and Western Ivory Coast and parts of the Upper Volta . This lineage may be traced to Timbuktu, but its principal figure was Sheikh Muhammad al-Mustafa Saghanughu (died 1776),

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1008-606: A stable salt-tolerant grassland . The Cape Fear estuary drains the largest watershed in North Carolina, containing 27% of the state's population. Giovanni da Verrazzano , the Italian explorer sailing for France , made landfall after crossing the Atlantic at or near Cape Fear on March 1, 1524. The name comes from the 1585 expedition of Sir Richard Grenville . Sailing to Roanoke Island , his ship became embayed behind

1092-457: A symbol of cultural pride for blacks throughout the United States and a subject of general interest in the media. Numerous newspaper and magazine articles, documentary films, and children's books on Gullah culture, have been produced, in addition to popular novels set in the Gullah region. In 1991 Julie Dash wrote and directed Daughters of the Dust , the first feature film about the Gullah, set at

1176-458: Is Sheikh Al-Hajj Salim Suwari , a Soninke cleric from the core Mali area who lived around 1500. He made hajj to Mecca several times and devoted his intellectual career to developing an understanding of the faith that would assist Muslim minorities in " pagan " lands. He drew on North African and Middle Eastern jurists and theologians who had reflected on the problem of Muslims living among non-Muslim majorities, situations that were frequent in

1260-464: Is a staple food in Gullah communities and continues to be cultivated in abundance in the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina. Rice is also an important food in West African cultures. As descendants of enslaved Africans, the Gullah continued the traditional food and food techniques of their ancestors, demonstrating another link to traditional African cultures. Rice is a core commodity of

1344-643: Is also being celebrated elsewhere in the United States. The High Art Museum in Atlanta has presented exhibits about Gullah culture. The Black Cultural Center at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana conducted a research tour, cultural arts festival, and other related events to showcase the Gullah culture. The Black Cultural Center Library maintains a bibliography of Gullah books and materials, as well. Metro State College in Denver , Colorado , hosted

1428-601: Is an American musical children's television series that was produced by and aired on the Nick Jr. programming block on the Nickelodeon network from October 24, 1994, to April 7, 1998. The show was hosted by Ron Daise—now the former vice president for Creative Education at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina—and his wife Natalie Daise, both of whom also served as cultural advisors, and were inspired by

1512-601: Is included in the group of closely interrelated Manding languages that are spoken by various ethnic groups spread across Western Africa. Dioula is most closely related to the Bambara language (the most widely spoken language in Mali), in a manner similar to the relation between American English and British English. It is probably the most used language for trade in West Africa. The Dioula language and people are distinct from

1596-577: Is now modern Ghana . By 1675, Gonja had established a paramount chief called Yagbongwura to control the kingdom. But Gonja was not a fruitful land in which to try to maintain a centralized government. This is because the Dagomba power to the north and Akan power to the south were too powerful; thus, the new kingdom rapidly declined in strength. Many of the trading posts established by the Dyula eventually became market villages or cities, such as Kong in today's Northeastern Côte d'Ivoire. It emerged as

1680-626: The Isnad al-shuyukh wa’l-ulama , or Kitab Ghunja , compiled by al-Hajj ‘Umar ibn Abi Bakr ibn ‘Uthman al-Kabbawi al-Kanawi al-Salaghawi of Kete-Krachi whom Hodgkin describes as "the most interesting, and historically significant of the poets", may now be found in the library of the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ghana . The dyula speak the Dioula language or Julakan , which

1764-592: The Sahel . Some important trade goods included gold, millet , slaves, and kola nuts from the south and slave beads and cowrie shells from the north (for use as currency ). It was under Mali that the great cities of the Niger bend including Gao and Djenné prospered, with Timbuktu in particular becoming known across Europe for its great wealth. Important trading centers in Southern West Africa developed at

