GCSU’s Flannery O’Connor Institute for the Humanities hosted its second annual installment of the Southern Gothic Lecture Series on Thursday, Feb. 26, in the Pat Peterson Museum Education Room.

The lecture, delivered by Kendra Hamilton, was titled “Hoodoo, Voodoo and the Gullah Geechee People at the Nation’s Founding,” and examined the historical and cultural significance of spiritual traditions in the context of early U.S. history.

The event concluded with a signing of Hamilton’s book, “Romancing the Gullah in the Age of Porgy and Bess,” exploring the romanticization of the Gullah Geechee culture and exposing the misrepresentations of the lifestyle. 

Currently, Hamilton is an associate professor of English and the director of Southern studies at Presbyterian College. Her research on this subject began when she was a graduate student studying the history of her hometown, Charleston, South Carolina, and the Gullah Geechee Coast.

Her lecture began with an explanation of the true meanings of Gullah and Geechee, focusing on the differentiation of the two words.

“What surprised me from learning about the origin of these words is that it had anything to do with me,” Hamilton said. “When I grew up, we used the word ‘Geechee,’ but there are parts of the coast in which ‘Gullah’ is more frequent.”

In her book, she aimed to reveal the true cultural history of the Gullah Geechee Coast.

“Scholarship can take something that’s as familiar to you as your own family and make it so that you can’t even recognize it,” Hamilton said. “In my book, I wanted to set that story straight so that people would be able to recognize themselves in their culture.”

In her lecture, she addressed the misconceptions of the Vodun religion and the Hoodoo spiritual practice. In early America, these were practiced in New Orleans and the Lowcountry coast, which originated in West African countries.

According to Hamilton, common misconceptions of the Vodun religion are that it is about worshipping the devil and practicing black magic, when it is actually a religion that developed in Haiti, blending spirituality with Catholicism. 

“The word Voodoo is a slur,” Hamilton said. “The actual religion is called Vodun.”

Similarly, Hamilton said that common misconceptions of the Hoodoo spiritual practice are that it is the same as Vodun and it is witchcraft, when it is actually often practiced with Christianity and rooted in ritual practice.

“Hoodoo is about a celebration of life, not death,” Hamilton said. “It is certainly not about Satan since people who practice this don’t actually believe in Satan.”

Katie Simon, interim executive director of the Flannery O’Connor Institute for the Humanities, introduced Hamilton before her lecture commenced.

Simon commented on her book regarding how it has impacted her.

“So far, I’ve read about half of it; it’s really quite a read,” Simon said. “I will be reading more because I have assigned a chapter to my students to read that we will be discussing in class.”

Upon understanding Hamilton’s research, many faculty and students said they were amazed by what she was able to uncover.

“She does primary and secondary research as well as interviews,” Simon said. “She’s covering a lot of ground that is literary and historical.”

Simon intends to read Hamilton’s book at a slow pace to fully grasp its message.

“I’m working my way slowly through the book because it’s a lot to digest,” Simon said. “It’s also so beautifully written and deeply felt that it’s a book to be reckoned with because there isn’t one like it.”

Before hearing Hamilton’s lecture, Simon said she felt like she was someone who misunderstood the Vodun religion.

“I had no idea what Voodoo was,” Simon said, “It feels like any other kind of practice where you honor the dead, but we have so much in our popular culture that sort of vilifies it.”

One student in attendance, Charlotte Aexel, a graduate student earning her master’s degree in English, is the graduate assistant for the Flannery O’Connor Institute for the Humanities.

“I was impressed by all of her research,” Aexel said. “I think that she makes a really important point about the commodification of African American culture.”

For those interested in learning more about the Gullah Geechee, Hamilton’s book is available for purchase through Amazon, Target and the University of Georgia Press.