On St. Helena Island, South Carolina, a group of singers in their 70s and 80s—guided by musicologist Dr. Eric Crawford—breathes life into centuries-old Gullah spirituals, safeguarding a cultural treasure born from the struggles and faith of enslaved Africans.

Saint Helena Island

A group of singers in their 70s and 80s, under the guidance of musicologist Dr. David Cranford, is dedicated to preserving the Gullah Geechee culture and its spiritual music. These efforts focus on passing down songs and traditions that originated among enslaved ancestors on the South Carolina Sea Islands.

The group performs traditional Gullah spirituals in their Creole language, utilizing homemade instruments reminiscent of their heritage. Their work highlights the importance of cultural preservation and continues to engage the community of over 5,000 Gullah descendants on St. Helena Island.

Safeguarding Gullah Geechee culture through music and tradition

A group of singers in their 70s and 80s, guided by musicologist and author Dr. David Cranford, is dedicated to safeguarding Gala spirituals and the Gala Geechee culture for the benefit of the future generations. It's important to preserve the Gala culture, mainly because it informs us all, for Americans, where they came from, and that it's still here. This wooden prize house on St. Helena Island historically functioned as a worship space for the enslaved and for generations of free black Americans. I had never heard the word Gala, but is that Gula, Gala? And so as I began to investigate it, I understand that songs like, Nobody Knows the Troubles I've Seen, Road to Unroll, and all these songs that were Kumbaya, these iconic songs, came from this area. In recent years, Cranford and the singers have traveled throughout the U.S. performing Gala spirituals that have been handed down from their enslaved ancestors, who labored on the cotton and rice plantations of the South Carolina Sea Islands. I didn't thought I would ever get to sing an old song like we're doing now, but I enjoy it so much, it put love all in my soul. They perform in their traditional Gala Creole language, which has its roots in West Africa. And they made that washboard and the pots and pans sound just like, it's a band in there. It was like a band. I mean, it was, people had something, whoop, whoop, whoop, could sound like that, you know. It was, it was fantastic. And to have an opportunity to live or see that coming up was a blessing. Over 5,000 Gala descendants keep their ancestors' tradition alive on St. Helena Island.

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