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1848-713: The Sierra Leone Krio language of West Africa . Gullah crafts, farming and fishing traditions, folk beliefs, music, rice-based cuisine and story-telling traditions all exhibit strong influences from Central and West African cultures. The origin of the word Gullah can be traced to the Kikongo language, spoken around the Congo River 's mouth, from which the Gullah language dialects spoken by black Americans today come. Some scholars suggest that it may be cognate with

1932-742: The Vai . By the middle of the 18th century, thousands of acres in the Georgia and South Carolina Lowcountry, and the Sea Islands were developed as African rice fields. African farmers from the "Rice Coast" brought the skills for cultivation and tidal irrigation that made rice farming one of the most successful industries in early America. The subtropical climate encouraged the spread of malaria and yellow fever , which were both carried and transmitted by mosquitoes. These tropical diseases were endemic in Africa and might have been carried by enslaved Africans to

2016-471: The almamy . Even though they did not play a central part in the creation of the state, the dyula supported Samori because he actively encouraged commerce and protected trade routes, thus promoting a free circulation of people and goods. Samori put up the strongest resistance to European colonial penetration in West Africa, fighting both the French and British for seventeen years. Samori's would-be Muslim empire

2100-634: The imam of Bobo-Dyulasso. He produced an educational system based on three canonical texts of Quranic commentary ( tafsir ) and hadith . His sons continued spreading their father's teachings and expanded through towns in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, founding Islamic schools, or madaris , and acting as imams and qadis . These madaris were probably a positive byproduct of the long history of Muslims' interest in literary work. In The Islamic Literary Tradition in Ghana , author Thomas Hodgkin enumerates

2184-580: The "Gullah Film Fest", "A Taste of Gullah" food and entertainment, a "Celebration of Lowcountry Authors and Books," an "Arts, Crafts & Food Expo," and "De Gullah Playhouse". Beaufort hosts the oldest and the largest celebration, "The Original Gullah Festival" in May. The nearby Penn Center on St. Helena Island holds "Heritage Days" in November. Other Gullah festivals are celebrated on James Island, South Carolina , and Sapelo Island, Georgia . Gullah culture

2268-467: The 13th century. Many in rural areas combine Islamic beliefs with certain pre-Islamic animistic traditions such as the presence of spirits and use of amulets . Dyula communities have a reputation for historically maintaining a high standard of Muslim education. The dyula family enterprise based on the lu could afford to provide some of its younger men an Islamic education. Thus, an ulema (clerical) class known as karamogo emerged, who were educated in

2352-741: The Akan kingdom of Bono; (2) the rise to power further north of the Dagomba Kingdom which controlled local salt pans; and (3) increased competition following the arrival in the region of rival long-distance traders from Hausaland . The reaction of the Dyula in the Bono-Banda-Gonja region to these developments was to establish a kingdom of their own in Gonja – the territory northern traders had to cross to reach Akan forestlands, situated in what

2436-488: The Gullah food system : a meal was not considered complete without rice. There are strict rituals surrounding the preparation of rice in the Gullah communities. First, individuals would remove the darker grains from the rice, and then hand wash the rice numerous times before it was ready for cooking. The Gullah people would add enough water for the rice to steam on its own, but not so much that one would have to stir or drain it. These traditional techniques were passed down during

2520-527: The Gullah culture of Ron Daise's home of St. Helena Island, South Carolina, part of the Sea Islands. Cape Fear (headland) Cape Fear is a prominent headland jutting into the Atlantic Ocean from Bald Head Island on the coast of North Carolina in the southeastern United States . It is largely formed of barrier beaches and the silty outwash of the Cape Fear River as it drains

2604-532: The Gullah people, may derive from the name of the Kissi people , an ethnic group living in the border area between Sierra Leone, Guinea , and Liberia. Another possible linguistic source for "Gullah" are the Dyula ethnic group of West Africa, from whom the American Gullah might be partially descended. The Dyula civilization had a large territory that stretched from Senegal through Mali to Burkina Faso and

