{"id":809,"date":"2019-05-03T07:05:12","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T12:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/?p=809"},"modified":"2019-10-14T08:35:15","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T13:35:15","slug":"old-gullah-woman-profoundly-influenced-south-carolina-poet-and-composer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/?p=809","title":{"rendered":"Old Gullah woman profoundly influenced South Carolina poet and composer, Luke Peeples"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gullah Gamaliel<\/em><\/strong>, a recent article of mine about the relationship between Luke Peeples and his Gullah friend, Maum Celie, appeared in the March edition of The Breeze, Magazine of the Lowcountry<\/i><\/b> (Bluffton, SC). The art was created by my wife, R. S. Perry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gullah Gamaliel<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

by John Samuel Graves, III<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Art by R. S. Perry<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

William Faulkner once said, \u201cThe past is not dead. It\u2019s not even past.\u201d Our personal and communal histories, and memories of things past, are what define us. The Bluffton composer and poet, Luke Peeples, knew that. Luke left quite a few artistic records \u2013 songs, poems and piano pieces. One of his most significant compositions was based on his interaction with Maum Celie, his favorite Gullah friend. She taught him that dreams, visions, and ordinary life experiences are views into the spirit world. She called her explanations \u201cterpretations.\u201d Luke called her his \u201cGullah Gamaliel,\u201d referencing St. Paul\u2019s teacher in the Bible.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Maum Celie (Celia Cheney Ferguson Carroll) was born on Christmas Day in 1867 and raised on Palmetto Bluff. She was a hard working, spirit-filled Gullah woman who lived for one hundred and two years, most of them in Bluffton. She died on March 21, 1970 and was buried in Rephraim Cemetery on Palmetto Bluff. Her tombstone reads \u201cJesus Keep Me Near the Cross.\u201d<\/p>\n

My cousin Luke (we called him \u201cUncle Luke\u201d) told me that when Maum Celie was a very small child, she could recall seeing a fire across the waters from Palmetto Bluff. She thought it was Savannah burning in the distance. She also related this story to my mother, Florence Rubert Graves, who herself had been partially raised on Palmetto Bluff. Those who heard the story, before they knew exactly when Maum Celie was born, thought it might be a fire during the American Civil War. However, there are some obvious problems with this story.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For one thing, Maum Celie was not yet born when Major General William T. Sherman entered Savannah in 1864. In later years I examined the \u201cburning of Savannah story\u201d and found that General Sherman did not actually burn Savannah during the Civil War. Sherman had arrived on the outskirts of Savannah on Dec. 10, 1864. After realizing that Sherman presented overwhelming odds an agreement of surrender was achieved between Sherman\u2019s Brigadier Gen. John W. Geary and Dr. Richard Arnold, the mayor of Savannah. On Dec. 20, General William Hardee, the commanding rebel officer of Savannah, retreated with some 10,000 rebel troops as the Union army took possession of Savannah.<\/p>\n

It was only after Sherman had left Savannah that a large fire did erupt on Jan 27-28, 1865. Over 100 buildings burned and several people died, but it is not certain what, or who, caused the fire. Some Union troops helped fight it. Since Maum Celie\u2019s parents lived on Palmetto Bluff at that time, perhaps they saw that Savannah fire \u2013 or maybe they saw the burning of Bluffton by Union forces in 1863. Either fire could have been seen from Palmetto Bluff. Perhaps Maum Celie\u2019s parents saw these fires and told the story over and over again to their children. Perhaps that was the story that Maum Celie recalled and told years later.<\/p>\n

During her life in Bluffton Maum Celie became well known for her healing powers and sage guidance in all things temporal and spiritual. Many people came to her for help. She offered advice as well as various herbal and medicinal concoctions of her own making. Luke had a close relationship with her for many years, and they would often walk the streets of Bluffton together, talking and laughing, and telling each other stories.<\/p>\n

Later, my father, John Samuel Graves, Jr., Luke and I also walked the same streets of old town Bluffton on cool summer evenings. We often walked down to the Bluffton Oyster Factory, which my father owned and operated for over thirty years. We would also walk down to the dock at the end of Calhoun Street, passing the Church of the Cross where I and my two brothers had been baptized. Luke\u2019s first piano teacher, Mrs. DeSausser Pinckney, had been the organist there when I was a child. Luke, my father and Naomi McCracken were first cousins. Naomi and my mother were lifelong friends and used to sing in the Church of the Cross choir. Naomi sketched Maum Celie\u2019s cottage.<\/p>\n

After the tumultuous world events of two world wars, my mother and many white people became disillusioned with organized religion and other social and political institutions. However, while religious faith faltered for many during those times, the spirit-filled Gullah people sustained their own faith \u2013 and that of many whites around them \u2013 with their close knit faith communities and the encouragement and testimony of their glorious spirituals. These songs had complex harmonies and rhythms, and were sung a cappella, often in three and four part harmony. Luke spent much of his life listening to these spirituals and recording the words and melodies in notebooks that he often carried with him. He later transcribed and harmonized many of them.<\/p>\n

