Welcome to South Carolina
State of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW).
Area,31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km).
Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15.1% increase since the 1990 census.
Capital and largest city,Columbia.
Mottos, Dum Spiro Spero [While I Breathe, I Hope] and Animis Opibusque Parati [Prepared in Mind and Resources].
State bird, Carolina wren.
State flower,Carolina jessamine.
State tree, palmetto.
South Carolina is roughly triangular in shape. The long, even coast lined with beautiful sand beaches on the “Grand Strand” north of Georgetown becomes generally marshy to the south and is sliced by a network of rivers and creeks, creating a maze of inlets and the famous Sea Islands . The coastal climate is humid subtropical, with long, hot summers and short, mild winters. In this area are found cypress swamps, moss-hung oaks, beautiful flowering gardens, antebellum plantations, and the historic seaports of Georgetown, Beaufort, and Charleston, the latter a major tourist attraction and one of the chief ports of entry in the Southeast.
Vacationers are attracted to Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand, to the Sea Island resorts, and to Charleston's stately homes and gardens. The state's historical places of interest include Fort Sumter National Monument, Kings Mountain National Military Park, and Cowpens National Battlefield. Columbia is the capital and the largest city; Charleston and Greenville are other major cities.
In agriculture, tobacco and soybeans now rival cotton as South Carolina's chief crops. Broiler chickens and cattle are economically important, and peanuts, pecans, sweet potatoes, and peaches are grown in abundance. Fishing is a major commercial enterprise; the chief catches are blue crabs and shrimp. Military bases and nuclear facilities are important to the economy, and the tourist industry today ranks as the state's chief source of income.
*Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright (c) 2003.
Just What Exactly is Gullah?
The Gullah language, a Creole blend of Elizabethan English and African languages, was born of necessity on Africa's slave coast, and developed in the slave communities of the isolated plantations of the coastal South. Even after the sea islands were freed in 1861, the Gullah speech flourished because access to the islands was by water only until the 1950's. Today, one hears phrases like
Come Jine We.
Ketch ob de Day
Lok Ya Wantem Shrimps
But, Gullah is more than a language or dialect...It is a culture.
Thousands of enslaved Africans survived the middle passage to reach the sea island shores. The majority of the slaves, 40,000, came from a section of Africa known as Angola. With the people --Mende, Kisi, Malinke, and Bantu-- came the soul of Africa. Their ancestral traditions survived as well. The words "Gullah" and "Geechee" have come to describe that legacy.
Gullah is a language of cadence and accents, words and intonations. The Gullah "shout" is a rhythmic translation of forbidden drums and the oldest of plantation melodies. Old spirituals and songs spoke of storms and other events in the lives of the slaves and were used as codes for meeting times and places and as messages for freedom.
Still standing are the Praise Houses, with a sacred past and present. The culture of the African elders met its people here, combining religious worship, consolation, and hope.
This rich culture flourishes today; in their language, their music, their art, their skills and their foods. Storytellers spin their tales, entwining fun and wisdom. Choirs preserve the haunting songs and the old rhythms. Sweetgrass basket weavers, "long strip" quilters, and fabric artists combine their modern materials and ancestral skills in ancient ways to produce remarkable wares. Chefs create the magic of the old recipes. This is the heritage of a Gullah.
The Gullah Festival is held each May and the Penn Center Heritage Days celebration takes place in November.