Unlike Jones and Stoddard (see below), Abbie Mandana Holmes Christensen was not a southerner by birth; she was born in 1852 in Massachusetts and attended Mount Holyoke College. She then moved to South Carolina where she became a civil rights and suffrage activist, and she was also one of the founders of the Port Royal Agricultural School, which was a school for African American students in Beaufort, South Carolina. In 1892, she published this collection of Gullah stories: Afro-American Folk Lore, Told Round Cabin Fires on the Sea Islands of South Carolina.
Here is a list of the stories in the book, linked to their pages at the Internet Archive: Cooter an' Deer /
De Tiger an' de Nyung Lady /
De Reason Why Dog Hates Cat an' Cat Hates Dog /
De Rabbit an' de Elephant Tushes /
De Rabbit, de Bear an' de Locus' Tree /
De Reason Br'er Rabbit Wears a Short Tail /
The Rabbit Desires a Long Tail /
De Rabbit an' de Alligator /
De Reason Why de 'Gator Stan' So /
De Rabbit, de Wolf an' de Alligator /
De Rabbit, de Wolf an' de Tar Baby /
De Rabbit, de Wolf an' de Keg of Butter /
Br'er Rabbit an' Br'er Wolf Gone ter de Weddin' in Style /
Br'er Rabbit an' Br'er Wolf Go to a Party an' Hunt de Deer /
Br'er Rabbit an' Br'er Wolf Plant Pertater an' Hunt Honey /
De Wolf, de Hog an' de Lion /
De Wolf, de Rabbit an' de Whale's Eggs.
Albert H. Stoddard was born in 1872 and grew up on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. In 1948, he went to the Library of Congress and asked them to record his readings of Gullah stories he had learned, and the three record albums are all available at the Internet Archive: Animal Tales Told In The Gullah Dialect, record 1 - record 2 - record 3. (The texts were later published in a book entitled Gullah Animal Tales from Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, but that book is not at the Internet Archive, although you can find used copies at online booksellers.)
Here is a list of the specific stories, linked to those specific tracks on the album: How Buh Houn Got His Long Mouth /
How Buh Houn Git E Long Tongue /
How Buh Wasp Gets His Small Waist /
How Buh Buzzut Lost de Fedder on E Head /
How Buh Tarrapin Git E Ma'kin /
A'Allgetter Sees Trouble /
Buh Rabbit Fools B'Olifaum and Buh Whale /
The Tar Baby /
Sneak Een E Buzzom /
Man Git E Adam Apple /
Buh Partridge Outhides Buh Rabbit /
Buh Black Sneak Git Ketch /
Buh Rabbit Berry Lub Peas /
Buh Rabbit Want No Acknowledge /
Buh Rabbit Eats Buh Fox's Butter /
Buh Deer and Buh Rabbit Race /
Cow Tail een de Ma-a-ash /
Buh Rabbit and Buh Wolf Go Hunting /
Grandaddy Ridin' Hoss /
E Might Ober Run de Law /
Dat Cow Done Pizen /
Long Bill Duh Good Ting /
Don't Trus Buh Rattlesneak Wud /
Buh Wolf Lone Gat Chillum /
Open Yo Mout B'Allegetter /
Buh Fox and Buh Rooster /
Uh Done Kill B'Allegetter /
Buh Rabbit Loses His Head.
So if you want to read and/or listen, the Internet Archive has these valuable Gullah resources available. And I'll be back tomorrow with even more Gullah stories; the Gullah tradition has been and continues to be one of the most vibrant African legacies in the Americas.
by Abbie Christensen
by Albert Stoddard
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