'The heart doesn't mean everything the mouth says' - Gullah Proverb

I just read a book that had different Gullah proverbs in it.  I also really liked this one: "I've been in sorrow's kitchen and licked out all the pots".  Pretty great, huh?  Gullah is the African American culture here in the South Carolina/Georgia Lowcountry, complete with a dialect that sounds (to me)  part ebonic/Jamaican/Creole.  I unfortunately haven't had too much interaction with this culture, but I think it is fascinating.  Here is a list from Wikipedia (great source, I know) of some Gullah customs and history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah.  I have learned some customs from co-workers and patients too, like always painting the trim of your house a lighter color than the rest of it to keep spirits out of the corners,  laying a broom across your front door keeps hags out (people are serious about hags here, I am pretty sure I have seen a few at work...) and if all else fails, go see Dr. Buzzard the medicine man.  He can throw and read the bones.  I also did not know what okra was, or the best way to get conch out of its shell to make soup.  Also I have heard of some interesting home remedies.  A woman brought in her infant son who had a fever.  I asked what she did at home for him (meaning did she give him Tylenol or Motrin) and she replied that she had bathed him in vinegar but nothing had happened.  That one took me a minute to process.  Many of the porches have beautiful light blue ceilings, which is called haint blue.  It is to represent water and keeps restless spirits out of the home because spirits cannot cross water.  Duh.  In my book, there was the saying "when you're seeking the sacred, you know you've come out on the other side when someone gives you something in a dream (Henry 73-74)".  I have been thinking about that one a lot lately.  If anyone comes up to me in the near future and tries to give me a silver remote-controlled car, a hypothermic baby, or my 4th grade classroom full of books, I am not sure I am going to accept it.  I have weird dreams.  Hmmmm, this has piqued my somewhat-latent interest in Gullah culture.  I am going to do some more research....


Henry, Patti Callahan. Where the River Runs. 1st. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2005. 73-74. Print.