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2688-545: The Quran and commentary ( tafsir ), hadith (prophetic narrations), and the life of Muhammad . According to the dyula clerical tradition, a student received instruction under a single sheikh for a duration varying from five to thirty years, and earned his living as a part-time farmer working his teacher's lands. After he completed his studies, a karamogo obtained a turban and an isnad (teaching license), and either sought further instruction or started his own school in

2772-721: The Sea Islands, and among their people in urban areas such as Charleston and Savannah. Gullah people who have left the Lowcountry and moved far away have also preserved traditions; for instance, many Gullah in New York, who went North in the Great Migration of the first half of the 20th century, have established their own neighborhood churches in Harlem , Brooklyn , and Queens . Typically they send their children back to rural communities in South Carolina and Georgia during

2856-419: The Sea Islands. The planters left their European or African "rice drivers", or overseers, in charge of the rice plantations . These had hundreds of laborers, with African traditions reinforced by new imports from the same regions. Over time, the Gullah people developed a creole culture in which elements of African languages, cultures, and community life were preserved to a high degree. Their culture developed in

2940-667: The Sudanic kingdoms. In the seventeenth century, tensions between the Muslims and the local pagans in Begho erupted into a destructive war which eventually led to the total abandonment of the Banda capital. The local people eventually settled in a number of towns further east, while the dyula withdrew to the west to the further side of the Banda hills where they established the new trading center of Bonduku . The dyula presence and changes in

3024-731: The US National Park Service , with extensive consultation with the Gullah community. The Gullah have also reached out to West Africa . Gullah groups made three celebrated "homecomings" to Sierra Leone in 1989, 1997, and 2005. Sierra Leone is at the heart of the traditional rice-growing region of West Africa where many of the Gullahs' ancestors originated. Bunce Island , the British slave castle in Sierra Leone, sent many African captives to Charleston and Savannah during

3108-686: The US naval forces, abandoned their plantations and fled to the mainland. When Union forces arrived on the Sea Islands in 1861, they found the Gullah people eager for their freedom, and eager as well to defend it. Many Gullah served with distinction in the Union Army 's First South Carolina Volunteers . The Sea Islands were the first place in the South where slaves were freed. Long before the War ended, Unitarian missionaries from Pennsylvania came to start schools on

3192-580: The United States prohibited the African slave trade . After that date, the British, whose navy patrolled to intercept slave ships off Africa, sometimes resettled Africans liberated from slave trader ships in Sierra Leone. Similarly, Americans sometimes settled freed slaves at Liberia , a similar colony established in the early 19th century by the American Colonization Society . As it was a place for freed slaves and free blacks from

3276-558: The United States, some free blacks emigrated there voluntarily, for the chance to create their own society. The Gullah people have been able to preserve much of their African cultural heritage because of climate, geography, cultural pride, and patterns of importation of enslaved Africans. The peoples who contributed to Gullah culture included the Bakongo , Mbundu , Vili , Yombe , Yaka , Pende , Mandinka , Kissi , Fulani , Mende , Wolof , Kpelle , Temne , Limba , Dyula , Susu , and

3360-421: The balance of power occasioned political upheavals in other places. Among the paramount Mande political initiatives along trade routes south of Jenne was creation of the dyula state of Gonja by Naba'a in the 16th century. This was motivated by a general worsening of the competitive position of dyula traders and was occasioned by three factors: (1) a near-monopoly control in exporting forest produce achieved by

3444-667: The cape. Some of the crew were afraid they would wreck, giving rise to the name Cape Fear. It is the fifth-oldest surviving English place name in the U.S. Cape Fear was the landing place of British General Sir Henry Clinton during the American Revolutionary War on May 3, 1775. The 1962 film Cape Fear and its 1991 remake were set at Cape Fear (although neither movie actually was filmed there). 33°50′26″N 77°57′37″W  /  33.84056°N 77.96028°W  / 33.84056; -77.96028 Dyula people The Dyula ( Dioula or Juula ) are

