SWEET GRASS PRODUCTION - UW-MILWAUKEE & THE GULLAH PEOPLE

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The Gullah are the descendants of slaves who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands.
Historically, the Gullah region extended from the Cape Fear area on the coast of North Carolina south to the vicinity of Jacksonville on the coast of Florida; but today the Gullah area is confined to the South Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry. The Gullah people and their language are also called Geechee, which some scholars speculate is related to the Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia. The term "Geechee" is an emic term used by speakers (and can have a derogatory connotation depending on usage). "Gullah" is a term that was originally used to designate the language spoken by Gullah and Geechee people, but over time it has become a way for speakers to formally identify both their language and themselves as a distinctive group of people. The Georgia communities further identify themselves as either "Saltwater Geechee" or "Freshwater Geechee" depending on their proximity to the coast.

The Gullah have preserved much of their African linguistic and cultural heritage. They speak an English-based creole language containing many African loanwords and significant influences from African languages in grammar and sentence structure. Properly referred to as "Sea Island Creole," the Gullah language is related to Jamaican Patois, Barbadian Dialect, Bahamian Dialect, Belizean Creole and the Krio language of Sierra Leone in West Africa. Gullah storytelling, cuisine, music, folk beliefs, crafts, farming and fishing traditions all exhibit strong influences from West and Central African cultures.
Wikipedia
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UWM Dance Professor Ferne Caulker Bronson and Film Professor Portia Cobb

The Sweet Grass Project is dedicated to the perseverance and ever-present spirit of survivors and descendants of the middle passage and slavery in the United States. Africanisms preserved through the traditions of the Gullah people of South Carolina and Georgia maintained a distinct cultural legacy that embodies the soul of a people. Their story is the foundation upon which this project is built and celebrated. This evening length work is a collaboration between UWM Dance Professor Ferne Caulker Bronson and Film Professor Portia Cobb. Using imagery, historic and contemporary interviews and personal reflections, the work is interwoven in the forms of dance, song, music and prose.

This performance is not suitable for ages under 13.

7:30pm Friday

Saturday
Matinee - 2pm
Evening Performance - 7:30pm

Place
Mitchell 254

Tickets: $12 adult/$10 UWM faculty & seniors/$9 UWM students/$5 PSOA students/Free to dance majors and children under 12

arts.uwm.edu/sweetgrass
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Gullah People Culture, Art and Crafts
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