Outskirts Press, INC.

A FUSION OF CULTURAL RHYTHMS

During the embryonic years of this nation, Indigo Island was cultivated with plantations and populated with slaves brought from West Africa to work them. Needless to say, life was hard for the slaves, but because of the remoteness of the sea island, they were allowed to keep much of their West African culture alive, and devise an exclusive way of communicating; a patois of their own, called “Gullah Gee Chee”. Fast-forward to the 1960s. Progeny of the Gullah-Gee Chee people live on the island, alongside a minority of whites; Rayma Rust, abused by her low-life, and mostly absent husband, raises children, Jasmine and Jerome, and the trio survives on the meager earnings from her restaurant. Doctor Beeler Custis, mourning the recent loss of his wife, Mary, lives on the island with his son, Wyman. Jasmine, Jerome, and Wyman become fast friends, and friends with their black neighbors, naturally immersing themselves in the Gullah-Gee Chee culture, and speaking the patois fluently. The boys form a band with the Greathouse brothers, sons of Mavis, a “Root Doctor”, worshiper of Jesus Christ, a conjurer, and keeper of ancient traditions. The band, The Indigo Gullah Brothers, becomes quite popular, entertaining audiences with old -time blues, soul, and beach music. And when they aren’t playing music, they are students of nature, studying the endless lessons proffered by life in the low-country. Enjoy this rare glimpse into the children of the marsh, who overcome the pain, and revel in the pleasures of their unique existence, with a dramatic flair which will keep you reading to the very end.