Coastal Georgia is an area rich in African American history. During the month of February I’ll be sharing stories and people with you, people who know the lore, who have seen the changes and lived to talk about them. Along with the stories are the legends and fables, one of which describes Ibo’s Landing. There are different versions of the story, but I think the most popular one tells of a large group of slaves walking off of a boat that sailed from Savannah to St. Simons Island where their white owners lived. They walked into the night to their deaths creating a legend that served as a beacon of light to slaves over the next sixty plus years.
Painting by Dee Williams
Dunbar Creek is where it all happened. The chief of the Ibo people on board began chanting over and over, “The water brought us, the water will take us away”, thus stirring the imagination of countless slaves who found hope in this story as it passed down through the years. Many thought the Ibo people walked across the ocean, back to Africa, their motherland. Another version says that they turned into a flock of black birds and flew away.
The tragedy of the story lies in the fact that these people were enslaved, shipped from their home to a foreign land where they lost their lifestyles, their status and their history. They were not treated as fellow human beings by their owners. Death was more desirable than life as a slave. Their ankles shackled together, the Ibo people walked into the blackness of night, into the deep water of the creek, never to be seen again. Listen to actress Alva Rogers as she describes the scene in this video on YouTube.
It has been said that on certain nights you can go to Dunbar Creek and, if you are quiet enough, you may hear the clanking of metal shackles and the sound of water slapping against ankles and feet as they make their way into the dark water. And if you’re very, very quiet, you may here the chant, “The water brought us, the water will take us away”.
4 Responses
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Harold Michael Harvey Says:
Poignant!
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Judi Fergus Says:
Thought you might be interested to know that the painting of Ebo Landing that you show is on exhibit at the Arthur Moore Methodist Museum, Library,and Archives at Epworth By The Sea.
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Melissa Says:
Then I need to come and see it! Thanks Judi.
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