Geechee is another term for the Gullah
people who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia including both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. They are
Black/African Americans. The origin of the word have a few suggested sources...after the Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia; from Kissi, an ethnic group living in the border area between Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia or from a Creek Indian word. Because of geography, climate, and patterns of importation of enslaved Africans, the Gullah are known for preserving more of their African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other African-American community in the United States. The Lowcountry region was know for its
rice production. African farmers from the "
Rice Coast" brought skills for
rice cultivation and the
rice industry became very successful. Malaria and yellow fever kept many plantation owners away from the Lowcountry leaving their
Black overseers in charge. The isolation from the mainland and little contact from whites fostered an environment where they developed a culture
unique to America.
