Content
Factsheet
Development of Gullah
Learning Gullah
Black English
Sea Island Culture
Photos
Reference
Befor funds from banks became readily available in the 1960s, many couples had to wait for a considerable time to build their own houses. Because a dwelling needs only a stove (and a wife to cook) to become a social unit, many Sea Islanders prefer the less expensive option of a mobile home. Houses and trailers form clusters based on kinship.
Men and women enjoy equal rights to 'heir's property', land that is passed on from generation to generation. It is the parents who bequeath the land, and children who inhabit the 'yard' receive land for their houses as an inheritance in advance (for the sake of 'love, one dollar, and affection', as is the case on St. Helena Island). The 'one dollar' makes the inheritance legally binding by Sea Island tradition.