Thursday, February 2, 2012

Kumbayah

Sweetgrass Baskets and Camellia Petals, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


The word of the day is Kumbayah. It is a Gullah expression which means "Come by yah" or "Come by here". Its connotation is associated with closeness or spiritual unity, and derives from a 1930's African-American spiritual. The Gullah language (also called Geechee) was the Creole spoken by slaves of South Carolina's sea islands.

This sweetgrass basket image was used recently in a Town of Mount Pleasant advertisement, with the title "Kumbaya. (Come by here)". The basket design is simple, but other basket designs are quite elaborate, displaying the artistic skills of the weaver. Some are featured in art museums.

The local craft of basketry is an art form brought to the Carolina Colony by slaves from West Africa. It is prominent in the fabric of Gullah culture, a weave of African and New World elements. Sweetgrass is a native plant which grows in Lowcountry tidal marshes, and is gathered and dried for basket weaving.

The red flower petals are from the sasanqua camellia bush, which grows readily in our climate, and is featured in many Charleston gardens. Ironically it is not native, but derives from the southern coasts of Japan. It is a cultivar dating from the Edo period (1695-1733).


This concludes your South Carolina history/biology lesson of the day!

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22 comments:

  1. 黄清华 Wong Ching WahFebruary 2, 2012 at 12:48 AM

    Beautiful picture, wonderful story !

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  2. Frank de JolFebruary 2, 2012 at 1:09 AM

    Excellent photo with beautiful baskets. And thanks for lesson the of the day.
    As always interesting and well written.

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  3. JoeFebruary 2, 2012 at 1:22 AM

    Such a wealth of information. Nice depth of field in this one.

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  4. GinnieFebruary 2, 2012 at 2:33 AM

    I LOVE your South Carolina history/biology lesson of the day, Doug! And those iconic baskets really are something else. They're expensive but I'm glad they are. These ladies deserve every penny they get. Strangely, I have sung Kumbayah all my life but never knew it was associated with these Creoles. I love the thought.

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  5. OlaFebruary 2, 2012 at 3:07 AM

    very nice, indeed
    I did not know that this culture is still somehow present in the United States

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  6. yzFebruary 2, 2012 at 5:03 AM

    great detail and framing

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  7. Journey PhotographicFebruary 2, 2012 at 5:26 AM

    Very effective use of restricted depth of field.

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  8. brattcatFebruary 2, 2012 at 7:12 AM

    thanks for an excellent lesson, professor.

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  9. Kathryn DycheFebruary 2, 2012 at 7:24 AM

    I haven't thought about that word in years . . . not since my girl guide days. Love the depth of field in that shot, beautiful.

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  10. Rae WalterFebruary 2, 2012 at 9:53 AM

    Enjoyed learning about the history behind this image Doug and love the capture.

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  11. RonFebruary 2, 2012 at 10:30 AM

    The depth of field is great in this shot. I don't know why but I really like it.

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  12. hugoFebruary 2, 2012 at 10:32 AM

    So delicate and elegant! Such fine craft and art through your charming tonality and framing!

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  13. A.BarlowFebruary 2, 2012 at 12:46 PM

    Nice read man. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. London CallerFebruary 2, 2012 at 3:52 PM

    You know we actually have a pineapple museum in Johore state.
    The staff in the museum taught me how to extract pineapple fibre from its leaves.
    And you can use the fibre to weave baskets, shirts, etc.

    Perhaps you can write to you town mayor.
    And urge him to open a pineapple museum in Charleston too.

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  15. georgeFebruary 2, 2012 at 4:11 PM

    A nicely composed image (which I thought was a snake at first glance) and good story!

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  16. ....peter:)February 2, 2012 at 4:52 PM

    Hi Doug it has been a while since my last visit... i had a knee replacement 8 weeks ago and did not spend much time online... i enjoyed both your photo of the sweet grass baskets and Camellia petals... i also enjoyed your history lesson about South Carolina... i will be going to Myrtle Beach next week but i doubt that i will be golfing... i will be walking the beach as much as i can to build up strength in my new titanium knee lol....peter:)

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  17. MarieFebruary 2, 2012 at 4:59 PM

    magnifique !

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  18. franzFebruary 3, 2012 at 1:58 PM

    love this view and focus! these are really very nice baskets - and the come at a price, too! we admired the skilled basket weavers when we visited your lovely hometown, but due to a lack of dollars we refrained from taking one with us ... ;-))

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  19. DomLOrthaFebruary 5, 2012 at 9:23 AM

    Original and well composed still living. Great details.
    Have a nice day.

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  20. Andrew Graeme GouldFebruary 9, 2012 at 1:27 PM

    A beautifully detailed image that really allows the viewer to appreciate the intricacies of the weaving. Very interesting background information, too.

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  21. ChristopherFebruary 13, 2012 at 3:02 AM

    Beautiful patterns and an enlightening post to boot. Very nice!

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  22. rianFebruary 15, 2012 at 9:19 PM

    always nice to read about the tidbits of info here.. :) nice capture!

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