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Water magic Savannah style part 2
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“The shells stand for the sea. The sea brought us; the sea shall take us back. So the shells upon our graves stand for water, the means of glory and the land of demise.
~A Gullah women from St. Simons Island (1)
As we continue on the quest of finding our path into the water magic Savannah has to offer I travel back in time. The time is when the Yamacraw Indians lived along the Savannah and Ogeechee River. The Yamacraw were the first known settlers in and around Savannah. It was not until 1733 that Savannah became America’s First planned city and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia. As we know by now within shamanism practices there is much magic and healing to be shared. These people were considered to be a Creek society. Our early settlers well documented most of the practices done by these the Yamacraw and Ogeechee (Gullah & Geeche) people.
Of artifacts that have been found along side the African cemetery are expressions of religion and magic. Anything from a clock to a glass bottle is piled upon the earth alongside the graves like pharaoh kings are send off to their final journeys. Gravesites marked and lined with seashells.
Seashells have special meaning to the Kongo (Gullah & Geeche) people. Its spiral form signifies a long life for everything must continue. In old days, they conceived of hiding the soul in shells; pressing them into the earth, they prayed that “when you leave for the sea, take me along, that I may live forever with you.”
We still find houses in the downtown area, Tybee Beach and South Carolina where the porches are painted in the sea blue green color old ways. Also known as “Haint Blue”. Haint blue paint is reported to have been first used by African slaves to secure the entry of their homes from spirits. According to the Geechee/Gullah culture of the Low Country, the haint blue color represents water which spirits can not pass over. This blue/green color or “Haint Blue” is not only calming and aesthetically pleasing, but also it apparently helps repel bugs.
A marriage water spell from old tradition in form of enchantment goes as follow:
Buy a ring of common metal, Plain and narrow, colored gold, to fit the wedding finger well; Drop it in a vessel filled half with wine and half with water. Add one oak leaf, one of willow, two of bay and two of grass. And the name of whom you love written on silver paper; Keep the vessel covered tight, near a window, in the sun, from crescent moon until the full- Then rub the ring and wear it hidden on a string around your neck; But never tell the name you seek until you take it for your own.
In our journey we later we add a vast amount of denominations worshiped in colonial Georgia, with Sunday meetinghouses serving as typical churches. Used during the week for town business, meetinghouses were converted into churches and houses of prayer on Sundays. The Irish Presbyterians came to Georgia in 1768, followed by the German Lutherans in 1734 (who were expelled from Salzburg by the Catholic archbishop, Count Leopold). Scottish Presbyterians also found freedom to worship in colonial Georgia. The Jewish came to Savannah in search of religious freedom as well. I have been guilty of calling Georgia the Bible belt. But history has proved me wrong. Since colonial days, Georgia has remained a state that cherishes religious freedom.
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1.The Gullah People and Their African Heritage. By William S. Pollitzer. (Athens, Ga., and London: University of Georgia Press, c. 1999. P.184-185.
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