'It speaks of heritage': South Carolina sweetgrass festival preserves Gullah Geechee culture

https://www.theguardian.com/news/article/2024/aug/13/sweetgrass-festival-gullah-geechee-south-carolina

‘It speaks of heritage’: South Carolina sweetgrass festival preserves Gullah Geechee culture
Centuries-old tradition of sweetgrass basket weaving began with enslaved people and has passed through generations

Adria R Walker in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Tue 13 Aug 2024 09.01 EDT

On the last Saturday in July, William Rouse sat under a shaded tent doing something he has done for the past 73 years since he first learned it from his mother: weaving a sweetgrass basket. Rouse, a fourth-generation weaver, was focused on his craft, pulling dried strands into intricate braids. Only on occasion would he glance up at the patrons who wandered into his stall.

At the 20th annual Sweetgrass Festival in South Carolina, Rouse and 27 other sweetgrass artisans gathered to demonstrate their craft and sell their wares. The festival, held in Mount Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston and home to 14 Gullah Geechee communities, aims to promote and preserve the tradition of sweetgrass weaving, a centuries-long tradition started by enslaved people in the region and passed down to future generations.

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“We started at her kitchen table from an angle of just wanting to highlight, educate and bring awareness,” said Allen, who was selling Gullah Geechee food items at the festival with his family. That early idea “has blossomed to something that sustained itself or 20 years. For individuals that are here today that are being made aware of the deepness and richness of Gullah culture, the importance of sweetgrass baskets in our nation’s history, in our colonial journey, in our quest for democracy – I think it’s important.”

The tradition of Gullah Geechee sweetgrass basket weaving has been passed down from generation to generation since the 1700s. South Carolina’s colonial and antebellum wealth was built from the labor of enslaved people, and sweetgrass baskets were historically associated with their use as a tool for rice production. Today the baskets are primarily considered highly intricate, often expensive decorative art. Basket weaving, while a common practice for the Gullah Geechee, is not uniform. Each family has their own unique way of weaving, a talent or design specific to their lineage that is preserved throughout the years.

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