The African American Children's Hide & Go Seek Chant "All Hid?" (with information about the Gullah Geechie culture)

Edited by Azizi Powell 

This pancocojams post presents information about the United States Gullah Geechie culture (a sub-set of African American culture.)

This post alsopresents an excerpt from the introduction to the 1972 book Step It Down: Games, Plays, Songs, Stories from Afro-American Heritage (University of Georgia Press, originally published in 1972). That book was co-written by Bessie Jones, a Gullah African American woman, and Bess Lomax Hawes, a White American woman. 

The chant entitled "All Hid?" that is showcases in this pancocojams post was included in that Step It Down book. Bessie Jones remembers "All Hid?" being chanted as a prelude to the chasing portion of "Hide & Seek" games by a designated child during her childhood in the early 20th century.

This content is provided for folkloric and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

 Thanks to Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes for preserving and sharing songs, games, and chants from the Gullah culture in their 1972 book "Step It Down" and elsewhere. Thanks also to Kate Rinzler for including this chant in the children's 1978 album "Old Mother Hippletoe".
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A version of this post was published with a similar title on November 2014 with a similar title on pancocojams' sister blog https://cocojams2.blogspot.com. That cocojams2 post doesn't have any visitors' comments. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/10/gullah-gullah-island-gullah-gullah.html for the related pancocojams post  " "Gullah Gullah Island" ("Gullah Gullah" Children's Television Series Theme Song).

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE UNITED STATES GULLAH GEECHIE CULTURE 
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah
"The Gullah (/ˈɡʌlə/) are a subgroup of the African American ethnic group, who predominantly live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida within the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. Their language and culture have preserved a significant influence of Africanisms as a result of their historical geographic isolation and the community's relation to its shared history and identity.[2]

Historically, the Gullah region extended from the Cape Fear area on North Carolina's coast south to the vicinity of Jacksonville on Florida's coast. The Gullah people and their language are also called Geechee, which may be derived from the name of the Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia.[3] Gullah is a term that was originally used to designate the creole dialect of English spoken by Gullah and Geechee people. Over time, its speakers have used this term to formally refer to their creole language and distinctive ethnic identity as a people. The Georgia communities are distinguished by identifying as either "Freshwater Geechee" or "Saltwater Geechee", depending on whether they live on the mainland or the Sea Islands.[4][5][6][7]

Because of a period of relative isolation from whites while working on large plantations in rural areas, the Africans, enslaved from a variety of Central and West African ethnic groups, developed a creole culture that has preserved much of their African linguistic and cultural heritage from various peoples; in addition, they absorbed new influences from the region. According to the Gullah/Geechee Nation website, many Gullah/Geechees also have some native American or indigenous American ancestry.[8] The Gullah people speak an English-based creole language containing many African loanwords and influenced by African languages in grammar and sentence structure. Sometimes referred to as "Sea Island Creole" by linguists and scholars, the Gullah language is sometimes considered as being similar to Bahamian Creole, Barbadian Creole, Guyanese Creole, Belizean Creole, Jamaican Patois, Trinidadian Creole, Tobagonian Creole, and the Sierra Leone Krio language of West Africa. Gullah crafts, farming and fishing traditions, folk beliefs, music, rice-based cuisine and story-telling traditions all exhibit strong influences from Central and West African cultures.[9][10][11][12]"...

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INFORMATION ABOUT BESSIE JONES FROM THE INTRODUCTION TO "STEP IT DOWN"  
[This introduction was written by Bess Lomax Hawes, a White American woman who was the author of that 1972 book along with Bessie Jones.(February 8, 1902 – July 17, 1984)

" [page] xi 

This book is really about one of the ways of growing up in the United States. In part it is a memoir-the long rememberings of a Negro woman born in the Southern poverty belt around the turn of the century, a detailing of the mind and body and heart skills she learned in her "days coming up"...

Mrs. Bessie Jones, one of the authors of this book, was born sixty-five years ago in Dawson, Georgia-a small black farming community-and grew up like thousands of other girls of her time in the rural South. She started to work when she was still a child, helping out her big family: she chopped cotton, planted potatoes, watched out for the littler children, took her schooling when her family could spare her and as it was offered. Her formal education ended when she was ten.

Balanced on the edge of real poverty almost all of her life, she learned how to amuse and entertain herself and others. Music-especially singing-is not only one of the least expensive art forms; it is

[page] xii
also one in which you can participate while you are doing something else. There was a great deal of singing in Mrs. Jones's family: it didn't cost a cent or take any time away from the job to be done. Her maternal and paternal grandparent's had sung while they worked in the fields during slavery times; some of the songs their little granddaughter learned from them were then well over a hundred years old. Mrs. Jones's mother was a fine singer and dancer; though her father never sang, "he could play any instrument you gave him."

Dawson itself must have been a musical community during Mrs. Jones' childhood; She speaks lovingly of the beautiful singing of "old people" in the little community church on Sundays, of weekday mornings in the same small building, turned schoolhouse until the next Sunday, when the schoolteacher would lead the children in morning hymn and school songs. She tells of the long Southern twilights when the grownups would be busy with their own affairs and the children would run outside to their games and mock dances.

