Traditional West and Central African one-pot cooking techniques combined with local seafood, vegetables, grains and meats gave rise to Gullah Geechee cuisine. Lowcountry red rice, which combines rice, tomatoes, spices, smoked pork and sausage, is often compared to jollof rice, a one-pot rice stew cooked with tomatoes, spices and meat strongly associated with the Senegambia region of West Africa. West African coiled basketry traditions were likewise adapted to the Lowcountry, using readily available sweetgrass, bulrush, palmetto and pine. The “ring shout” – a Gullah Geechee ritual where participants form a circle, then move counterclockwise in a rhythmic pattern while stomping their feet, clapping their hands and singing in “call and response” – recalled West African musical and spiritual practices.
