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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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 by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 but...
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Professor Jack Doyle spent over 30 years dedicated to the study and documentation of storytellers in the South with special emphasis on South Carolina. He was a founding member of the South Carolina...
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Audio transcript for Jane Wineglass A McClellanville, SC (Charleston County) resident, Ms. Wineglass has long been known for her folk medicine remedies, as well as the ability to interpret dreams...
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Students will read and listen to Aunt Pearlie Sue’s animated English version of the traditional folktale "The Jealous Bragging Turtle." Stories teach a moral or explain the origin something in nature...
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Listen to the interactive version of the The Jealous Bragging Turtle in Gullah. Storytelling performance by Anita Singleton Prather (Aunt Pearlie Sue)
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Singing/Storytelling As a professional teacher, Jeanette Samuels shares her talent for storytelling and singing with the community on a regular basis. She has lived in South Carolina all her life and...
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John Thomas Fowler is a gifted multi-instrumentalist and storyteller. For more than 30 years, Fowler has worked to ensure Appalachian culture remains alive by sharing the musical traditions and...
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INSTRUCTIONS: Click on an English word to see and hear the Gullah word. About Gullah Language Gullah is also a language. It was developed among Africans as a way to communicate with people from other...
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Listen to the interactive version of the Little Red Hen in English. Storytelling performance by Anita Singleton Prather (Aunt Pearlie Sue)