[...]

[page] xvi   

All her life she has taken care of children-her little brothers and sisters, neighborhood children, her own babies and grandbabies, the sons and daughters of her white employers, for whom she was both housekeeper and nurse. She speaks of the games she knows and has taught children so many times with the expertise of an educator and the joy of a participant. She declares forthrightly that her games are "good for children" and she knows just how: which help develop rhythmic coordination or big muscle skills, which promote responsiveness or sharing. She has sifted through her memories of her own childhood the activities that meant-and still mean-most to her; she has added others to them from her more recent experience, "collecting" as do all great folk singers, new games and plays that especially appealed to her. Today she is a carrier of the finest of that huge repertoire of children's games, family pastimes, and infant amusements of the Southern Negro family of yesterday and today.....

[page] xvii

She was not documenting anything; she was teaching. And as a teacher she was passing on that part of her knowledge she considered to be "good" for children."...

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TEXT OF THE "ALL HID" CHANT AND BESSIE JONES' COMMENTS
From Step It Down  (pp. 182-184)
"Children these day don't play like they used to play-nowhere-mine and no one else's. In "Hide and Go Seek" the children nowadays play it right quick and angry - I say angry, because if the one that's counting ask them, "Is all hid? sometimes they'll holler, "Not yet!" and sometimes they'll just throw off and give a kind of a "No!" and all that way...

But in my time coming up, when the person says, "Is all hid? he said it in a tone and the children answered him a tone. And those tones would combine together, which would make a beautiful play. And the children don't count now-well, they really does count-nothing but counting. They says "Onetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnineten!" But in those days, we had a rhyme that we called counting. Such as, one would go to the base and lean up against a tree and not peeping, because it's not fair, you know, they would hide their eyes and lean against the base and he would say,

Honey, honey, bee ball,
I can't see y'all. All hid?

And those children would holler back.
“No-o-o!”

And the counter would say,
Is all hid?

And the children would say
“No-o-o!”

And sometimes those children be right close to there-but not too close,you know, not too close for the law of the base, ten feet-but they don't be too far and they put their hands up to their mouth or put their heads down and say "No-o-o!" real soft. You see, that make him think they're way off! They sound like a panther!...And then it go on like this (singing):

I went to the river, I couldn't get across.
I paid five dollars for an old blind horse.
One leg broke, the other leg cracked,
And great Godamighty how the horse did rack.
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”

I went down the road,
The road was muddy.
Stubbed my toe
And made it bloody.
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”

Me and my wife and a bobtail dog,
We crossed that river on a hickory log.
She fell in,
And I fell off,
And left nobody but the bobtail dog.
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”

One, two,
I don't know what to do.
Three, four,
I don't know where to go.
Five, six,
I'm in a terrible fix.
Seven, eight,
I made a mistake.
Nine, ten
My eyes open, I'm a looking!

And they know he's looking. In other words, he could stop right there at "one, two", and when he stop there, they know they better lay close because he maybe done left the base then because he say "One, two, I don't know what to do"! He's looking around then, see, let you know he'a about to leave the base. "Three, four, I don't know where to go", because they are all hid, see? "Five, six, I'm in a terrible fix"; see, he's looking someplace. "Seven, eight"-he didn't find nobody there-"I made a mistake!-see? Then he say, "Nine, ten, my eyes [are] open, I'm a-looking!" and he's going everywhere then, see?

But these children now don't have that kind of counting...and they won't leave the base! It worries me. I look at them and they won't leave the base, and when the others come, they expect to get their hundred-we called it a "hundred". The call it a base, but in my day, we called it "my hundred". If you make it to the base, if you outrun thee counter and get to the base, we called "my hundred". And you know, when they ask if all is hid, they ask, "All hid?" and they holler back "No!" and all that ....You know, it's no play. It's justa snap all the way through. It's no play in it....But we played."

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INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS WRITTEN BY BESS LOMAX HAWES, THE CO-AUTHOR OF THE BOOK STEP IT DOWN
These comments written by Bess Lomax Hawes in the introduction to Step It Down explain what Bessie Jones meant when she used the word "play":

"By far the bulk of [Bessie Jones'] repertoire...she called "plays". Suddenly it occurred to me that the word "play" has more than one meaning; in addition to being, according to Webster's, "exercise or action for amusement or diversion", it can also be "a drama...a composition...portraying life or character by means of dialogue and action.

Using this second definition as a starting point, the special quality of fun the [Georgia] Sea Islanders were having became clearer. When they "played", they were constructing over and over again small life dramas; they were taking on new personalities for identification or caricature. They were acting." [Step It Down, pp xiv-xv]

Bessie Jones' "All Hid?" chant is also included in Old Mother Hippletoe: Rural and Urban Children’s Songs New World NW 291 (1978). The text is almost exactly the same as that found in Step It Down except that record gives the line as "I paid five dollars for an old gray horse" instead of "old blind horse".

