Gullah

The Gullah people, who live in South Carolina and Georgia, have a very rich culture. They live in these areas because their ancestors lived there in slavery on the same plantations. Even though time has passed, and the plantations have evolved into golf courses, the Gullah have retained their heritage.

Much of this is done with their very active music culture. This culture is a very traditional culture, and is always passed on orally. Many of the songs are also in their native African languages. The most important aspect of the music culture of the Gullah would have to be how spiritual it is. Since it is for a religious purpose, it also involves the entire community, with things like funeral songs using drums.

Different types of music still center around this very spiritual center. A good example of this is the “ring shout”, where the people performing get in a big circle, and feel possession by the Holy Spirit at the end of the ritual dance. These ideas are also not the only things in the religion. They also believe in different forms of witchcraft. All of these reasons to perform this music lend to the reason that the Gullah music culture is so communal.