a portion of fault: a gullah prayer after the civil war

8/12/2019 A Portion of Fault: A Gullah Prayer After the Civil War

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A Portion of FaultA Sea Island Prayer After The Civil War

Walter Rhett


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Walter Rhett 2 A Portion of Fault

Chapter Four,From No Flo er!ed of "ase

alter Rhett, GriotSouth Carolina

Narratives and Notes #efore and After Freedom

Charleston, South Carolina Civil War Stereo$raph %a!ove&' ()*+' The i!raryof Con$ress % -C&' Prints and Photo$raphs online'.eor$e N' #arnard, Ruins %/over&' Charleston photo$raph' ()*+' -C'0orothea an$e, Cotton Pat/h %/over&' -C' FSA12ississippi' 3une (456'"thiopian Annun/iation I/on %!a/7 /over8 2ary, St' .a!riel&' -ri$inun7no n'

For Charlie, Adil, and 2r' #la/7'

Griot Press and Walter Rhett, 2014.


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Step On The Cross and Your Soul Be Lost

Reli$ion as neither for/ed on the slave nor a//epted naively' In fa/t,the idespread a//eptan/e of Christ !y the enslaved is the !i$$est

/onversion e9perien/e in the history of Christianity after the !irthand death of 3esus'#y ri$hts, the enslaved should have re:e/ted the $od of the hite

forei$n des/endants of "urope ho /reated the reli$ious institutionssurroundin$ them' The a!undant fa/t that enslaved Afri/ans re:e/tedthe re:e/tion is out of syn/ ith many standard e9planations ofhistory' The same type of fla ed e9planations and assumptions

pla$ue the understandin$ of the WPA narratives'The fla s stem from a orld vie that never /on/edes that Afri/ans had /hoi/es, ere a are of /hoi/es, and e9er/ised thema//ordin$ to their understandin$ and e9perien/es'

For Afri/ans, reli$ion as not only faith and orship, !ut a !eliefthat rested on results' It as a pra/ti/e that provided en/ounters ith.od, revelations that revealed the presen/e of .od, $ifts that shinedli$ht on his $lory and o!served a/ts that ere daily eviden/e of his

ay ma7in$;a faith en$a$ed ith the stren$th, si$ns, and mer/y ofhis help'

#ehind history


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Fol7tales /ompanions ere the spirituals' Sterlin$ A' #ro n, >o ard

?niversity le$end, s/holar, riter, poet, fol7lorist rote=!he spirituals make an anthology of 0iblical heroes and tales, from Genesiswhere 1dam and 2ve are in the Garden, picking up leaves, to 5ohn's call inthe roll in 6evelations. !here are numerous gaps, of course, and manyrepetitions. )ertain figures are seen in an unusual light* Paul, for instance, is

generally bound in jail with 7ilas, to the e"clusion of the rest of his busycareer. 8avored heroes are 9oah, chosen of God to ride down the flood*

7amson, who tore those buildings down* 5oshua, who caused the walls of 5ericho to fall :when the rams' lambs' sheephorns began to blow;* 5onah,symbol of hard luck changed at last* and 5ob, the man of tribulation whostill would not curse his God. !hese are victors over odds.

Alon$ the South Carolina1.eor$ia /oast, prayer, a /hief a/t of faith, as offered in .ullah' >arvard and ?niversity of Chi/a$o edu/ated,

>o ard ?niversity lin$uist 0r' oren@o 0o Turner first studied.ullah as a lan$ua$e' In (45 , on St' >elena Island, the heart of softspo7en, island .ullah, 65 years after the Civil War, he re/orded AnnS/ottis e9tensive e9amples des/ri!ed ho Afri/an synta9 %the $rammar,usa$e, and lo$i/& retained forms that /rossed the Atlanti/'

