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Drums and Shadows is a book byMary Granger published in 1940. The book is an account of oralfolklore collected inGeorgia fromAfrican Americans, namely theGullah people of theSea Islands, many of whom had beenslaves.[1]
The main focus of the book is the set of beliefs gathered from these people, much of which today falls under the category ofHoodoo, including spirits,talismans, lucky and unlucky actions andomens. It also examines the use ofdrums anddancing during celebrations,funerals andbaptisms, as well as other aspects of their folklore. Quotes from the interviewees are recorded in dialect. The African Americans interviewed descended from slaves who came directly from Africa on the slave ship theWanderer that landed in Jekyll, Georgia in 1858. The ethnicity of the Africans wereBantu,Ewe,Igbo among many others. They brought their spiritual culture with them that developed into Hoodoo and other African American religious traditions.[2][3][4]
Granger uses the information gathered, both from the former slaves interviewed and fromAfricanethnographers and folklore-experts, to conclude that these beliefs originated in Africa. The publishing of the book was done through the Savannah Unit of the Georgia branch of theFederal Writers' Project, of which Granger was a District Supervisor. The copyright has not been renewed, and the work is now in thepublic domain.[5]
Some of the stories inDrums and Shadows served as an inspiration for the central song inToni Morrison's novelSong of Solomon.[6][7]
