Drums and Shadows

What It's About

This book gathers oral folklore collected from elderly African Americans living along the Georgia coast in the 1930s, many of whom had been enslaved themselves, and some of whom had known Africans born into slavery firsthand. Compiled by interviewers working for the Savannah Unit of the WPA's Georgia Writers' Project under Mary Granger's supervision, the accounts are framed by descriptions of the rural communities where they were gathered. The narratives are transcribed in phonetic dialect, reflecting how oral testimony was recorded before audio technology was widely available - a choice made for accuracy, not mockery.

Key Concepts

The interviews center on a body of belief and practice today associated with Hoodoo: root doctoring, spirits, talismans, and lucky or unlucky omens. The book also documents drumming and dance at celebrations, funeral and baptism customs, and food taboos.

About the Author

Mary Granger (c. 1897-1970) was a novelist, poet and essayist from Savannah, Georgia. She served as district supervisor of the Savannah Unit of the Georgia Writers' Project, a WPA program, overseeing the fieldwork and interviews that became Drums and Shadows.