That record's text also doesn't include Bessie Jones' comments about that chant. However, the Old Miss Hippletoe album includes the following album notes written by Kate Rinzler about "All Hid?":

"Hide-and-seek is one of the most widely played hiding games in this country and is known in a multitude of variations around the world. A nineteenth-century English count out for hide-and-seek is chanted:
One a bin, two a bin, three a bin, four,
Five a bin, six a bin, seven gie o'er:
A bunch of pins, come prick my shins,
A loaf of brown bread, come knock me down. I'm coming.
(Gomme, p.211: see Bibliography)

Black children playing hide and- seek in the South borrowed and revised such verses to sing as the seeker waited for the other children to hide.

The words of “All Hid” derive from three sources. The variations of the query “All hid?,” the responses from hiding children, and the counting out by ones, twos, and so on are commonplaces in hide-and-seek as played in England and America; the count out formula (“One, two...”) is a counting rhyme like the well-known “One, two, buckle my shoe”; and the verses about acquiring a lame horse to cross a river are borrowed from humorous songs of black tradition".

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ADDENDUM - GULLAH PLAY ACTIVITIES
AI Overview [retrieved October 2, 2025]

"Gullah children engage in play activities such as songs, dances, ring games, and crafting, often incorporating traditional African rhythms and storytelling into their games. Activities include singing Gullah-African songs like "Green Sally," playing jump rope with associated chants, participating in ring games, and creating crafts such as quilting and basket weaving. These forms of play serve as meaningful cultural rituals, connecting children to their heritage and fostering community.

Songs and Music

Singing and Call-and-Response: Children participate in songs with African roots, often in a call-and-response format, which has influenced American music.

Ring Games: Traditional ring games, such as those associated with songs like "Green Sally" and "Johnny Cuckoo," are played, involving singing, clapping, and movement.

Rhythm and Percussion: Children can learn and create traditional Gullah rhythms and melodies, sometimes constructing and playing Gullah-inspired instruments.

Crafts and Art

Quilting: Children engage in Gullah quilting, a significant craft that incorporates storytelling and tradition.

Basket Weaving: Sweetgrass basket weaving is a traditional Gullah craft that children may learn and participate in.

Other Crafts: Other hands-on activities can include pottery and various arts and crafts.

Other Traditional Activities

Storytelling: Storytelling is a core part of Gullah culture, and children participate in this activity to learn about their history and traditions.

Cooking and Cuisine: Children may also engage in Gullah cooking, learning about the region's unique cuisine.

Dance and Ring Shouts: The "Ring Shout" is a traditional Gullah dance and song form that is a part of cultural events.

Educational Programs and Resources

After-School Programs: Programs like the Marshview Community Organic Farm, Inc.'s "De Gullah Way Tutorial" provide a safe environment for children to learn, play, and connect with Gullah culture through various hands-on activities.

Cultural Resources: Websites and resources like Knowitall.org and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings offer digital resources, songs, and lesson plans about Gullah culture, music, and games for both children and educators".

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Ranky Tanky (Music Ensemble) - "Green Sally" (2017 performance)

Ranky Tanky, May 30, 2018 **** Edited by Azizi Powell This pancocojams post showcases a 2018 YouTube video of Ranky Tanky music ensemble's performance of the African American Gullah culture's children's song "Green Sally". This song is also called "Green Sally Up". This post also includes information about Ranky Tanky (music ensemble) and the lyrics for that group's version of "Green Sally". The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, recreational, and aesthetic purposes. All copyrights remain with their owners. Thanks to Ranky Tanky music ensemble and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. **** INFORMATION ABOUT THE "RANKY TANKY" MUSIC ENSEMBLE From this video's summary statement: "From the South Carolina low-country, where life is laced with African ways, comes Ranky Tanky, a quintet with music rooted in Gullah culture. Descendants of enslaved Africans isolated on the southeastern Sea Islands, Gullah is a unique mix of African and English that has shaped American art, food, language, and attitude. Translated loosely as "Get Funky!" Ranky Tanky updates traditional Gullah game songs, spirituals, and shouts with gospel vocals, jazz trumpet, and an R&B rhythm section.

"Ranky Tanky, from Charleston, S.C., sings old Gullah songs — some of them sly moral lessons — in arrangements that connect their beat to a New Orleans lilt." - NEW YORK TIMES"... **** from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranky_Tanky "Ranky Tanky

Origin  Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.

Genres Gullah, jazz, world music

Years active     2016–present

Labels  Resilience Music Alliance

Website:  www.rankytanky.com

Ranky Tanky is an American musical ensemble based in Charleston, South Carolina. It specializes in jazz-influenced arrangements of traditional Gullah music, a culture that originated among descendants of enslaved Africans in the Lowcountry region of the US Southeast. Apart from lead vocalist Quiana Parler, four of the group's members, Quentin Baxter, Kevin Hamilton, Clay Ross, and Charlton Singleton, previously played together in the Charleston jazz quartet The Gradual Lean in the late 1990s.[1]

Their debut album, Ranky Tanky, was released in October 2017. By the week of February 10, 2018, it was listed number one in the Billboard jazz charts, a position it held for two weeks.[2]

For their album Good Time, the band won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album.[3] In 2023, they won a second Grammy in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category, for Live at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.[4][5]"...
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LYRICS- "GREEN SALLY"
(African American traditional song; version by Ranky Tanky music ensemble)

Green Sally up, Green Sally down
Green Sally bake her possum brown (repeat 4x)

Asked my mama for 40 cents
Watch that elephant jump the fence
Jumped so high, he touched the sky
Didn't come back 'til the 4th of July

Green Sally up, Green Sally down
Green Sally bake her possum brown (repeat 2x)

See that house on the hill
That's where me & my baby live
Nailed that possum to a tree
Keep me buzzing like a bumble bee...

