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Igbo Landing (also called Ibo Landing, Ebo Landing, or Ebos Landing) is a historic site at Dunbar Creek on
St. Simons Island St. Simons Island (or simply St. Simons) is a barrier island and census-designated place (CDP) located on St. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. The names of the community and the island are interchangeable, known simply as ...
, Glynn County, Georgia. It was the setting of a mass suicide in 1803 by captive
Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A ...
who had taken control of their slave ship and refused to submit to slavery in the United States. The event's moral value as a story of resistance towards slavery has symbolic importance in African American folklore as the
flying Africans Flying Africans are figures of African diaspora legend who escape enslavement by a magical passage back over the ocean. Most noted in Gullah culture, they also occur in wider African-American folklore, and in that of some Afro-Caribbean peoples. ...
legend, and in literary history.


History

In May 1803 a shipload of captive West Africans, upon surviving the
Middle Passage The Middle Passage was the stage of the Atlantic slave trade in which millions of enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas as part of the triangular slave trade. Ships departed Europe for African markets with manufactured goods (first ...
, were landed by U.S.-paid captors in
Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
by a slave ship, to be auctioned off at one of the local slave markets. The ship's enslaved passengers included a number of Igbo people from what is now Nigeria. The Igbo were known by planters and slavers of the American South for being fiercely independent and resistant to
chattel Chattel may refer to: * Chattel, an alternative name for tangible personal property * A chattel house, a type of West Indian dwelling * A chattel mortgage, a security interest over tangible personal property * Chattel slavery, the most extreme form ...
slavery. The group of 75 enslaved Igbo people were bought by agents of John Couper and
Thomas Spalding Thomas Spalding (March 25, 1774 – January 4, 1851) was a United States representative from Georgia. He was born in Frederica, Georgia, St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1795, but did not ...
for forced labor on their plantations in St. Simons Island for $100 each. The chained enslaved people were packed under the deck of a small vessel named ''The Schooner York'' to be shipped to the island (other sources say the voyage took place aboard ''The Morovia''Glynn County, Georgia.
"History and Lore: Ebo Landing"
Retrieved 27 April 2013.
). During this voyage the Igbo slaves rose up in rebellion, taking control of the ship and drowning their captors, in the process causing the grounding of the ''Morovia'' in Dunbar Creek at the site now locally known as Igbo Landing. The following sequence of events is unclear, as there are several versions of the revolt's development, some of which are considered mythological. Apparently the Africans went ashore and subsequently, under the direction of a high Igbo chief among them, walked in unison into the creek singing in the Igbo language "The Water Spirit brought us, the Water Spirit will take us home". They thereby accepted the protection of their god Chukwu and death over the alternative of slavery. Roswell King, a white overseer on the nearby Pierce Butler plantation (
Butler Island Plantation Butler Island Plantation is a former rice plantation located on Butler Island on the Altamaha River delta just South of Darien, Georgia. It was originally owned by Major Pierce Butler (1744–1822) and was also owned by Tillinghast L'Hommedieu H ...
), wrote one of the few contemporary accounts of the incident, which states that as soon as the Igbo landed on St. Simons Island they took to the swamp, dying by suicide by walking into Dunbar Creek. A 19th-century account of the event identifies the captain by the surname Patterson and names Roswell King as the person who recovered the bodies of the drowned. A letter describing the event written by Savannah slave dealer William Mein states that the Igbo walked into the marsh, where 10 to 12 drowned, while some were "salvaged" by bounty hunters who received $10 a head from Spalding and Couper. According to some sources, survivors of the Igbo rebellion were taken to Cannon's Point on St. Simons Island and
Sapelo Island Sapelo Island is a state-protected barrier island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is accessible only by aircraft or boat; the primary ferry comes from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven-mil ...
.


Historical context

Igbo Landing was the final scene of events which in 1803 amounted to a "major act of resistance" by the Africans. These events have had enduring symbolic importance in
African-American folklore African-American folktales are the storytelling and oral history of enslaved African Americans during the 1700-1900s. These stories reveal life lessons, spiritual teachings, and cultural knowledge and wisdom for the African-American community ...
and literary history.Watts, Linda S. (2006).
Encyclopedia of American Folklore
'. Infobase Publishing. p. 211. .
The mutiny by the Igbo people has been referred to as the first "freedom march" in the history of America. Although for more than two centuries most authorities considered the accounts to be an Afro-American folktale, research since 1980 has verified the factual basis of the legend and its historical content. The site was included as a historic resource in a 2009 county survey. The site bears no official historical marker. A sewage disposal plant was built beside the historical site in the 1940s despite local opposition by African Americans. The site is still routinely visited by historians and tourists. The event has recently been incorporated into the history curriculum of coastal Georgia schools.


Oral history

The story of the Igbo slaves who chose death over a life of slavery is a recurring story that has taken deep roots in African American and Gullah oral history. As is typical of oral histories, the facts have evolved over time.


