Songs of the Sea Islands

• In Event: Exploring Embedded Wisdom in the Songs of the African Diaspora

Abstract

Many cultures use movement and the oral tradition of song as means to preserve their traditions, language, and cultural practices. In this session, we will delve into how George Gershwin’s opera "Porgy and Bess" illustrates the Gullah Geechee’s indigenous ontology of abundance, which guides their traditions of reciprocity, sharing, and cooperation. By accentuating a resource-rich epistemology that defies conventional notions of scarcity, the Gullah Geechee reveal abundances that are inaccessible to most, enabling them to achieve a level of autonomy. Through an interdisciplinary approach, we will explore how music serves to transmit and preserve intimate spatial ecological knowledge and cultural practices within a coastal fishing community in South Carolina.

Author

• Sharon Fuller, Sonoma State University