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3528-457: The centuries of Islamic expansion. Sheikh Suwari formulated the obligations of Muslim minorities in West Africa into something known as the Suwarian tradition . It stressed the need for Muslims to coexist peaceably with unbelievers and so justified a separation of religion and politics. In this understanding, Muslims must nurture their own learning and piety and thereby furnish good examples to

3612-516: The city rose from a small city-state to the capital of the great Kong Empire , holding sway over much of the region. The dyula of Kong also maintained commercial links with European traders on the Atlantic coast around the Gulf of Guinea , from whom they easily obtained prized European goods, most notably rifles, gunpowder, and textiles. The acquisition of weapons allowed for the creation of an armed militia force that protected trade routes passing through

3696-526: The colonies. Mosquitoes in the swamps and inundated rice fields of the Lowcountry picked up and spread the diseases to European settlers , as well. Malaria and yellow fever soon became endemic in the region. Because they had acquired some immunity in their homeland, Africans were more resistant to these tropical fevers than were the Europeans. As the rice industry was developed, planters continued to import enslaved Africans. By about 1708, South Carolina had

3780-506: The commercial centers along the Niger banks and the forest region to the south which was controlled by the Baule chiefdoms and the Ashanti . The dyula brought their trading skills and connections and transformed Kong into an international market for the exchange of northern desert goods, such as salt and cloth, and southern forest exports, such as cola nuts, gold, and slaves. The city was also

3864-431: The dangerous and disease-ridden rice fields. A series of hurricanes devastated the crops in the 1890s. Left alone in remote rural areas of the Lowcountry, the Gullah continued to practice their traditional culture with little influence from the outside world well into the 20th century. In the 20th century, some plantations were redeveloped as resort or hunting destinations by wealthy whites. Gradually more visitors went to

3948-470: The economic fortunes of the groups. The traditional dyula social structure is further organized into various familial clan groups, and clan affiliation continues to be a dominant aspect of both collective and individual identity. People are fiercely loyal to their clan lineage, often expressing their cultural history and devotion through the oral traditions of dance and storytelling. The dyula are patrilineal and patriarchal , with older males possessing

4032-430: The fall from glory, the seventeenth-century Kong Friday Mosque survived, and the city was largely rebuilt in a traditional Sudano-Sahelian architectural style and features a Qur'anic school. The Mande conquerors of the nineteenth century frequently utilized trade routes established by the Dyula . Indeed, it was his exploitation of their commercial network that allowed military leader Samory Touré (1830–1900) to rise to

4116-512: The first black prince to make hajj to Mecca . It was at this time that Mali began encouraging some of its local merchants to establish colonies close to the gold fields of West Africa. This migrant trading class were known as Dyula , the Mandingo word for “merchant”. The Dyula spread throughout the former area of Mandé culture from the Atlantic coast of Senegambia to the Niger and from

4200-561: The forested zones in the south by establishing caravan routes and trading posts at strategic locations throughout the region en route to cola-producing areas. By the start of the sixteenth century, dyula merchants were trading as far south as the coast of modern Ghana. On the forest's northern fringes, new states emerged, such as Bono and Banda. As the economic value of gold and kola became appreciated, forests south of these states which had hitherto been little inhabited because of limited agricultural potential became more thickly populated, and

4284-536: The islands for the newly freed slaves. Penn Center , now a Gullah community organization on Saint Helena Island , South Carolina, was founded as the first school for freed slaves. After the Civil War ended, the Gullahs' isolation from the outside world increased in some respects. The rice planters on the mainland gradually abandoned their plantations and moved away from the area because of labor issues and hurricane damage to crops. Free blacks were unwilling to work in

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4368-462: The islands through community action, the courts, and the political process. The Gullah have also struggled to preserve their traditional culture in the face of much more contact with modern culture and media. In 1979, a translation of the New Testament into the Gullah language was begun. The American Bible Society published De Nyew Testament in 2005. In November 2011, Healin fa de Soul ,

