Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies among the Georgia Coastal Negroes

by Georgia Writers' Project, Charles Joyner (Introduction), Muriel Bell (Photographer)

Set against the background of the antebellum slave trade, Drums and Shadows traces the persistence of African heritage in the culture of blacks living on the Georgia coast in the 1930s. In the later years of the depression, members of the Georgia Writers' Project visited and interviewed blacks, many of whose grandparents, smuggled into slavery as late as 1858, had passed on the customs and beliefs of their African past. Seeking evidence of African traditions, the project's workers questioned the blacks about conjure―the curses and potions responsible for turns of luck, illnesses, and even death―about dreams that often determine the course of daily life, and about spirits and other apparitions as real as walking, breathing people.

Genres: History, Spirituality, Nonfiction

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well.....since I'm the first to write a review I'll do my best. For starters, the book was originally written in 1940. You kinda got to keep that in mind when reading it. The stories are interesting and colorful. And it's very interesting to read the beliefs and cultures of the people in these tiny African American coastal communities. The one thing that may turn some people off, the writing style. You see, the author writes the words the way the people pronounce them. You feel like your reading a part from the crows in the original Dumbo movie. Here's an example:

" I wuz too lill tuh membuh anything wut wuz said bout muh grandpa, but muh pa wuk on duh fahm fuh is boss."

Yeah, throws you off at first. And about half the book is written this way. But after awhile you kinda get used to it and it gets easier to follow. That was the only down side to me though. Some great pictures of some of the folks she interviewed and some of their crafts. I just thought it was a cool book. I wish I could've sat on the porch with some of these folks and spoke to them myself. So if you consider the time it was written and aren't expecting a best seller style writing I believe most people would enjoy the stories as much as I did.