Red Rice, Cotton, and Indigo (Tamar Kali Brown)
Tamar Kali Brown: Red Rice, Cotton, and Indigo (World Premiere)
ASU Symphony Orchestra
Jeffery Meyer, Conductor
Tamar Kali, Lead Vocals
Darius Taylor, Vocal Soloist
Chorus: Tymia Peterson, Elise Daniells, Isabel Yun, Samantha Davalos, Michael Nanney, Julian Mendoza, Mauricio Perusquia, Darius Taylor, Mitchell Weeks, Thomas Sturgeon; ASU Music and Opera Theatre, Brian DeMaris, Director
Red Rice, Cotton and Indigo
A 4 part symphonic poem reflecting pivotal moments in American History highlighting the Gullah Geechee in the time period of the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Part I. Combahee River Raid, Part II. The Port Royal Experiment
RED - Rice became the cash crop of the Carolinas after plantation owners observed its cultivation and use by the enslaved.
A facsimile of a palm oil and rice dish known across the area formerly known as ‘SeneGambia’, Red rice is the Gullah Geechee version of Jollof rice.
WHITE - Sea Island cotton was cultivated on the Sea Islands, along the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia, especially by the late 18th century. It commanded the highest price of all the cottons, due to its long staple (1.5 to 2.5 inches, 35 to 60 mm) and its silky texture; it was used for the finest cotton counts and often mixed with silk.
BLUE - Indigo became second only to rice as the South Carolina colony's cash crop, and contributed greatly to the wealth of its plantation owners. Before the Revolutionary War, indigo accounted for more than one-third of the total value of exports from the colony.
Cultural references:
Sea Islands
Settled by indigenous cultures over thousands of years, the islands were selected by Spanish colonists as sites for founding of colonial missions. The mission system ended under pressure of repeated raids by English South Carolina colonists and Indian allies. Planters employed chattel slavery importing enslaved Africans as laborers. Many were used to work the labor-intensive cotton, rice and indigo plantations which generated much of the wealth of the colony and state. A distinct culture and creole language developed within the enslaved population and has survived among their descendants to contemporary times.
Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor
The Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor extends along the coast of the southeastern United States through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida in recognition of the Gullah-Geechee people and culture.
Gullah-Geechee are direct descendants of enslaved West Africans brought into the United States around the 1700s. They were forced to work in rice paddies, cotton fields and indigo plantations along the South Carolina-Georgia seaboard where the moist climate and fertile land were very similar to their African homelands. After the abolition of slavery, Gullah-Geechee people settled in remote villages around the coastal swath, where, thanks to their relative isolation, they formed strong communal ties and a unique culture that has endured for centuries.
The corridor is administered as a National Heritage Area in partnership between the National Park Service and local governments and cultural and tourism authorities.
Kumbaya
The first known recording of the song was made in Darien, Ga., in 1926, sung by a Gullah Geechee man named H. Wylie. The chorus was actually “Come By Here,” which in the Gullah’s Creole accent sounds like cum-by-yah. Over time, that pronunciation transformed into what we know today as kumbaya. The hymn was a call to God to come and help the people as they faced oppression.
Ring Shout
"Shouting" often took place during or after a Christian prayer meeting or worship service. Men and women moved in a circle in a counterclockwise direction, shuffling their feet, clapping, and often spontaneously singing or praying aloud.
In the Sea Islands of Georgia and South Carolina, shouters also formed circles outdoors, around the ‘Praise House’ or building itself.
Historical references:
Combahee River Raid
On June 2, 1863, Harriet Tubman, under the command of Union Colonel James Montgomery, became the first woman to lead a major military operation in the United States.
The objectives were to remove torpedoes (mines) from the river, seize supplies from area plantations, and destroy the plantations. In addition, the Union forces were to encourage recruits for infantry regiments among any of healthy adult African American males freed by these actions.
The Port Royal Experiment
The Port Royal Experiment, also called the Sea Island Experiment, was an early humanitarian effort to prepare the former slaves of the South Carolina Sea Islands for inclusion as free citizens in American public life.
The result was a model of what Reconstruction could have been. The African Americans demonstrated their ability to work the land efficiently and live independently of white control. They assigned themselves daily tasks for cotton growing and spent their extra time cultivating their own crops, fishing and hunting.