2any Afri/an lan$ua$es la/7 prepositions8 in .ullah, they maysho de$ree or possession' -ne usa$e adapts for to shopossession of a superlative de$ree of spiritual $ifts' A oman forpray prays ; ith her $ifts !y .od Its usa$e preserved in re$ionaldiale/ts, .ullah as indire/t, indu/tive, ei$hed ith ellipti/al/hoi/es'

In .ullah, ver!s didn


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-ne su/h /har$ed ord in Ann S/ott


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an$ua$e in enslaved /ommunities shared a treasury of memories,

insi$hts and e9perien/es /rafted, /olle/ted, intensively tuned,individuali@ed and shared8 e9panded, /ast ide, passed on' The/reative stories, son$s, and prayers ere alive, an alternative realitythat min$led ith the demands slavery put on livin$'

And they ere filled ith instru/tions and demonstrations of hoto al7 the fine ed$e !et een the enslaved, in the form of the personand /ommunity, and slavery, the administered institution and its

authority, a!uses, and personalities'

.ullah as spo7en here ri/e as $ro n' It as the default lan$ua$eof the Allstons, one of the most po erful and influential SouthCarolina planter families from the /olonial era throu$h the earlyt entieth /entury' They ere /onne/ted !y marria$e to thePin/7neys, hose e9tended family in/luded a si$ner of the ?S

Constitution, /andidates for President and i/eGPresident,am!assadors to "n$land, Fran/e, and Spain, senators and $overnors,and a oman ho introdu/ed indi$o to South Carolina planters,!e/omin$ the se/ond lar$est /ash /rop after ri/e'

The Allstons ere on/e removed !y marria$e from the #re tonfamily hi/h in/luded a harf o ner and one of the lar$est enslavedsales mer/hants in Charleston !efore >enry aurens'

The Allston e9tended family o ned Waverly, 2antan@a %later,Chi/ora Woods&, and in the nineteenth /entury, the lar$e family atdifferent times /ounted #ates >ill, #rea7 ater, "9/han$e, >a$ley,>olly .roove, it/hfield, Ni$htin$ale >all % hose a ard innin$ri/e sold at a premium &, Pipe 0o n % hi/h later !e/ame an Afri/anG

Ameri/an /ommunity on Sandy Island&, Rose #an7 %0it/hford&, The-a7s, Sprin$field, True #lue, Tur7ey >ill, Waterford, Woodville,amon$ their ri/e and indi$o plantation holdin$s;alon$ ith#roo7$reen, no the site of Ameri/a


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>e served as South Carolinais remains are interred in the -ld #uryin$

.round at >arvard SEuare'In a letter, Washin$ton Allston offered to sale his inheritan/e ofone fifth of his $randmotherollins /alls it to attention in her WPA narrative=( was =aily Gift>massa give me to iss

argaret, his daughter, when she was married to r. Gaillard>( give toiss argaret>( never was sold.?

2ariah >ey ood, !orn ()++, Allston la!or, as a !ridal presentto Susan Alston !y her father, 0un/an Alston of 2id ay'

In the inter, everyone moved to Charleston' After harvest, theled$ers ere !rimmin$ ith payments from ondon and else hereand the hi$h so/ial season !e$an' With ni$htly parties, plays and/on/erts at the 0o/7 Street Theatre, and private and /lu! dinners inthe homes and at the So/iety >alls, and ma$nifi/ent dan/es, /hur/hon Sunday at St' 2i/hael


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Some enslaved made ready for au/tions' The eepin$ time as

Ameri/ae played afternoon /on/erts for the /ity'

An Afri/an1Ameri/an 2ethodist leader, a /o!!ler, led thefoundin$ of the South


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Original Transcript from the Library of Congress

Intervie ith Ann S/ott,St' >elena Island, South Carolina %.ullah&, 3une (45

Ann S/ott= Jopenin$ in/omprehensi!le, very poor re/ordin$ until

one minute si9teen se/ondsK LLL Collin$ton' The LLL ' LLL ' LLL ' LLL inthe field' LLL in the ri$ht field' LLL ' JWe offer this LLL here %L&K' JLLL opand set up %L&K' I LLL ' Wish I had LLL ' I donelena Island, South Carolina'


