Throughout the South, storytelling is a particularly rich form of verbal folklore. Stories can be sacred or secular, serious or funny, long or short, and performed by children or adults. Storytellers can be found on front porches, the corner store, the family dinner table - anywhere people tend to gather. Storytelling is not restricted to one particular culture group. Native American, African American, and EuroAmerican narrative traditions have deep roots in the South. In addition, much of the traditional music in South Carolina has a powerful storytelling aspect. Blues music usually incorporates storytelling into the song structure, as does much of the gospel, country, and ballad music performed from the hills of the upstate to the marshes along the coast.
Content is provided by McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina.
For further information about any of the artists featured on Digital Traditions, send your questions and comments to hallagan@mailbox.sc.edu.
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Aunt Pearlie Sue tells the story of "The Three Little Pigs" in English.
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Aunt Pearlie Sue tells the story of "The Three Little Pigs" using the Gullah Language.
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Video transcripts for Carolyn White for: "The Visitor" "Why The Rooster Scratches"
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Audio transcript for Helen Satterley Resident of McClellanville, SC (Charleston County). She grew up learning to speak Gullah and tells jokes and stories in the Gullah language. Her house was damaged...
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Audio transcript for Louise Miller Cohen
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Cohen speaking at the 2002 South Carolina Traditional Arts Network Concert in Columbia, SC.
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Because the house had been safe from hurricanes in the past, she originally planned to wait out the storm
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Gullah story with punchline featuring a man named Efram
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Cohen performing a traditional African American spiritual. From the recording "Gullah Gospel with Natural Music."
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Audio transcripts for Carolyn White for: Down By The Riverside The Visitor
