It is surmised that this type of protection, the written word, is derived from the West African tradition of wearing an amulet containing paper with a written verse from the Quran known as a grigri.2 The ta'wiz is another amulet of verses or prayers of the Quran, written on paper in ink or saffron paste, folded, and sewn into a black bag worn for protection in Middle Eastern countries.3 To ensure still more protection from the pranks of the Boo Hag, you can keep Psalm 121 written on a piece of paper in your pocket after dark,4 adding a Christian element to the superstitions of the Gullah Geechee culture. The Gullah Geechee culture was developed by descendants of slaves with ties to the west coast of Africa. The Gullah name is believed to be derived from the term "Gola Negro" (from Angola), and Geechee from former slaves who settled along the Ogeechee River in Georgia.5 After the Civil War, while isolated and ignored on the Sea Islands and coastal communities of the Southern States, these multinational African freed slaves created a society of their own. Their religion, cuisine, music, art, crafts, dress, folklore, and language, all distinctly African, are mingled with the "master's" Christianity and European practices and fashion to create a unique culture still intact today. HooDoo (not Voodoo), casting of spells, superstitions, and root doctors are all a curious outcome of this isolation. Customs, words, and recipes can be tied specifically to Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Angola.6 Grits, Hoppin' John, Okra, red rice, and gumbo trace back to Africa but have become typical Lowcountry fare. Islands such as Hilton Head, Daufuskie, and St. Helena have been taken over by tourism and golf courses but the charm of these resorts is still the Gullah Geechee culture that has seeped into the everyday life on these Sea Islands. The Boo Hag mary c. leto Interior of a cabin, after a painstaking restoration. The walls and ceiling are papered to reflect their appearance in the 1920s with facsimile copies of Charleston's News & Courier and the New York Times. All photos by and courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted. below: Original fragment of newsprint on the wall in an unrestored portion of a cabin. A team of historians photographed all the tiny residual pieces of paper on every surface, traced them back to the date of publication, and reprinted the editions in order to repaper the cabin as it would have looked. 40 - hand papermaking The Penn Center—a National Historic Landmark, specializing in preserving the history of the Gullah Geechee people—is located on the Sea Island of St. Helena in Beaufort, South Carolina. It was founded in 1863 as a school for freed slaves, the first of its kind, and continues to be the acknowledged center for African-American historical and cultural studies today. Victoria A. Smalls, Director of History, Arts, and Culture at the Penn Center verified to me the practice of lining walls with newsprint as an "evil spirit deterrent."7 She explained that the papering was also done for insulation, a common practice during the Great Depression of the 1920s. She added that most Gullah who subscribe to the Boo Hag folktale would leave an open bible in the room believing that the Boo Hag, compelled to read all print, could not possibly read the whole book before daybreak. Folktale confirmed. Often cultures develop folktales to allay communal fears. If you give your fear a name and an identity, you can begin to deal with it and take precautions against harm. The ancestors of the Gullah Geechee had very real fears and uncertainty as to how their lives would unfold. Paper imbedded with words, covering the walls, formed a protective cocoon, creating a shield against the evildoings of the Boo Hag. Newsprint would have been scarce but not impossible for the Gullah Geechee to obtain. Alabama short pine (for newsprint) and gum trees (for book paper) were shipped north to be milled then shipped south in paper form.8 There was a "paper famine" in the mid-1910s.9 Paper was needed for munitions during World War I, creating a shortage. While newsprint was available at high prices, it was a precious few sheets that came to be used for spirit protection. Slave cabins with extant newspaper-lined walls can be visited in and around the Sea Islands. Leroy Campbell is a New York artist, raised in Brooklyn, born in Charleston, South Carolina, and a descendant of the Gullah people. He paints in the primitive style of Jacob Lawrence, his greatest influence. 10 In a nod towards his ancestry he "papers" his canvases with actual copies and facsimiles of historical newspapers before painting tableaux related to the Gullah people. The folklore continues. further reading Wilbur Cross. Gullah Culture in America. Winston-Salem, NC, John F. Blair Publisher, 2008. Terrance Zepke. Lowcountry Voodoo: Beginner's Guide to Tales, Spells and Boo Hags. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, Inc., 2009. ___________ notes 1. Joseph A. Opala, "The Gullah: Rice, Slavery, and the Sierra Leone-American Connection," http://www.yale.edu/glc/gullah/05.htm (accessed December 15, 2013). 2. Ibid. 3. "Ta'wiz," Wikipedia, last modified November 15, 2013, http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Ta'wiz. 4. Kyle Germann, "The Boo Hag," The Demon Hunters Compendium (blog), March 27, 2013, http://demonhunterscompendium.blogspot.com/2013/03/theboo- hag.html. 5. Emory S. Campbell, Gullah Cultural Legacies: A Synopsis of Gullah Traditions, Customary Beliefs, Art forms and Speech on Hilton Head Island and vicinal Sea Islands in South Carolina and Georgia (published by the author, 2008), 5. 6. Opala, "The Gullah: Rice, Slavery, and the Sierra Leone-American Connection." 7. Conversation with the author, November 23, 2013. 8. "Local News," Watchman and Southron (Sumter, SC), June 22, 1921. The article calls for newsprint to be made in existing mills in the South to save on freight from the North. 9. Pickens Sentinel (Pickens, SC), November 9, 1916. The article reports that a paper famine will increase a newspaper subscription from $1.00 to $1.50 per year as mills are declining orders. 10. For more on Leroy Campbell, go to his website, http://leroycampbelloriginals. com (accessed December 15, 2013). To hear Leroy Campbell describe his work in regards to Gullah culture and folktales, go to this video: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=QrLwSOQmYc8 (accessed December 15, 2013.) Leroy Campbell on Gullah Cultu re I was born in one of the Gullah Geechee corridors of Charleston, South Carolina. In 2008, while researching and creating a body of work for Syracuse University (including the painting pictured at left), I came to the realization that Gullah culture and heritage were central to my life and to my art. The Gullah people, descendants of African slaves, believe that there are good spirits among us—stewards of God—who guide our lives and give us assurance. The Gullah also believe in a supernatural creature called Boo Hag, a malicious old woman who comes in the night when you are asleep in order to steal your soul and bring harm upon you. The Gullah people, including my late grandfather, had many ways of battling the Boo Hag. My grandfather would paper the walls of his shack with newspaper, sometimes even stuffing it in his shoes. He had hopes that the print would distract and frustrate the Boo Hag so much that she would disappear. Learning about the spiritual importance of newspaper in the Gullah culture was life changing. It gave me an increased sense of pride and heritage, and newspaper collage became a powerful element in my artwork. For more on Campbell's use of newspaper and the influence of Gullah culture in his work, see his forthcoming book Long Way Home. — Ed.