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My Transcript

Ann S/ott, St' >elena Island, SC' (45 ' %.ullah, Turner re/ordin$'&

Ann S/ott= Jvery low volume until @ Asec., when the prayer begins.K#orndo n in Colleton County ' ' ' Mour le$s open' ' ' you al7 alon$ ' ' '

in the ri/e field' ' ' J K plantin$ in the ri/e fields ' ' ' le$ open ' ' ' inthe ri/e field ' ' 'you al7 alon$' We offer this J K here ' ' ' openand set up ' ' ' Wish I had ' ' ' I donereear the /han$e ofhope' And I as7 you to save me' -h, please !e J K and ma7e a ay forme too' And I as7 of my father to remem!er the /heerful $iver'%B@ /;

.ive them !etter today' et them 7no that you $ot a s ord' I as7in my sleep, remem!er my people I leave' .ive them 7no led$e,unlimited 7no led$e and understandin$' -h, J skipping K remem!erthe si/7 and the shut1in father, ho too7 your testimony fordro nin$ /omfort' -h, !less them to rest in pea/e' ' ' And I as7 youto spare the dan$erous pla/es' et me $et alon$ ' ' ' #ut the one thatdo the Jskipping Kmy father the same J K' All I as7 them is to!elon$ to the ord 3esus Christ and Jto all that


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Oppression creates two classes of victims, although one class suffers greater

hardship. 0ut the oppressed must be careful not to overweigh the differencesor else they follow their oppressors into creating rigid, unyielding views. (fthey do, they split the world in absolutes, each pointing to the other as

justification.What sets the oppressed apart is not their struggle, but their relentless

humanity* not their victory or punishment or insistence on accountability,but their restoration of the rich Iuality of values and acts the oppressor

destroyed.!his predicament pushes the oppressed to grace, to subdue the selfFinterest of judgment by offering to others what they would reclaim.

1nn 7cott prays forgiveness for her #portion of fault.% 3er sin isn'tsingular or individual, it's part of a collective separation from a universaland eternal providence in which she finds comfort and pledges personaladoration as she asks forgiveness.

(n 2lie Wiesel's #9ight,% oishe the 0eadle says to a young 2lie Wieselthat every Iuestion possessed a power that is lost in the answer. !he a"iomholds for acts. 1n act completed distributes power.

7ometimes, oppression means we only listen and grieve. !hose who wereswept along in its hubris, who showed signs of trying but stumbled, shouldknow the mercy of justice and our grief. !hey are victims by the same system.!he same mercy must be offered to those that created the conditions, even asmercy does not endorse their sin.

Without contradiction or favor, God embraced the needs of the plantersand the enslaved. God was an allFknowing judge for planter society. 8orenslaved communities, God was an allFwise defender. Planters sought God'ssanction for their position of command* the enslaved looked to God forcounsel and comfort. Planters looked for God's witness in their way of life.!he enslaved witnessed that God #would make a way.%

7eeking, a centuries old Gullah rite of praying alone in the house orwoods unveiled God's vision* elders witnessed and confirmed its ageFlongpurpose. 8rom a 7outh )arolina WP1 narrative@

0ack in de house, down on her knees, she'd be aFprayin'. One night shesay she been down on her knees aFprayin' and that when she got up, shelooked out the door and there she saw comin' down out the elements a man,


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pure white and shining. 3e got right before her door, and come and stand

right to her feet, and say, #7arah, 7arah, 7arah %#e tou/hed souls toinspire hope' Son$s ere sa/red praise' A Te9as WPA interviede/lared, .od $ive us our son$s'

The enslaved didn


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Freedom and faith $athered in the harvest lament, Sinner, Please

0onarvest Pass, its tempo the for/eful ada$io, 6 )meter of the si/7le stri7in$ five1foot ri/e stal7s' -ften the !enefits of.od


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Too many studies have read in outside values and /riti/i@ed those

ho put .ullah dynami/s at the /enter of its o n story'Too little respe/t, too mu/h intrusion8 !oth ne$le/t the ei$hth day= hat the .ullah !uilt ithin an institution that turned their !etterefforts to the voi/e ithin'

2er/ipray>praise.%

0orn in 7lavery@ 7lave 9arratives from the 8ederal Writers Project, DEAF DE . $O).

