Description
Book SynopsisPresents an ethnography of seven Gullah/Geechee women from the South Carolina lowcountry. By looking in depth at this long-standing spiritual practice, this book highlights the subversive ingenuity that lowcountry inhabitants use to thrive spiritually and to maintain a sense of continuity with the past.
Trade Review"
Talking to the Dead is an incredibly rich study, which will reward both a general readership and readers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds." -- Teresa Zackodnik * Feminist Review *
"LeRhonda Manigault-Bryant’s
Talking to the Dead is well suited for the novice who is unaware of any of the traditions and religious practices of the Gullah/Geechee.... Because of its emphasis on black women, the ethnography also has much to offer to the black feminist or black womanist scholar, especially one with an interest in African Diasporic culture or African derivative belief systems." -- Constance Bailey * Western Folklore *
"While talking to the dead, as well as other less ‘flashy’ Gullah/Geechee practices risk being lost in application, Manigault-Bryant and other third generation scholars have ensured they will not be completely erased through an increasingly sophisticated historiography accounting for the diverse perspectives of African American women in the South Carolina lowcountry." -- Douglas R. Valentine * Religion *
"This masterful interweaving of these personal narratives of Gullah/Geechee women with the spiritual practice of talking to the dead, particularly in light of the present-day commodification of Gullah/Geechee culture (offered in the terminating chapter) in South Carolina, is the overall strength of this work.... This book, then, is a must read for advanced students and scholars in these areas of study." -- Margarita Simon Guillory * Religious Studies Review *
"...
Talking to the Dead is a welcome addition to scholarship on the Gullah/Geechee culture and African American religious practices in general....Most importantly,
Talking to the Dead not only lays the groundwork for further investigation into the gender dymanics of longstanding Gullah-Geechee religiosity, but also underscores the fact that no study of African American religion can be complete without a thorough investigation of women as believers, practitioners, and cultural leaders." -- Shannen Dee Williams * Journal of African American History *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Prologue. Talking to the Dead xiii Introduction. Gullah/Geechee Women 1 1. Culture Keepers 24 2. Folk Religion 66 3. "Ah Tulk to de Dead All de Time" 104 4. "Sendin' Up My Timbah" 136 5. Lived Memory 172 Epilogue. Between the Living and the Dead 205 Appendix A. Companion Audio Materials 211 Appendix B. Interview Format and Demographics 213 Notes 217 Select Bibliography 251 Index 267