1 re, 2 re, dickery 7
Haliboo, crackiboo, 10, 11
People must be done
Twinkle, twinke, 21

1 sall, 2 sall, sickasall zoh
Dog tail, dominickle
Deedle doll, doh
Hail 'em scale 'em Virgin Mary
Iketail a-link Tom
Ball - come on!"

online source: https://www.riseupsinging.org/songs/green-sally

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What "Ranky Tanky" Means (With Information About & Examples Of The African American Game Song "The Little Old Lady From Brewster")

Uploaded by bluesvoice04 on Jan 17, 2009

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is a complete reprint of the January 20, 2012 pancocojams post with the same title except for the addition of the referent "African American" and except for this introductory portion. That 2012 post has no comments.

This post showcases a 2009 YouTube video of the song "Ranky Tanky" and features a 2007 YouTube video of that song. This pancocojams post also features a video of the Hip Hop dance "The Running Man" that may be similar to the "Ranky Tanky" (ranky tank") movement.

In addition, this pancocojams post presents definitions for the term "ranky tanky"("ranky tank")

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, socio-cultural, recreational, and aesthetic purposes. 

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE "RANKY TANKY" SONG
"Ranky Tanky" is a social dance song that comes from the African American (Gullah) traditions of South Carolina and the Georgia Sea Isles. That song is also known as "Ranky Tank", "The Old Lady From Booster", and "The Old Lady From Brewster".

The earliest recordings of "Ranky Tanky" that I've found are from the 1970s. However, that song may have been composed in the late 19th century before the end of the United States Civil War. [Read the update below for a version of this song from around 1963.]

There are different versions of "Ranky Tanky". Each example of that song that I've found include the phrase "ranky tank" or "ranky tanky".

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WHAT "RANKY TANKY" MEANS
"Ranky tanky" (or "ranky tank") is
- a phrase that refers to certain styles of dancing.

- the name of a particular family of social dance songs which include the repeated use of that phrase .

- an exhortation to do the "ranky tanky" dance, and/or an exhortation to "to dance well" (using contemporary slang "to dance funky").

Also, notice in the Georgia Sea Isles version of "Ranky Tanky" (given below) that "rank" and "rankin" are used as a verb:
"I'm goin' to rank/ Ranky tank.../See me a-rankin'/ Ranky Tank"
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It's likely that these definitions of the word "rank" resulted in the use of that word for a form of dancing that in those times was probably considered to be risque:

COMMENTS ABOUT THE WORD "RANK" AND THE PHRASE "RANKY TANKY"
The word "rank" is the base word in "ranky tanky" (or "ranky tank"). Here are some definitions of the word "rank" as used in the phrase "ranky tanky" (or "ranky tank")

From http://www.elook.org/dictionary/rank.html:

[adjective] very fertile; producing profuse growth; "rank earth"

[adjective] very offensive in smell or taste; "a rank cigar"

[adjective] growing profusely; "rank jungle vegetation"
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The phrase "Ranky tanky" or "ranky tank" is an example of reduplication. Here's a definition of reduplication from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/reduplication.html:

Reduplication:
"The repeating of parts of words to make new forms is called reduplication. There are various categories of this: rhyming, exact and ablaut (vowel substitution). Examples, are respectively, okey-dokey, wee-wee and zig-zag. The impetus for the coining of these seems to be nothing more than the enjoyment of wordplay. The words that make up these reduplicated idioms often have little meaning in themselves and only appear as part of a pair. In other cases, one word will allude to some existing meaning and the other half of the pair is added for effect or emphasis."

HOW THE "RANKY TANKY" DANCE MOVEMENT MAY HAVE BEEN PERFORMED
In the late 19th or early 20th century Gullah traditions where the "ranky tanky" family of songs originated, "Ranky tank" apparently referred to a certain style of dancing. There are different descriptions of how the "ranky tanky" was danced. In the record notes for the song "Old Lady From Booster", collected in St. John's Island, South Carolina in 1970, the writer describes a line game that is performed this way:

"The players stand with their feet slightly apart. Throughout this game, both feet tap out the following pattern: left, right, left, right, right moving slightly to the right on the last tap. The last tap then becomes the first tap of the second pattern, thus, line 5 has the right, left, right, left left moving slightly to the left on the last tap. Continue the foot patterns to the rhythm of the song until the end. Place hands on the different parts of the body mentioned in the song. Source: http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW03840.pdf "St John’s Island, South Carolina: It’s People And Songs""

In the 1972 book Step It Down: Games, Plays, Songs, and Stories from the Afro-American Heritage (Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes: Athens, Georgia, The University of Georgia Press, 1972, pp. 129-130) the "ranky tanky" dance is described this way:
"The Islanders had learned the "Ranky Tank" from the people of nearby Sapelo Island; no one was sure just how the dance was organized. but the chant and step was remembered. The step itself would be called a "buzz" step by dance teachers; the weight is keep on one foot while the other toe pushes the dancer along, very much like the motion of a child riding a scooter. The weighted foot "chugs" the offbeat. The dancer can progress either to the right or to the left (depending on which foot is carrying the weight) and in a straight line or around in a circle."