4452-463: The islands to enjoy their beaches and mild climate. Since the late 20th century, the Gullah people—led by Penn Center and other determined community groups—have been fighting to keep control of their traditional lands. Since the 1960s, resort development on the Sea Islands has greatly increased property values, threatening to push the Gullah off family lands which they have owned since emancipation . They have fought back against uncontrolled development on

4536-465: The kingdom into two parts, with the northern area being controlled by Seku's brother Famagan who refused to recognize the rule of Seku's oldest son in the south. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, many of Kong's provinces had formed independent chiefdoms. The city of Kong retained the prestige of an Islamic commercial center, but it was no longer the seat of an important political power. It eventually came under French colonial control in 1898. Despite

4620-457: The kingdom of Wasulu . Having established an empire, he adopted the religious title of Almami in 1884 and recreated the Malian realm. This new state was governed by Samori and a council of kinsmen and clients who took on the management of the chancery and the treasury , and administered justice, religious affairs, and foreign relations . Unlike some of his contemporary state-builders, Samori

4704-512: The language and learn how to pronounce some words. The Gullah achieved another victory in 2006 when the U.S. Congress passed the " Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Act "; it provided $ 10 million over 10 years for the preservation and interpretation of historic sites in the Low Country relating to Gullah culture. The Heritage Corridor will extend from southern North Carolina to northern Florida. The project will be administered by

4788-428: The large literary contribution that was made by Dyula- Wangara Muslims to the history of not only the regions they found themselves in but also of West Africa as a whole. He cites al-Hajj Osmanu Eshaka Boyo of Kintampo as an " ‘alim with a wide range of Muslim connexions and an excellent grasp of local Islamic history" whose efforts brought together a great many Arabic manuscripts from around Ghana. These manuscripts,

4872-530: The mid- and late 18th century. These dramatic homecomings were the subject of three documentary films— Family Across the Sea (1990), The Language You Cry In (1998), and Priscilla's Homecoming (in production). The Gullah have preserved many of their west African food ways growing and eating crops such as Sea island red peas , Carolina Gold rice , Sea island Benne, Sea island Okra, sorghum , and watermelon all of which were brought with them from West Africa . Rice

4956-413: The most power and influence. Men and women commonly reside in separate houses made of mud or cement - men occupying roundhouses and women in rectangular ones. The father heads the family, and inheritances are passed down from fathers to their sons. Despite being illegal, the dyula still practice polygamy , and young people are often encouraged to marry within their own clan. Another hereditary class that

5040-602: The name Angola , where the ancestors of many of the Gullah people originated. Shipping records from the Port of Charleston revealed that Angolans accounted for 39% of all enslaved Africans shipped to the port. The story of Gullah Jack (an African slave trafficked from Angola to the United States) further supports the theory that the word Gullah originated in Angola. Some scholars also have suggested that it may come from

5124-420: The name of the Gola , an ethnic group living in the border area between present-day Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa, another area of enslaved ancestors of the Gullah people. British planters in the Caribbean and the Southern colonies of North America referred to this area as the "Grain Coast" or "Rice Coast"; many of the tribes are of Mandé or Manding origins. The name "Geechee", another common name for

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5208-523: The non-Muslims around them. They could accept jurisdiction of non-Muslim authorities as long as they had the necessary protection and conditions to practice the faith. In this teaching, Suwari followed a strong predilection in Islamic thought for any government, even if non-Muslim or tyrannical, as opposed to none. The military jihad was a resort only if the faithful were threatened. Suwari discouraged dawah (missionary activity), instead contending that God would bring non-Muslims to Islam in his own way; it

5292-434: The peaceful expansion of Islam in West Africa. The Mandé embraced Islam during the thirteenth century following introduction to the faith through contact with the North African traders. By the 14th century, the Malian empire (c. 1230–1600) had reached its apogee, acquiring a considerable reputation for the Islamic rulings of its court and the pilgrimages of several emperors who followed the tradition of Lahilatul Kalabi ,