Maum Celie and her faith were inseparable. She \u201cwitnessed\u201d continually. Maum Celie also believed that she could understand and communicate with animals. Her neighbor had a donkey named Atlas. Maum Celie believed that Atlas knew when she needed something and would notify Luke and his mother by braying. One cold mid-December afternoon in the mid-1950s Luke heard the braying and interpreted it, per Maum Celie\u2019s instructions, as \u201cSen\u2019 some soup fuh Celie soon!\u201d Luke\u2019s mother prepared the food and he carried it over to Maum Celie\u2019s cabin. She lived close by.<\/p>\n

Upon arriving at Maum Celie\u2019s small wood shanty Luke noticed that there was no smoke coming from her chimney. Furthermore, she was not sitting on her front porch as usual smoking her clay pipe. Luke became uneasy and suddenly thought Maum Celie might be dead. She was already in her nineties. The only creatures on the front porch, to quote Uncle Luke, were \u201ca gaunt, unlively brindled cat and his equally gaunt, unlively accomplice, a kinky-feathered Dominick cock.\u201d Fearing the worst, Luke was ready to give the food he had brought to these two animals and seek help for Maum Celie. All seven of Bluffton\u2019s church bells would have to be rung to notify of her passing if she had died. But suddenly he heard from the back of the shanty, \u201cWho dat flouncin\u2019 so on my front do\u2019 stoop? Mus\u2019 be a po\u2019poise jump f\u2019om Caulie Kwik wid a mullet in \u2018e mout.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke was delighted to find Maum Ceilie alive, well and her usual witty self. While she was eating the food Luke had brought they discussed some of her trials and tribulations. At this stage of her life she had lost two husbands, two sons, two daughters, a grandchild and a great grandchild. Nevertheless, as Luke was leaving she uttered the following words which became Luke\u2019s Lowcountry Psalm, Trus\u2019in In Duh Lawd. Luke considered the words a gift of a lifetime saying, \u201cI caught a glimpse of God in her old brown face\u201d as she spoke:<\/p>\n

Gone is my husban\u2019 to Gaud\u2019 udduh planet, Gone is my chillen, dem, to be wid \u2019m deh; Gone is my healt\u2019, but by grace I kin stan\u2019 it, trus\u2019in, truss\u2019in in duh Lawd. Gone is my fence pos\u2019 an\u2019 gone is my gate, Gone is my fowl dem an\u2019 gyahdn an\u2019 pig; Gone ev\u2019yt\u2019ing mos\u2019 I had \u2018cep\u2019 my fait\u2019, An\u2019 trus\u2019in\u2019, trus\u2019in in duh Lawd. In duh Lawd I\u2019s trus\u2019in, Trus\u2019in\u2019, Trus\u2019in\u2019, Trus\u2019in in duh Lawd.<\/p>\n

If there was ever a clearer and more profound statement of faith \u201cin spite of everything\u201d I have not heard nor seen it. Luke used such words as these artistically to record the internal and external events of his and the lives of others.<\/p>\n

Art songs \u2013 like Luke\u2019s compositions \u2013 are artistic artifacts. Just like archaeological finds they provide understanding and enlightenment about previous lives and times \u2013 and about ourselves. Without Luke\u2019s <\/span><\/span>Trus\u2019in In Duh Lawd<\/i><\/span><\/span>, and the descriptions of Maum Celie in Luke\u2019s poem <\/span><\/span>Twice Filled, The Willow Basket,<\/i><\/span><\/span> the importance and significance of Maum Celie\u2019s life would probably have been lost.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Luke\u2019s music,<\/span><\/span> The Collected Works of Luke Peeples<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span>, is available in two volumes. The <\/span><\/span>biographical <\/span><\/span>book <\/span><\/span>A Gullah Psalm, The Life and Works of Luke Peeples,<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span> by Estella Saussy Nussbaum & Jeanne Saussy Wright, is available from <\/span><\/span>LP COLLECTIONS, LLC., 12 East Jones Street, Savannah, GA 31401. <\/i><\/span><\/span>More details about all <\/span><\/span>three of <\/span><\/span>these books are available on my website, <\/span><\/span>astarfell.com<\/a>. <\/i><\/span><\/span>Art work in this article and on Luke\u2019s <\/span><\/span>Collected Works <\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span>is by R. S. Perry. Her works can be seen on <\/span><\/span>her website,<\/span><\/span> cronesinger.com<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gullah Gamaliel, a recent article of mine about the relationship between Luke Peeples and his Gullah friend, Maum Celie, appeared in the March edition of The Breeze, Magazine of the Lowcountry (Bluffton, SC). The art was created by my wife, R. S. Perry. Gullah Gamaliel by John Samuel Graves, III Art by R. S. Perry William Faulkner … Continue reading Old Gullah woman profoundly influenced South Carolina poet and composer, Luke Peeples<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[9,7,21,8],"tags":[10,14,12,13,11],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R7Sy-d3","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=809"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1008,"href":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809\/revisions\/1008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.graveshouse.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}