That Georgia Sea Isles description of "Ranky Tanky" reminds me of this 1980s Hip-Hop dance:

How to Do The Running Man



Uploaded by livestrong on Jun 24, 2009

The running man is a hip hop fundamental dance move...
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Is the "Running Man" a 1980s recreation of the 1970s or is it as old as the late 19th century "Ranky tank" dance? It's possible.

"RANKY TANK" USED AS AN EXHORTATION
In each of the renditions of "Ranky Tanky" that I have found, the song includes a call & response portion in which the group says "Ranky tanky!" (or "Ranky tank!"). For instance, here are the lyrics to the Bessie Jones (Georgia Sea Isle) version of "Ranky Tank":

LYRICS
Lead Voice - Oh, ranky tank
Group Voice- Ranky tank
Lead Voice - Oh, ranky tank
Group Voice- Ranky tank
Papa's goin' to rank
Ranky tank.
Mama's goin' to rank.
Ranky tank.
Down in the cornfield,
Ranky tank.
I'm goin' to rank.
Ranky tank.
Sun is hot,
Rank tank.
See me a-rankin',
Rank tank.
Oh, ranky tank,
Rank tank.
Oh, ranky tank,
Rank tank.

[book citation given above]

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It's likely that the phrase "ranky tanky" was used as a general exhortation to dancers the same way as the 1970s African American vernacular phrases "Get Down!", "Let it all hang out!", and "Ah Sukie Sukie!" None of those phrases are meant to be taken literally. "Do that funky dance!" and "Get funky!" are equivalent exhortations which also originated in African American culture. Another equivalent exhortation from contemporary African American culture is "Work it! Work it!"

I believe that "Ranky tanky!" may have come to mean the same thing as "Get funky" and each of those other exhortations - "to dance skillfully and with flair in an free, unrestrained manner. Of course, prudish people would probably consider those dancing styles to be "dirty" or "improper", but they don't know the value of being funky.
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One video of people doing "ranky tanky" dance moves is given at the beginning of this post. Here's an additional video of "Ranky Tanky":

Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem - Valley Stage '07 - Ranky Tanky



Uploaded by elcabi on May 12, 2008

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Editor's Note
As an aside, the Caribbean Dancehall music's use of the word "ranks" as a last name for vocalists (such as in "Shabby Ranks" and "Cutty Ranks") is different than the use of the base word "rank" in "ranky tanky". In the case of Dancehall music, the last name "ranks" comes from this definition of that word:
Rank -"a high or eminent status"
Source for definition: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/rank

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UPDATE 12/15/2012
Hat tip to Dan Greenwood, who performs a version of "Old Lady From Booster". I received the following information from Dan in two emails:

"The version I referenced is sung by National Heritage Fellow Mrs. Janie Hunter, collected by Guy and Candie Carawan on John's Island in the early/mid '60s and later released on the 'Been In the Storm So Long' CD"

http://www.folkways.si.edu/been-in-the-storm-so-long-spirituals-folk-tales-and-childrens-games-from-johns-island-sc/african-american-music-spoken-gospel/music/album/smithsonian Been in the Storm So Long: A Collection of Spirituals, Folk Tales and Children's Games from Johns Island, South Carolina, Various Artists SFW40031

http://www.amazon.com/Been-The-Storm-Long-Collection/dp/B000001DHJ has a brief sound sample A sound file & MP3 purchase link to that song (credited to The Moving Star Hall Singers)

Here's that version of "Old Lady From Booster":
The old lady come from Booster.
She had two hens and a rooster.
The rooster died.
The old lady cried.
He* couldn't get egg like he use ta.

Oh ma,** you look so.
Oh pa,*** you look so.

Who been here since I will gone?
Two little boy with the blue cap on.
Hang **** him on the hickory stick.
Ranky tanky done***** my shoe
The buffalo boy ****** want to buy it back.
Pain in the hip
Pain in my knee.
My leg
Ranky tanky
Pain in my elbow
Ranky tanky
Ranky tanky
Pain in my shoulder
Ranky tanky
Pain in my neck
Ranky tanky
Pain in my head
Ranky tanky

You'll didn't hear?
The old lady come from Booster.
He couldn't tell the news like he use ta.
[singers start giggling.]

*The pronoun "he" is also used for females.
Old lady come from Booster

** This word sounds like "my", but I think it's "ma".
*** This word sound like "pie", but I think it's "pa".
**** This word might be "hit".
***** "done my shoe" - took my shoe?; In that line "Ranky Tanky" appears to be used as a person's name or nickname.
****** Buffalo boy - I wonder if this could be a referent for a Black soldier (Buffalo soldier) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Soldier
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Here's a link to a sound file of Dan Greenwood's group's rendition of "Old Lady From Booster". That example is based on the version of this song that was sung by Mrs. Janie Hunter: https://soundcloud.com/#lonesomedstringband/old-lady-from-booster

Thanks Dan Greenwood for that information & example!