5376-423: The people they handled to ports and markets in the Caribbean islands. After Freetown, Sierra Leone, was founded in the late 18th century by the British as a colony for poor black people from London and black Loyalists from Nova Scotia resettled after the American Revolutionary War , the British did not allow slaves to be taken from Sierra Leone, protecting the people from kidnappers. In 1808 both Great Britain and

5460-460: The period of slavery and are still an important part of rice preparation by Gullah people. The first high-profile book on Gullah cooking was published in 2022 by Emily Meggett , an 89-year-old Gullah cook. Over the years, the Gullah have attracted study by many historians , linguists , folklorists , and anthropologists interested in their rich cultural heritage. Many academic books on that subject have been published. The Gullah have also become

5544-446: The port came from the following areas: Angola (39%), Senegambia (20%), the Windward Coast (17%), the Gold Coast (13%), Sierra Leone (6%), the Bight of Benin and Bight of Biafra (5% combined), Madagascar and Mozambique . Particularly along the western coast, the local peoples had cultivated African rice for what is estimated to approach 3,000 years. African rice is a species related to, yet distinct from, Asian rice . It

5628-458: The region. The Gullah people speak an English-based creole language containing many African loanwords and influenced by African languages in grammar and sentence structure. Sometimes referred to as "Sea Island Creole" by linguists and scholars, the Gullah language is sometimes considered as being similar to Bahamian Creole , Barbadian Creole , Guyanese Creole , Belizean Creole , Jamaican Patois , Trinidadian Creole , Tobagonian Creole , and

5712-437: The rest of what was French West Africa . These were vast savanna lands with lower population densities. Slave raiding was easier and more common here than in forested areas with natural forms of physical defenses. The word " Dyula " is pronounced "Gwullah" among members of the Akan ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire . The primary land route through which captured Dyula people then came into contact with European slavers

5796-444: The same principles of political and military mobilization began being applied there. Village communities became tributaries of ruling groups, with some members becoming the clients and slaves needed to support royal households, armies, and trading enterprises. Sometimes these political changes were not to the advantage of the Dyula , who employed Mande warriors to guard their caravans and if necessary could call in larger contingents from

5880-492: The slave castle at Bunce Island (formerly called Bance Island), located in the Sierra Leone River . Henry Laurens was their main contact in Charleston and was a planter and slave trader. His counterpart in Britain was the Scottish merchant and slave trader Richard Oswald . Many of the enslaved Africans taken in West Africa were processed through Bunce Island. It was a prime export site for slaves to South Carolina and Georgia. Slave castles in Ghana, by contrast, shipped many of

5964-568: The southeast coast of North Carolina through an estuary south of Wilmington . Cape Fear is formed by the intersection of two sweeping arcs of shifting, low-lying beach, the result of longshore currents which also form the treacherous, shifting Frying Pan Shoals , part of the Graveyard of the Atlantic . Dunes dominated by sea oats occur from the upper beach drift line back to the stable secondary dunes, where they mix with other grasses such as saltmeadow cordgrass and panic grass , as well as seaside goldenrod , spurge and other herbs to form

6048-542: The southern edge of the Sahara to forest zones further south. They established decentralized townships in non-Muslim colonies that were linked to an extensive commercial network, in what was described by professor Philip D. Curtin as a " trading diaspora ". Motivated by business imperatives, they expanded into new markets, founding settlements under the auspices of various local rulers who often permitted them self-governance and autonomy. Organization of dyula trading companies

6132-542: The summer months to live with grandparents, uncles, and aunts. Gullah people living in New York frequently return to the Lowcountry to retire. Second- and third-generation Gullah in New York often maintain many of their traditional customs and many still speak the Gullah language. The Gullah custom of painting porch ceilings haint blue to deter haints, or ghosts , survives in the American South. It has also been adopted by White Southerners . Gullah Gullah Island

6216-417: The territories of various minor rulers. In the course of developing his state, Seku Wattara built a strong army composed mostly of defeated pagan groups. The leadership of the army eventually developed into a new warrior class, called sonangi , which was gradually separated from the overall dyula merchant class. The Kong Empire started to decline after the death of Seku Wattara. Succession struggles divided

