The Gullah People of Souhth Carolina (Draft)[012914]

8/13/2019 The Gullah People of Souhth Carolina (Draft)[012914]

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Megan BeltonLouise Dugue

Anthony GrissettCarol Mann

Francine SardarsinghLisa Sanchez

THE GULLAH P EOPLE OF SOUTH CAROLINA HEALTH B ELIEFS , B EHAVIORS AND P RACTICES


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Ethnic/Racial Identity

Descendants of enslaved Africansfrom the Rice Coast, Gold Coast,Calabar, Congo and Angola .

Embraced and maintained beliefsand practices of African ancestors .

Incorporated spiritual beliefs andpractices of captors.

Separation from mainlandresidents enabled the Gullahpopulation to retain components of

African culture.


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Language Communication Process

What is Gullah?The Gullah language isa Creole dialectgermane to African

descendants indigenousto the sea islands off theCarolina coasts.

The Gullah dialect is the

result of being sociallyisolated from themainland population.

Gullah Expressions beat on ayun: "mechanic";

literally, "beat-on-iron"

troot ma-wt: "a truthfulperson"; literally, "truth mouth"

ma-wt: "hush mouth"; literally,"hush mouth"

sho ded: "cemetery"; literally,"sure dead"

tebl tappa: "preacher";literally, "table-tapper"


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Language: Historical ContextTraditional

Gullahs

(1st

circle)

ModernGullahs

(2nd

circle)

GullahFamily

(3rd

circle)

GullahDiaspora

(4th

circle)

GullahDescendants

(5th

circle) Modern

descendants ofthe Gullahpeople

Remain in thelow countryregion

Carry on thetraditions forlanguage/Gullahlifestyle

Never movedaway from home

Speech has beenpassed downgenerations sinceslavery days

ContinuityRemains

connected totraditional Gullahlands, language,

culture

Two Groups: Eithernever lostconnection to theirGullah lands or hasnever lostknowledge of thelanguage/culture

1st Group: familiesremained in areabut lost much oftheir inherited traits

2nd Group: movedaway, but retainedtheir Gullahspeech/culture

Land or LanguageRetained one of theother, but not both

1st Group:ancestors movedaway , lost theGullah knowledge ,always kept incontact with kinfolkstaying connectedwith family tiespertaining to theregion

2nd Group: familiesmoved away buthave returned toreunite andreintegrate andreacquirecommunitylanguage/culture

Unbroken FamilyTies

Never lost contactwith their kinfolk intheir low country

Still speak thelanguage

Retain many ofthe Gullahcustoms

Black Seminoles:Gullah slaves thatescaped tosouthern Floridaswamps

The Modern BlackSeminoles

Still speak a versionof Gullah and

although are apartof their own

communities, theyhave undeniable

traits of the Gullahpopulation

Grew up outside ofthe low country

Recentlydiscovered theirrelation to theancestors of theGullah peoplethrough extensiveresearch

Initially lost touchof this population,but recentlyregained aconnection totheir Gullah traitsof the low country

(Campbell, 2011)


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Language Communication ProcessCurrent Use It is estimated that 100,000

people still speak Gullahwith relations to both theEuropean and West Africanlanguage

The Gullah/Geecheelanguage was acceptinglyspoken within the home ofthe Gullah population, buthighly criticized within theschool system with greatinfluence to learn thepreferred English language.

The language wasnegatively interpreted asan ignorant and inferiorlanguage for several years.

(Green, 2013: Keedle, 2005: Campbell, 2011)


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Health Beliefs & Healing Practices

A recent study focusing on thehealth beliefs and practices of theGullah People (Banks, 2013)

found thatfamilial influence encouragedthe use of folk medicinesuperstition played a majorrole in their health practices

andspirituality was played acentral role in health andhealing as they were taughtthat belief was the

cornerstone of the healingrocess


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Religious Beliefs & Spirituality


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Life Cycle Events


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Nutritional Behavior/Diet


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Nutritional Behavior/Diet


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Medical/Health Care Access and Experience


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Diagnosis Guiding Health Promotion Project

Community Assessment & Problem Analysis

ProblemMen, women and children self identified as members of South CarolinasGullah population have obesity rates higher than the state and nationalaverages.

Risk toCommunity

Increased prevalence of co-morbidities (i.e. cardiovascular disease, strokes,hypertension and diabetes)s, which negatively impacts quality of life and lifeexpectancy rates.

PersonsAffected

Members of the Gullah population and others residing in the coastalCarolinas.

CommunityFactors

The role of unhealthy food staples as integral to family interaction andcommunity socialization.Sedentary lifestyle with few opportunities for recreational physical activityLack of culturally competent programs, initiatives and interventions toaddress obesity and its complications.Institutionalized oppression through systemic discrimination, poverty andracism.High rates of joblessnessInadequate access to preventive health service


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Health Promotion Strategies/Methods


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Evaluation of Health Promotion Strategy


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Documents

The Gullah People of Souhth Carolina (Draft)[012914]