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West African Pidgin English And United States Gullah Language (Online Excerpts)

 Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents two online excerpts about West African Pidgin English and  United States Gullah language.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, linguistic, and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Dr. Peter W. Vakunta, and thanks to Farooq A Kperogi. Thanks also to the research and writing of Dr. Lorenzo Dow Turner and thanks to all others who are quoted in this post.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/09/similarities-between-african-pidgin.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Similarities Between African Pidgin English And Jamaican Patois (Online Excerpts)".

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ONLINE EXCERPT #1
From https://www.postnewsline.com/2010/06/american-gullah-cousin-to-west-african-pidgin-english.html AMERICAN GULLAH, COUSIN TO WEST AFRICAN PIDGIN ENGLISH?

BY DR. PETER W. VAKUNTA, 06 June 2010
"Creolization is an intriguing linguistic phenomenon. A creole is a stable language that has originated from a pidgin that has been nativized. The vocabulary of a creole language consists of cognates from parent languages, though there are often clear phonetic and semantic shifts. Creoles arise in the context of trade, colonialism, and slavery when people of diverse linguistic backgrounds are thrown together and must forge a common means of communication. Creolized languages are essentially hybrids that blend linguistic influences from a variety of different sources. Like human beings, global creoles have ancestors. Such is the case with the American Creole commonly referred to as Gullah or Geechee. Gullah is spoken by a distinctive group of African Americans in the southeastern United States. These people live in small farming and fishing communities along the Atlantic coastal plain and on the chain of Sea Islands which runs parallel to the coast. Because of their geographical isolation and strong community life, the Gullah have been able to preserve more of their African cultural heritage than any other group of African Americans.

Historically, the Gullah region once extended north to the Cape Fear area on the coast of North Carolina and south to the vicinity of Jacksonville on the coast of Florida; but today the Gullah area is confined to South Carolina and Georgia Low country. The name "Gullah" might have been derived from Angola, where some Gullah people might have originated. Some scholars suggest that the term comes from Gola, an ethnic group living in the border area between Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa. The name "Geechee," another common name for the Gullah people, comes from Kissi, an ethnic group living in the border region between Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. The Gullah are known for preserving their African linguistic and cultural heritage. They speak an English-based creole language containing many African loanwords.  Gullah has significant affinities with African languages in terms of grammatical and syntactic structures.

The origin of Gullah language is as unique as the cadence and rhythm of its sounds. Slaves from the Sea Islands of South Carolina and northern Georgia were brought to America largely from different communities of West Africa. Many spoke distinctive languages, and in order to communicate with each other and with the slave masters, they combined words from their native tongues with the English they learned to form the unique Gullah language. For years, language scholars made the mistake of viewing the Gullah language as "broken English," because they failed to recognize the strong underlying influence of African languages on this lingua franca. But linguists today view Gullah as a full and complete language with its own recognizable grammatical structure. The first scholar to make an in-depth study of Gullah language was the late Dr. Lorenzo Turner, who published his findings in 1949.

As an African American, Dr. Turner was able to win the confidence of the Gullah people, and studied many aspects of their language that were previously unknown. He found that Gullah men and women all have African nicknames or "basket names" in addition to their English names for official use. His research showed that the Gullah language, like other Atlantic Creoles, contains a substantial number of vocabulary words borrowed directly from African substrate languages. Dr. Turner also made the spectacular discovery that certain Gullah men and women, living in isolated rural areas of South Carolina and Georgia in the 1940s, could still recall simple texts in various African languages—texts passed from generation to generation and still intelligible to date.  He provided evidence that buttressed the contention that Gullah creole language is similar to Sierra Leonean Krio.  Mende and Vai phrases are embedded in Gullah songs; Mende passages are recurrent in Gullah stories; and an entire Mende song, apparently a dirge, exists in Gullah. Dr. Turner also found some Gullah people who could count from one to nineteen in the Guinea/Sierra Leonean dialect called Fula. Although his Gullah informants knew that these expressions were culled from African languages and in some cases knew the proper translation, they did not know which specific African languages they were reciting.

A British historian, P.E.H. Hair, later published a review of Dr. Turner's work in which he noted that Sierra Leonean languages have made a "major contribution" to the development of the Gullah language. Dr. Hair pointed to the astonishing fact that all of the African texts known to be preserved by the Gullah are in languages spoken in Sierra Leone. Mende, which accounts for most of the African passages collected by Turner, is spoken almost entirely in Sierra Leone, while Vai and the specific dialect of Fula are found on the borders with Liberia and Guinea. Hair also noted that a remarkably large proportion of the four thousand African personal names and loanwords in the Gullah language come from Sierra Leone. He calculated that twenty-five percent of the African names and twenty percent of the African vocabulary words are from Sierra Leonean languages, principally Mende and Vai. Hair concluded that South Carolina and Georgia is the only place in the Americas where Sierra Leonean languages have exerted this degree of influence. Gullah language speakers use Sierra Leone Krio expressions such as bigyai (greedy), pantap (on top of) udat (who?), and usai (where?) among others. According to Hair, the most noted similarities between Gullah and the languages spoken in West Africa include the peculiar way in which nouns, pronouns, verbs, and tenses are used. Almost all Gullah nouns are singular, and no distinction is made between singular and plural verbs. These traits are noticeable in many African languages as well.

