A peculiar people Book

"An original, compelling, and convincing study of the Gullah religion . . .Creel's work is seminal." —Nathan B. Huggins W. E. B. DuBois Professor of History and Afro-American Studies, Harvard University "Creel's excellent book . . .will prompt informed discussions and broaden the debate about the roots of Afro-American religious and community patterns. Her imaginative study, rich in detail, will also introduce readers to one of the most singular groups and stirring stories in all of American history." —Peter H. Wood Associate Professor of History Duke University A historical analysis of the Gullahs of South Carolina, and an imaginative and suggestive treatment of slave religion and social cohesion,"A Peculiar People": Slave Religion and Community-Culture Among The Gullahsexamines the components that provided the Sea Island slave population with their cultural autonomy and sense of consciousness. The elements of community, religion, and resistance are examined in relationship to this unique people. Margaret Creel traces three successive importations of slaves into the South Carolina coastal region, addressing each as a distinct period. She argues that the large numbers of slaves imported between 1749 and 1787 came predominantly from Senegambia, the Gold Coast, and Liberia. The majority of the Gullah population came from these areas of West Africa. Combining anthropological and historical studies with observations, reports, manuscripts, and letters relating to the Gullahs, the book creates an original and exceptionally fascinating analysis of Gullah culture in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The American Social Experience

This imaginative and suggestive treatment of slave religion and social cohesion examines the Gullahs of South Carolina, a South Sea Island slave population which has preserved its cultural autonomy and sense of consciousness.