The Gullah Community in American Slave History - Essay Example

? The Gullah community in American slave history of The Gullah community in American slave history Introduction: An anthropological study of the human race has shown that individuals and groups have been displaced from their homeland either out of choice or through force. In the former case, it was up to those who have been displaced to make such a decision, due to circumstances like poverty, lack of security and standard of living. But forceful displacement has been a dark chapter in history, a prime example being the trading of African slaves into the Middle-East, Europe and the United States. it can be said that the US slave trade is seen as one of the most infamous and unjust acts of forceful displacement. Such acts not only deprived the victims from living a life of peace and contentment in their own homeland, but also resulted in a loss of the culture, language and most importantly their original way of life. In spite of this, the level of loss in cultural and linguistic origins has not been common across all the displaced communities from Africa in the United States. The Gullah people have to a large extent been able to live an isolated life as compared to their other African counterparts both in terms of cultural identity and language. This paper, through review of relevant literature, tries to bring to light and how such a state of affairs came to be. In the process, the paper will trace the history of the Gullah and other slaves on their journey from Africa and how each of these two groups resettled into their new (forced) homeland. History of slave trade in the United States: It was during the early fifteenth century that displacement of Africans as laborers (primarily in plantations) in the United States until import of new slaves were banned by an Act of Congress in 1808 (Curtis 298). Even so, imports were clandestinely carried out. Apart from this Whites could purchase slaves from other owners and also claim ownership of the children of slaves working for them. The 13th Amendment formally abolished slavery, even though their status as inferior continued on until the twentieth century until the arrival of such great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. What is to be noted is that the presence of Africans as slaves and then as free people in the United States started in the 15th century and continued to this date (a period of more than five hundred years). Having virtually no connection whatsoever with their African homeland, it is only natural that this group of aliens began assimilate the culture of their adopted land and as a result began losing their original cultural and linguistic identity. The next sections will discuss the life of the average Black people as slaves and later on as free African Americans and how these factors contributed to the social losses mentioned above. It will also discuss the unique status of the Gullah tribe taking into consideration the same parameters applied to other Africans in the country. The status of the African slaves: As mentioned earlier, slaves in Africa had no means of maintaining contact with their own people in their homeland and villages. Other factors included illiteracy which was rampant and also that they were not a cohesive group in terms of language or socio-religious customs (Klein 178). Slave trade flourished because of the lack of manpower to work in American fields and later on in business and homes. Slave owners did not apparently care about this diversity as they were only intent on obtaining cheap or free labor. As a result, even if there were groups of slaves from a single village or tribe available, most slave owners did not bother to categorize them in that manner. As a result, each farm, business or household had a set of slaves that were strangers in terms of culture and language even though they came from the same continent. Klein goes on to add that this diversity of African culture present in a single place soon led to dilution of the culture of individuals and tribes. They had no choice in this matter because of the lack of presence of other slaves who had similar social and cultural way of life. This sheer heterogeneity, according to the author, resulted in eventual acceptance of European social and cultural beliefs. As mentioned earlier, this diversity caused a fusion of culture to the extent that inter-racial and inter-tribal marriages began to occur (Johnson 18). This could primarily be because of lack of availability of people from the same culture or tribe or because of close proximity of people belonging to different tribes. Johnson’s book also goes on to add the element of creativity that is inherent in the people of Africa, irrespective of diversity. This trait was seen in Africa and naturally adopted to their new homeland. Hence acceptance of socio/ cultural, language and religion (Christianity) came naturally to them as a part of their ability to adapt to new and unfamiliar surroundings. Religion which is a part of society and culture was very diverse in the African continent. It should be noted that with very little communication and intermingling in such a vast and geographically complex land, most of the tribes lived in seclusion. In other words, “each of the more than 50 modern countries that occupy the continent has its own particular history, and each in turn comprises numerous ethnic groups with different languages and unique customs and beliefs” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Unlike Christianity, which had a common foundation and organized backing, the slaves had no such facilities or institutions to upkeep traditional religious beliefs. Like other social parameters, the native languages of the Africans brought to America too began to