By Lane Glaze
On my first trip to the Bahamas in the spring of 2003, I brought a team of 30 students and faculty from Clemson University on a spring mission trip. We spent our first day and evening exploring Nassau. The next morning we were welcomed to a wonderful worship service and luncheon by the members of Coke Memorial Methodist Church in Fox Hill. Around mid-Sunday afternoon we headed to the Potter’s Cay dock in Nassau to take the “slow boat” to Current Island for a week of service projects on the island of Eleuthera.
The last days of preparation for the trip were quite busy for me as leader of the group. As the boat pulled away from the dock, I headed up to the upper level of the boat to enjoy the view, the cool breeze, and some peace and quiet. While I was there, a Bahamian guy close to my age came and stood by the railing, close to me. We nodded at each other and I asked, “Are you going home?”
I don’t remember exactly what he said, but listening to him speak, it was as if I had been teleported to James Island, one of the sea islands of Charleston, South Carolina, where I had grown up. This guy—the way he spoke, the words he used, the way he composed his sentences—was like most of the hundreds of guys I’d known growing up. I didn’t realize it, but this brief encounter would prove to be the first of a long experience to come where I would learn just how strong the cultural and historical ties are between the Bahamas and the region I had always considered “home” in the Carolinas.
A common captain
Most Bahamians know that the early English settlers called themselves the Eleutheran Raiders, the word eleutheria meaning “freedom” in Greek. These Puritans traveling south from Bermuda came seeking religious freedom by leaving Bermuda in 1648 under the leadership of Captain William Sayle. Several decades later, in 1670, this same Captain Sayle led the first settlers to what is today known as Charleston, South Carolina. Unlike the Puritans who settled Eleuthera, these settlers were mostly 2nd and 3rd generation New World English living in Barbados, and despite building a few historic churches during these early years, their motivations were less religious and more economical.
Over the next 100 years, ties between the two English colonies deepened in part due to a shared interest in combating the influence of pirates and privateers like Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard. As the American Revolution began to turn toward the Patriots, large numbers of Loyalists from the Carolinas began to migrate to the Bahamas with slaves. Later, during the American Civil War, merchants from Nassau and Charleston maintained significant trade despite the federal blockade imposed on the South. Since then, close ties – political, social and economic – have existed between these two, now former British colonies.
A common culture
But while this shared history is quite strong, I have come to appreciate more significantly over the past twenty years the unique cultural similarities between the sea islands of the Carolinas – my first home – and the islands of the Bahamas – which are become like a second home. In the Carolinas, we call this culture “Gullah Geechee,” and you can find both vital communities and remnants of the Gullah Geechee way of life from as far south as Jacksonville, Florida, all the way north to Wilmington, North Carolina. Dating back to West Africa, Gullah Geechee culture is defined by:
• the dialect, accents and sentence structure of people of African origin,
• the consumption of certain types of food and methods of food preparation,
• love and loyalty to family, community and place, and
• the practice of spiritual and religious traditions transmitted by ancestors.
Bahamian culture and Gullah Geechee culture share many commonalities. Like my Gullah Geechee friends, Bahamians also cherish their family and heritage and live by a deep and unwavering faith. Bahamians and Gullah Geechee tend to live for the day, receiving and celebrating each day for the gift it represents. Both cultures embody a groundedness and pragmatism that are often difficult to experience in today’s world, where gratification is instantaneous and rapidly changing.
A common future?
Unfortunately, Gullah Geechee culture in the Carolinas is in decline due to gentrification and overly aggressive coastal development. People from all over the United States settle in these coastal areas, in part to enjoy the beauty, but also to experience the culture which, thanks to the Gullah Geechee community, tends to be slower and more relaxed than the larger, more urban areas. But as is often the case, what makes a community attractive to others can be lost over time without proper planning and foresight. I fear this will one day happen in the Carolina Sea Islands, where I grew up.
To address this disturbing trend, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor (www.gullahgeecheecorridor.org) was created several years ago in partnership with the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission and the United States National Park Service. United. The commission’s goal is to “preserve, share, and interpret the history, traditional cultural practices, heritage sites, and natural resources associated with the Gullah Geechee people of coastal North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Although Bahamian culture is alive and well (especially on family islands like Eleuthera), I fear that its more distinctive aspects will be lost over time, as has happened in recent decades with Gullah culture Geechee in the Carolinas. Without good planning at the local and national levels, the custodians of this culture – the inhabitants of small settlements scattered across the archipelago – could be absorbed by larger developments, displaced by climate change, or forced to leave due to lack of access to affordable health care. housing, education and other necessities.
May all who love the Bahamas – locals and foreigners like me – engage in strategies that will help preserve, protect and promote Bahamian culture – one of this country’s most valuable and captivating assets.
My personal 10 tips for enjoying and celebrating Bahamian culture:
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When you visit the Bahamas, be a Bahamian. Let it all sink in.
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Support local hotels and Airbnbs.
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Say “Hello” or “Have a nice day” and share a smile to invite conversation.
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Let Bahamians take the lead – don’t try to set the tone.
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Do not bargain with the fisherman, the basket maker or the craftsman. Respect the value of their work.
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Be aware of what is in season and what is not.
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Support a local conch salad vendor.
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Leave the beaches in better condition than when you arrived.
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Try Guava Duff, Johnny Cake, Fish Stew and Sheep Tongue Souse.
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Turn off your cell phone and laptop…and relax.