Here are a few Gullah words with African origins. The language or country of origin is listed in parentheses whenever possible:

a'min - Amen (Wolof)

be - to cultivate, to clean, to remove debris (Temme)

bid', bidi - small bird, small chicken (Kongo)

buckra - white man (Ibidio)

da (dada) - mother, nurse, or elder woman (Ewe)

dash away - to get rid of a bad habit

dayclean - dawn

de - to be (Igbo)

differ - a quarrel

e - pronoun for he, she, it

eh - yes (Igbo)

fanner - a large shallow basket made of wild grass and palmetto, used to thresh rice from its hull.

hudu - to cause bad luck to someone (Via)

kuta - tortoise, turtle (Mende)

nyam, nam - to eat

nanse - spider (Temme)

nana - elderly woman, grandmother (Twi)

oona, hoona - you, singular or plural, from the word "ona," meaning one or a single person

plat-eye - a prowling ghost or evil spirit

shut mout' - secretive or withdrawn

tata - father (Kongo)

tote - to pick up (Kongo)

toti frog - frog (Via)

uni - you, your (Ibo)

yam - sweet potato (Mende)

[Taken from "The Water Brought Us," by Muriel Miller Branch]"...
-snip-
This excerpt has been reformatted to enhance its readability.

****
ONLINE EXCERPT #2
From https://www.nairaland.com/2960917/african-words-american-english African Words In The American English - Culture – Nairaland

[Pancocojams Editor’s Note: This excerpt was given as one long comment that quotes the book Global English: The Changing Face and Forms of Nigerian English in a Global World by Farooq A Kperogi. I reformatted this excerpt to enhance its readability.]

"African Words In The American English by badaru1(m): 6:46am On Feb 28, 2016

[…]

Most Influential African Languages in Gullah? People who have been following my series on the Gullah have asked if I can give them a sense of which African languages have had the most influence on Gullah. That is a difficult question to answer, but I will give it a shot.

According to Elizabeth Donnan’s Documents Illustrative of the History of the Slave Trade to America vol. 4, which was published in 1935, between 1716 and 1744, 51 percent of slaves brought to Charleston, South Carolina (from where they were later taken to Georgia) came from Angola (which includes present-day Angola and the Congo); 7.4 percent came from Senegambia; 4.7 percent came from the Bight of Biafra, which encompasses most of present-day (coastal) southern Nigeria; 2.8 percent came from the Gold Coast, which is now Ghana; 0.2 came percent from the Windward Coast, which is now Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire; and the geographic and ethnic origins of 33.9 percent are unknown, perhaps because they came from the Caribbean Islands.

From 1749 to 1787, 25.2 percent of the slaves taken to the Sea Islands came from Senegambia; 16.7 percent came from Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire; 14.6 percent came from what is now Angola and Congo; 13.1 percent came from present-day Ghana; 6.6 percent came from Sierra Leone; 2.2 percent came from the Bight of Benin, in what is now Benin Republic and Togo; 0.8 percent came from the Bight of Biafra or southern Nigeria; and 20.7 percent came from the Caribbean Islands. From 1804 to 1807, 52 percent of the Africans who became Gullah came from Angola and the Congo; 17.9 percent from Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire; 11.4 percent from Ghana; 4.7 percent from Sierra Leone; 1.7 percent from Senegambia; 2.5 percent from (coastal) southern Nigeria; 1.6 percent from Madagascar and Mozambique; and 8.2 percent from the Caribbean Islands.

It is obvious from this record that the majority of Gullah people who came directly from Africa are descended from Angola and the Congo. It also means that the Nigerian (Yoruba, Igbo, Efik, Ibibio, Annang, Bini, etc.) influence in the language and culture of the Gullah people is disproportionate to their number, given that comparatively few Gullah people are descended from what is now Nigeria. (I am certain that the Fulani influence in Gullah numerals is from Senegambia, not from Nigeria.)

What has become apparent to me from reading various books on the Gullah people is that they inherited various things from several different ancestors. Most of their quotidian cultural performances have heavy Sierra Leonean and Liberian imprints, to use the modern identifiers for their places of origin. In terms of lexical influences in their language, Senegambia (Mandingo, Fulani, Wolof, etc.) and Angola tend to predominate, although there are tinctures of lexical influences from almost all of the ethnicities from which they trace their ancestral provenance.

In personal names, Yoruba is disproportionately dominant, especially given that slave records from the Port of Charleston in South Carolina show that less than 1 percent of the ancestors of the Gullah are Yoruba. Of the nearly 4,000 personal names Turner recorded, I identified 775 names that are unmistakably Yoruba, including names like Oduduwa (the mythological Yoruba progenitor), and even names of Yoruba sub-groups like Ijesa and Ogbomosho. Nonetheless, as the records I quoted above show, merely looking at the percentage distribution of Africans brought to the Sea Islands to determine the Nigerian origins of Gullah people may be misleading since a large number of their ancestors came to their present location by way of the Caribbean Islands. My sense is that the Nigerian (particularly Yoruba and Igbo) influence in Gullah culture and language emerged from their ancestors who came from the Caribbean Islands.