6300-521: The transitional zone between the forest and the savanna; examples include Begho and Bono Manso (in present-day Ghana) and Bondoukou (in present-day Côte d'Ivoire). Western trade routes continued to be important, with Ouadane , Oualata and Chinguetti being the major trade centres in what is now Mauritania . The development of Dyula trade in Ghana and the adjacent Ivory Coast had important political consequences and sometimes military implications as well. The dyula spearheaded Mande penetration of

6384-490: The turn of the 20th century on St. Helena Island. Born into a Gullah family, she was the first African-American woman director to produce a feature film. Gullah people now organize cultural festivals every year in towns up and down the Lowcountry. Hilton Head Island , for instance, hosts a "Gullah Celebration" in February. It includes "De Aarts ob We People" show; the "Ol’ Fashioned Gullah Breakfast"; "National Freedom Day,"

6468-513: Was achieved in an uprising led by Seku Wattara (Ouattara), a dyula warrior who claimed descent from the Malinke Keita lineage and who had studied the Quran and engaged in commerce before becoming a warrior. By rallying around himself all dyula in the area, Seku Wattara easily defeated local chiefdoms and set up an independent Dyula state in 1710, the first of its kind in West Africa. He established himself as ruler and under his authority,

6552-459: Was afforded a particularly important status by the dyula social hierarchy was occupied by the tuntigi or warrior class. The dyula had long been accustomed to surrounding their cities with fortifications and taking up arms when it was deemed necessary in order to defend themselves and maintain the smooth flow of trade caravans. As a result, they became closely associated with the tuntigi warriors. The dyula have been predominantly Muslim since

6636-584: Was based on a clan-family structure known as the lu – a working unit consisting of a father and his sons and other attached males. Members of a given lu dispersed from the savanna to the forest, managed circulation of goods and information, placed orders, and effectively controlled the economic mechanisms of supply and demand . Over time dyula colonies developed a theological rationale for their relations with non-Muslim ruling classes and subjects in what author Nehemia Levtzion dubbed "accommodationist Islam". The man credited with formulating this rationale

6720-458: Was not a Muslim's responsibility to decide when ignorance should give way to belief. Since their Islamic practice was capable of accommodating traditional cults, dyula often served as priests, soothsayers , and counselors at the courts of animist rulers. As fellow Muslims, dyula merchants were also able to assess the valuable trans-Saharan trade network conducted by North African Arabs and Berbers whom they met at commercial centers across

6804-460: Was not a religious preacher, and Wasulu was not a reformist state as such. Nevertheless, he used Islam to unify the nation, promoting Islamic education and basing his rule on shari’a (Islamic law). However, Samori's professional army was the essential institution and the real strength behind his empire. He imported horses and weapons and modernized the army along European lines. Dyula traders had never enjoyed as much prosperity as they did under

6888-537: Was originally domesticated in the inland delta of the Upper Niger River . Once Carolinian and Georgian planters in the American South discovered that African rice would grow in that region, they often sought enslaved Africans from rice-growing regions because they had the skills and knowledge needed to develop and build irrigation, dams and earthworks. Two British trading companies based in England operated

6972-554: Was the "Grain Coast" and "Rice Coast" (present-day Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegambia, and Guinea). One scholar suggested that the Gullah-Geechee name could have also been adopted from the Ogeechee River . Sapelo Island , the site of the last Gullah community of Hog Hammock , was also a principal place of refuge for Guale people who fled slavery on the mainland. According to Port of Charleston records, African slaves shipped to

7056-500: Was undone by the French, who took Sikasso in 1898, and sent Samori into exile, where he died in 1900. Dyula society is hierarchical or caste -based, with nobility and vassals. Like numerous other African peoples, they previously held slaves ( jonw ), who were often war prisoners from lands surrounding their territory. Descendants of former kings and generals had a higher status than their nomadic and more settled compatriots. With time, that difference has eroded, corresponding to

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