Retreat Community GA Geechee Kunda (3)

            Geechee Kunda: Preserving, Celebrating Gullah-Geechee Culture
by: Kim Gusby
Posted: Feb 15, 2019

On about three acres of land just off of Interstate 95 sits a gathering place dedicated to keeping alive a unique culture that stretches from the shores of Africa to the Carolina’s and Golden Isles.

Geechee Kunda is considered the epicenter of Gullah-Geechee history. The name itself even pays tribute to the rich culture.
“Geechee” refers to the African-based culture that has survived along coastal Georgia for more than 250 years.

And “Kunda” is a Sarakolé word meaning “compound” or “house of hope.”

Dr. Jamal Touré is the resident scholar and Djeli— or cultural historian— at the museum.
Founded by the late Jim Bacote and his wife Pat nearly 20 years ago, Geechee Kunda is a respite for those thirsting for knowledge and a feel of the community.

“Jim was expansive in his views with regards to the world and connecting people,” said Dr. Touré. “Didn’t matter where you’re from, Jim felt you were family.”

The Bacote home is the central part of this living history museum. Every corner, nook, and cranny is covered with artifacts, paintings, textiles, and fabric that connects them to their roots.

“This land was a part of the Retreat Plantation,” said Dr. Touré, adding, “This was a part of history we call 40 acres and a mule. That’s what this is tied to.”
Gregory Grant is the curator and historian at Geechee Kunda. He says Bacote was recreating elements from his own family history that’s tied to the larger history of all of us.

“A lot of people don’t realize where Geechee Kunda is,” said Grant. “His grandparents actually lived on this property. Jim was coming back home.”
But just as preservation was a big part of Jim’s plan, so was expansion.
One structure, which Grant says started as a country pole barn, is now a library and research center.
Outside stands a mural dedicated to the Bacote’s and their legacy.

A thatched roof African roundhouse serves as a gift shop.

And there is a 19th-century sugar cane mill, outdoor fire pit, eco lodge and the bell Bacote used to ring at the start of every gathering.

“I think about that. I think about Jim ringing that bell,” said Dr. Touré, holding back tears. “That was a part of the legacy because ringing that bell, it was the ancestors and it was Jim and it was all of us.”

Dr. Touré and Grant have vowed to carry out Jim’s vision.
They are currently working on restoring a 1930s wooden praise house and turning into a wedding chapel. That way couples and families generations from now can pass on the stories of their ancestors and continue to celebrate the legacy of Geechee Kunda.
The museum is a part of the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor— a federal national heritage area that represents a significant story of local, regional, national, and even global importance. 
   

Taken on: October 27, 2024

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Sets appears in: • Lodge Collection So Far • 2024 10-27 GEECHEE KUNDA CULTURAL ARTS CENTER & MUSEUM

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