get diluted and lost over the years. It is also seen that the English language were forced on the slaves, primarily because none of the slave owners could neither speak or understand the different dialects spoken by the diverse tribes and clans that comprised the group. The need for slaves to learn the new language was even forced owners to disallow native dialects (at least in their presence). “After arriving in America, slaves were often separated from those in the same language group, forbidden to speak their own language, and forced to learn English” (Finkelman 486). It was not an easy task on the part of the White owners to achieve language proficiency especially with regard to older slaves. Africans who knew the language were also asked to pass on their knowledge to the language novices. Younger ones picked up the language quite easily and second generation slaves were already familiar with the language from birth itself. Findkelman’s book goes on to add that elements of local dialect were spoken by a few of the older slaves and was kept alive to a certain extent by the arrival of new slaves. Large plantations employing many slaves could find others who spoke the dialect could also keep themselves familiar with it. But as the influx of new slaves ended, English naturally became the common form of communication for all Africans. Ways of bringing back this language culture could well be seen as impractical since most the current generation have no knowledge of the dialect spoken by their forefathers. Again, it would be impractical to attempt such a move on the part of the African American community, the government or any other organization because (as mentioned earlier) the sheer variety of dialects that still exists in the African continent. Since very few have roots in the land of their forefathers, and taking into consideration the accepted usage of English (and Spanish) there would be few interested in learning an earlier dialect. It can be assumed that only serious students (of any race) will show an inclination in this regard. There can no argument that supports use of African dialects in the present context and as such, they can be considered to be dead languages at least in the American context. But while the original dialects have largely disappeared, it appears that the English language in America has also been influenced by a small extent. Two terms, namely African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Ebonics are two terms that have been coined in this regard. AAVE as the name suggests is English as spoken by many, but not all, of the African Americans. The general opinion of AAVE is with regard to grammatical correctness (or lack of it) and pronunciation when compared to White American spoken English (Pullum 40). Apart from a miniscule number of alien or slang words (e.g. Mandingo for banana or yam), the vocabulary contains normal English words. Ebonics and AAVE have been used interchangeably by many language historians. But it appears that the former, born out of two words, ebony’ and phonics’ has a more formal origin. A clinical psychologist by profession, this term was coined by Robert Williams that is apparently based on a scientific approach with regard to an English dialect influenced by African and Caribbean style of speech (Smitherman 20). What should be noted from the above is that this acknowledgment of African American dialect is only an acknowledgement and does not in any way help in bringing back the linguistic culture of Africa into America. In other words, what this signifies is that the dominant White population has acknowledged the uniqueness of certain sections of the colored community. As one noted author puts it – “race, no less than class, is the product of history, and it only exists on the contested social terrain in which men and women struggle to control their destinies” (Berlin 1). In other words, it is place where a person or race is currently assimilated that ultimately defines their culture and its various facets like language. Studies have shown that the degree of assimilation increases over a period of several generations (Anderson & Taylor 291) and African Americans have been living in the United States for several centuries. This indicates that person or race that has been displaced from their homeland tend to lose their original identity and become more integrated to their current and future social life and setting. It is the level of acceptance by the host society and the immigrants that will ultimately define this. It can be seen that Africans have been (forcefully) brought into the United States where they had to stay on for many generations. The abolition of slavery and growing social acceptance between the two races resulted in the dominant one influencing the other both socially and culturally. The fact that the original slaves were not in a position to have any form of contact with their African homeland also has been a contributing factor. The uniqueness of the Gullahs: The case of the Gullahs could be seen as different in this context when compared to the life of other African Americans. The above section dealt with the dilution of socio/cultural values of African Americans in general with specific focus on the period of slavery and a general view on the time after emancipation. But the Gullahs apparently have some level of uniqueness even today which has a past bearing on the history of slavery in the United States. It could be said that each and every one of the African people (or tribes for the sake of classification) brought to the United States had their own cultural, linguistic and social identity. But as discussed above, all these were lost in the forced homogeneity of slave masters and passed on to generation to generation. While most of the forced immigrants