Traditional
African Baskets Made By Gullah
Descendants
Sweetgrass baskets are a
traditional basket of the Low
Country, or Charleston, area of South Carolina. The
techniques for making them were brought from West Africa over 300
years ago by the slaves which were brought to work on the
plantations in the South. The traditional styles have been passed
down through the families since that time, usually from grandmother
or mother to daughter, although there have been a few men who also
made baskets.
The baskets are coiled.
Originally, they were made of a grass called black rush, but by the
beginning of the 20th century, the long-stemmed sweetgrass became
the preferred material to use for the coils. It grows in the sand
dunes along the ocean, where it is important in keeping the sand
dunes from moving and shifting.
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Three Gullah sweet-grass baskets. The largest one is 13
inches in length and shows the typical circular handles.
The smallest one is 2 inches in height. It is held by one
of "Miss Mary's Dolls." Mary Drayton is a vendor in
Charleston
Old Stuff photo |
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The coiled sweetgrass is
sewn into shape using longleaf pine needles and /or strips of
palmetto leaf.
Even a simple design can
take as much as 10-12 hours, even for a very experienced
basketmaker. A larger or more complicated design may take up to
three months. The basketmaking has always been a family endeavor,
and sometimes several members of the family will work on the same
basket.
The baskets are made by the
Gullah, the descendants of the slaves from West Africa. Most of the
basketmakers live in the community of Mount Pleasant, South
Carolina, on the north side of Charleston Harbor. Many of the
baskets are sold in roadside stands along Highway 17 north of Mount
Pleasant, the main highway running north and south along the coast.
(If you're just driving through the area, the hardest decision is
determining at which stand to stop, because there are so many.) Some
vendors also sell the baskets in downtown Charleston.
The baskets were originally
made for agricultural purposes. Some of the earliest ones were work
baskets, made from a marsh grass called bulrush. Usually made by the
men, the work baskets were used to collect and store staples such as
dried vegetables, grain, nuts and other household products, along
with wild herbs for medicinal purposes.
Since the plantation owners
of the Low Country raised rice as their major crop, a rice basket,
called a "fanner," was developed for winnowing.
The women made baskets for
household use - everything from bread to clothing might be stored in
a basket. For these, sweetgrass was used. It was more pliable and
had a pleasant fragrance.
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Mrs. Doris Robin-son, left, and her daughter in their
roadside stand on Highway 17. Mrs. Robinson is working on
a basket. Some of the finished pieces made by her and her
family are hanging on the sides and the supply of
sweetgrass is in front of her. This is the typical size of
a roadside stand.
Old Stuff photo |
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Not many tools were needed.
Originally, a "nailbone," the tool used for piercing, was made from
the filed rib bone of a cow or pig and was the only thing used. When
they were allowed the use of metal, a filed spoon or fork replaced
the rib bone. These or a smoothly filed nail are still used today.
Along with a pair of scissors, these are the only tools needed.
By the end of the 19th
century, as the plantation system had all but disappeared and the
Gullah owned their own land, there were fewer baskets needed.
However, they recognized the importance of the basket making
tradition as a link to their original homeland, and the techniques
continued to be passed on through the generations.
It wasn't until the 1930s,
though, that basketmaking became a viable source of income for the
Gullah. From museums to gift-shop owners, to basket collectors,
purchasers appeared wanting examples of the sweetgrass baskets. This
was when the roadside stands began to appear.
The growth of Mount
Pleasant has forced many of the basket stands to move farther north,
and there are not nearly as many as there once were, since there has
not been any logical place to relocate. The other major problem
being faced by the sweetgrass basket makers is the disappearance of
sweetgrass. The dunes and marshlands in which it grows are being
privately developed, so free access to the sweetgrass is no longer
available.
The baskets are easy to
care for. Since sweetgrass is a wetlands grass, water will not hurt
it, and the baskets can be washed in soapy water, rinsed thoroughly
with cold water, and air dried.
***
The Gullah are especially
known for preserving their African heritage, both in their language
and their culture. It is believed that one situation that allowed
them to maintain their heritage so well was due to the diseases
spread by the mosquitoes that also arrived on the slave ships. The
swampy fields where the thousands of acres of rice were being grown
on the plantations was a choice breeding ground for these
mosquitoes, bearing malaria and yellow fever.
The Africans had developed
a natural resistance to these diseases. The plantation families had
not, and during the rainy months in the spring and summer, they left
their plantation in the hands of an overseer, and went to their
safer homes in cities such as Charleston. This lesser contact with
their white owners allowed the slaves to maintain their own culture
more easily.
Following the Civil War,
the Gullahs' isolation continued for different reasons. The
plantations disappeared and the rice planters moved away. Left alone
in isolated communities, it was easy for the Gullahs to continue to
practice their own culture.
The Gullah language reached
a national audience in the 1930s, when Gershwin's opera Porgy and
Bess was first performed. Since that time, Gullah has been
represented in books, magazines, on television and in the movies.
Today, the Gullah influence
remains an integral part of the South Carolina Low Country. From
their foods, such as red rice, to their language, it is very much a
part of life there.
Donna Miller
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