Myth of the water-walking Africans

Floyd White, an elderly African American interviewed by the Federal Writers Project in the 1930s is recorded as saying: A typical Gullah telling of the events, incorporating many of the recurrent themes that are common to most myths related to the Igbo Landing, is recorded by Linda S. Watts:


Myth of the flying Africans

Another popular legend associated with Igbo Landing is known as the myth of the
flying Africans Flying Africans are figures of African diaspora legend who escape enslavement by a magical passage back over the ocean. Most noted in Gullah culture, they also occur in wider African-American folklore, and in that of some Afro-Caribbean peoples. ...
. It was recorded from various oral sources in the 1930s by members of the Federal Writers Project. In these cases, the Africans are reputed to have grown wings, or turned into vultures, before flying back home to freedom in Africa. Wallace Quarterman, an African American born in 1844, who was interviewed in 1930, when asked if he had heard about the Igbo landing states: As Professor Terri L. Snyder notes: This theory is disputed, however, by Professor Jeroen Dewulf, who argues that there are frequent references to Igbos as well as to enslaved Africans flying home in the Federal Writers Project interviews, but that theories connecting both are built on weak foundations. Dewulf, instead, traces the origins of the myth of the flying Africans to the Kingdom of Loango and the
Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo ( kg, Kongo dya Ntotila or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' pt, Reino do Congo) was a kingdom located in central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the ...
in Central Africa.


Reported haunting

Local people claim that the Igbo Landing and surrounding marshes in Dunbar Creek are haunted by the souls of the dead Igbo who were enslaved.


Legacy

In September 2002 the St. Simons African-American Heritage Coalition organized a two-day commemoration with events related to Igbo history and a procession to the site. The 75 attendees came from other states, as well as Nigeria, and Belize and Haiti, where similar resistance had taken place. They gathered to designate the site as holy ground and give the souls rest.The Associated Press, "Slave legend draws people for two-day remembrance in coastal Georgia"
2 September 2002, posted at St. Simon Island Heritage Coalition website, accessed 27 April 2016
The account of the Igbo is now part of the curriculum for coastal Georgia schools.


Representation in other media

The historical events pertaining to the Igbo slave escape in Dunbar Creek, and the associated myth, have inspired and influenced a number of artists from the African diaspora. Examples include
Nobel Nobel often refers to: *Nobel Prize, awarded annually since 1901, from the bequest of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel Nobel may also refer to: Companies *AkzoNobel, the result of the merger between Akzo and Nobel Industries in 1994 *Branobel, or ...
laureate Toni Morrison, who used the myth of the flying Africans in her novel, '' Song of Solomon,'' and
Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and a ...
, who retells the story in his book ''
Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...
''. The
Paule Marshall Paule Marshall (April 9, 1929 – August 12, 2019) was an American writer, best known for her 1959 debut novel '' Brown Girl, Brownstones''. In 1992, at the age of 63, Marshall was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant. Life and career Marshall wa ...
novel ''
Praisesong for the Widow ''Praisesong for the Widow'' is a 1983 novel by Paule Marshall that takes place in the mid-1970s, chronicling the life of Avey Johnson, a 64-year-old African-American widow on a physical and emotional journey in the Caribbean island of Carriacou ...
'' also was inspired by these events. They are retold from the context of the Gullah descendants in the feature film '' Daughters of the Dust'' (1991), directed by Julie Dash. The 1994 Ngozi Onwurah film ''Welcome II the Terrordome'' features a dramatization the Igbo landing, serving as a frame for the film's main plot and dystopian setting. Other contemporary artists that allude to, or have integrated the complete tale of the Flying Africans in their work, include
Joseph Zobel Joseph Zobel (April 26, 1915 in Martinique – June 18, 2006 in Alès, France) is the author of several novels and short-stories in which social issues are at the forefront. Although his most famous novel, '' La Rue Cases-Nègres'', was published so ...
, Maryse Conde,
Toni Cade Bambara Toni Cade Bambara, born Miltona Mirkin Cade (March 25, 1939 – December 9, 1995), was an African-American author, documentary film-maker, social activist and college professor. Biography Early life and education Miltona Mirkin Cade was bor ...
, and Jamaica Kincaid. Imagery from the "Love Drought" portion of
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
's visual album '' Lemonade'' is said to be inspired by Daughters of the Dust and the story of Igbo Landing. In the 2018 Marvel film ''
Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
'', Michael B. Jordan, as Killmonger, references Igbo Landing during his death scene: “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, 'cause they knew death was better than bondage.”


References


Further reading


The Legacy of Ibo Landing: Gullah Roots of African American Culture
Marquetta L. Goodwine, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 9, 2002)
Black Folktales
Julius Lester, Grove Press; 1st Evergreen edition (January 10, 1994) .
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales
Virginia Hamilton (Author), Leo Dillon (Illustrator), Diane Dillon Ph.D. (Illustrator), Knopf Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (January 4, 1993), .
In The Time of the Drums
Kim Siegelson (author), Brian Pinkney (Illustrator); Lee and Lowe Books


External links



* ttp://themoonlitroad.com/ibo-landing/ "Ibo Landing" The Moonlit Road. {{Gullah topics, state=collapsed Pre-emancipation African-American history Reportedly haunted locations in Georgia (U.S. state) African-American history of Georgia (U.S. state) Igbo-American history Igbo diaspora Nigerian-American culture and history American folklore Slave rebellions in the United States 1803 in the United States Maritime incidents involving slave ships Mutinies 19th-century rebellions Gullah history Mass suicides History of racism in Georgia (U.S. state)