and their descendants lost their roots to ancestry, the Gullahs managed to retain some of their pride and ancestral dignitary as can been seen from this observation – “the Gullah are known for preserving more of their African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other African-American community in the United States. They speak an English-based Creole language containing many African loanwords and significant influences from African languages in grammar and sentence structure; Gullah storytelling, cuisine, music, folk beliefs, crafts, farming and fishing traditions, all exhibit strong influences from West and Central African cultures” (Beaufort). The above observation indicates that while there is commonality between slavery among different tribes in Africa and the Caribbean, the Gullahs have still managed to retain some of their original identity. This could be an area of interest for anthropological studies because of the uniqueness of this displaced immigrant community. With regard to linguistics, historians have identified what is known as Gullah language. But “linguists today view Gullah, and other creoles, as full and complete languages with their own systematic grammatical structures” (Opala). But there is no indication of any influence of Gullah language in American English linguistics. At best it can be considered to be a slang language that is similar to other usages taken up by immigrant ethnic groups. This aspect of language is common to all Afro American slaves and their modern descendents in the United States. But what stands apart is the news or observations that are particular community of Gullahs have managed to carve their own identity at least to a certain extent when compared to other Afro American communities. With regard to maintain their socio/cultural identities, the community has the following observation in its favor. “The homogeneity, richness, and consistency of this culture were made possible why were so isolated from other peoples and cultures” (Cross ivv). This indicates that the Gullah community had some form of cultural identity that was different what was experienced by other slave communities in America. According to one study, five hundred thousand people of Gullah origin live in the Southern part of the United States. This statement can be considered to be strength of this community. An observation in an article by a prestigious university is testimony to this fact regarding uniqueness of the Gullah – “The Gullah people are the descendants of the slaves who worked on the rice plantations in South Carolina and Georgia. They still live in rural communities in the coastal region and on the Sea Islands of those two states, and they still retain many elements of African language and culture. “Anyone interested in the Gullah must ask how they have managed to keep their special identity and so much more of their African cultural heritage than any other group of Black Americans. The answer is to be found in the warm, semitropical climate of coastal South Carolina and Georgia; in the system of rice agriculture adopted there in the 1700s; and in a disease environment imported unintentionally from Africa. These factors combined almost three hundred years ago to produce an atmosphere of geographical and social isolation among the Gullah which has lasted, to some extent, up until the present day.” (Opala). The above observation does not provide any distinction between African slaves in general. But the Gullah people for whatever reason had a place in history of slave trade and ethnic identity. Conclusion: The ultimate question that an African student could ask about their identity in another county is that their original social customs, social practices and language lost whenever displacement (voluntary or forced) occurs. This paper attempted to review a comparative study of African slave trade in general and a comparative study of the Gullah tribe. The paper draws the following conclusions from the study. The slave trade provided a new class of people called the African Americans. This group was originally forced into labor for commercial purposes were later ingrained into the social, economic and religious environment of the host nation. References Anderson, Margaret, and Howard Taylor. Sociology - understanding a diverse society. 4. Thomson Wadsworth, 2008. 291. Print. Beaufort, . "Gullah history." Port Royal & the Sea Islands. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2012. . Berlin, Ira. Many thousands gone - the first two centuries of slavery in North America. Harvard University Press, 1998. 1. Print. Cross, Wilbur. Gullah culture in America. John F Blair, 2008. vii. Print. Encyclopedia Britannica, . "African religions." . N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2012. . Finkelman, Paul. Encyclopedia of African American history. Oxford University Press, 2006. 486. Print. Herbert, Klein. The Atlantic slave trade. Cambridge University Press, 2010. 178. Print. Johnson, Paul E. Afro-American Christianity. University of California Press, 1994. 18. Print. Nancy, Curtis. Black heritage sites. New Press, 1996. 398. Print. Opala, Joseph. "Rice, slavery and the Sierra-Leone connection." The Gullah. Yale University, n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2012. . Pullum, Geoffrey. "African American vernacular English is not standard English with mistakes." The workings of language. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2012. . Sidnell, Jack. "African American vernacular English is not standard English (Ebonics)." Language varieties. University of Hawaii System, n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2012. . Smitherman, Geneva. Talkin that talk - language, education and culture in African America. Routledge, 2000. 20. Print. Read More