7terling 1. 0rown, 9egro 8olk 2"pressions@ 7pirituals, 7eculars, 0allards, and Work7ongs,[email protected]"pression.htm.

3oward !hurman. editations of the 3eart. 3arper L 6ow, 9ew


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"dited for spellin$ %e9/ept the .ullah ! for the "n$lish v&, a

marvelous, outra$eous, hilarious "disto Island WPA alle$ory oftemptation and po er8 divine $ifts and for$iveness, and identity'

The Sharpest Ax

2i7e a ren/e as one of 2a:or William 2e$$ett 2urray


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One hundred rails been call a good day's work. 0ut Old 5ohn decide he going

to do better then that. 3e find five tree close together. 3e cut piece out obevery one. !hen he chop at the biggest tree and that tree fall and knock allthe rest ober with um. When all them tree fall together, it make such a noiseold assa hear um in he bed. 3e get dress so he kin see what ruckus in thewoods.

assa saddle he horse and ride 'till he git to the noise. !here he seeOld 5ohn cutting like he cra4y. assa been mad sure 'nough, but then he

glad to see Old 5ohn ain't drown.3e start to say some thing. 0ut Old 5ohn sing out@ #Go 'way massa, (ain't got time to talk with you now.% Old 5ohn grab five maul, go to the fivetree and drive a maul in every tree* then he grab the iron sledge. assa seeOld 5ohn run from tree to tree with the sledge and Iuick as he hit a maul,the tree split wide open

assa start to say something, but 5ohn won't let him talk. #Go onhome to missus, massa,% Old 5ohn say. #( too shame, great God* ( tooshame Go on, home.% assa turn round in he track and go home without aword. 3e see Old 5ohn ain't going to gib him no satisfaction 'bout 7aturday.

When he go back in the wood that evening to check up on Old 5ohn,he find Old 5ohn cut five hundred rail

#O !hem been men in them day, ( tell you.%

Windo&s '(ot! )ages* in Ca)e Coast Castle, # ra, +!ana.

%ne o t!e !ig!est volu-e enslaved e )orting a tories.

/a-ali R!ett )!otos. July 0 13. 'S!e re)orts )al)a(le anger )resent.*


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Job 3 ! " #"

!hen the $ord answered 5ob out of the whirlwind@ #Who is this that darkenscounsel by words without knowledge& Gird up your loins like a man, ( willIuestion you, and you shall declare to me.%

#Where were you when ( laid the foundation of the earth& !ell me, if you

have understanding. Who determined its measurements>surely you know Orwho stretched the line upon it& On what were its bases sunk, or who laid itscornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the children of Godshouted for joy&%

#Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb&When ( made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band,and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, and said, '!hus far shall

you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped&'%#3ave you ever in your life commanded the morning, and shown the

dawn its place, that it might take hold of the earth by its edges, and thewicked be shaken out of it& (t is changed like clay under the seal* and theystand forth like a garment. 8rom the wicked their light is withheld, and theuplifted arm is broken.%

#3ave you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses ofthe deep& 3ave the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the

gates of deep darkness& 3ave you comprehended the e"panse of the earth&=eclare, if you know all this.%


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"thiopian I/on of the Annun/iation

A Portion of FaultGullah 8aith and Prayer

Walter Rhett

a portion of fault: a gullah prayer after the civil war

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