Decreolization of Gullah
Gullah, unfortunately, is dying in Georgia and South Carolina. Many young people no longer speak it, and those who speak it either consciously or involuntarily purge the African influences in it, making it sound increasingly close to mainstream American English. This process is called “decreolization.” So Gullah is on its way to becoming what linguists call a “vestigial post-creole,” that is, a former lingual admixture of indigenous languages and a foreign (often European) language that has now taken both the structure and vocabulary of the foreign language and dismantled all or most elements of the indigenous languages that constituted the substrate of the admixture.

[...]

In a chapter of my book, Glocal English: The Changing Face and Forms of Nigerian English in a Global World, I discussed the African heritage of common English words and expressions, which entered the language through so-called African American Vernacular English (AMVE). I pointed out that some expressions/words started out as African-derived Gullah dialectal expressions, made their way to demotic African-American speech, and then to global conversational English through what I called "pop-cultured-induced linguistic osmosis." At other times, certain conventional colloquial (American English) expressions (such as "my bad," "to bad-mouth someone," "do your own thing," etc.) began life as calque formations from West African languages in African-American English before mutating to mainstream English. This is also true of many everyday words like "tote," "jitters," "phony," etc. From reading Turner’s book, I’ve discovered African-derived English words like “yam” (from the Mandingo yam or yambi, the Ga (Ghana) yamu), tote (meaning to carry), etc. entered English by way of Gullah.”…

****
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Visitor comments are welcome. 

Five Videos Of Gullah Geechee History & Culture (United States)

Discover South Carolina, Mar 10, 2015

Discover the remarkable history and heritage of the Gullah people, a storied civilization and culture prevailing on the Sea Islands of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. The Gullah people have sustained their treasured West African traditions and ways of life for generations, and their cultural impact on the Lowcountry is undeniable. **** Edited by Azizi Powell This pancocojams post provides some information about the Gullah Geechee people of the United States. This post also showcases five YouTube videos about Gullah Geechee history and culture. The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and educational purposes. All copyrights remain with their owners. Thanks to the Gullah Geechee people, past and present. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube. **** INFORMATION ABOUT GULLAH PEOPLE Excerpt #1

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah "The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, in both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. They developed a creole language, also called Gullah, and a culture with some African influence.

Historically, the Gullah region extended from the Cape Fear area on North Carolina's coast south to the vicinity of Jacksonville on Florida's coast. The Gullah people and their language are also called Geechee, which may be derived from the name of the Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia.[1] Gullah is a term that was originally used to designate the creole dialect of English spoken by Gullah and Geechee people. Over time, its speakers have used this term to formally refer to their creole language and distinctive ethnic identity as a people. The Georgia communities are distinguished by identifying as either "Freshwater Geechee" or "Saltwater Geechee", depending on whether they live on the mainland or the Sea Islands.[2][3][4][5]

Because of a period of relative isolation from whites while working on large plantations in rural areas, the Africans, enslaved from a variety of Central and West African ethnic groups, developed a creole culture that has preserved much of their African linguistic and cultural heritage from various peoples; in addition, they absorbed new influences from the region. The Gullah people speak an English-based creole language containing many African loanwords and influenced by African languages in grammar and sentence structure. Sometimes referred to as "Sea Island Creole" by linguists and scholars, the Gullah language is sometimes likened to Bahamian Creole, Barbadian Creole, Guyanese Creole, Belizean Creole, Jamaican Patois and the Krio language of West Africa. Gullah crafts, farming and fishing traditions, folk beliefs, music, rice-based cuisine and story-telling traditions all exhibit strong influences from Central and West African cultures.[6][7][8][9]

Over the years, the Gullah have attracted study by many historians, linguists, folklorists, and anthropologists interested in their rich cultural heritage. Many academic books on that subject have been published. The Gullah have also become a symbol of cultural pride for blacks throughout the United States and a subject of general interest in the media.

Etymology

The origin of the word "Gullah" is unclear. Some scholars suggest that it may be cognate with the name "Angola",[2][11] where the ancestors of some of the Gullah people likely originated. They created a new culture synthesized from that of the various African peoples brought into Charleston and other parts of South Carolina. Some scholars have suggested that it may come from the name of the Gola, an ethnic group living in the border area between present-day Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa, another area of enslaved ancestors of the Gullah people.[12][2] British planters in the Caribbean and the Southern colonies of North America referred to this area as the "Grain Coast" or "Rice Coast"; many of the tribes are of Mandé or Manding origins. The name "Geechee", another common name for the Gullah people, may derive from the name of the Kissi people, an ethnic group living in the border area between Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia.[2]

Still another possible linguistic source for "Gullah" are the Dyula ethnic group of West Africa, from whom the American Gullah might be partially descended. The Dyula civilization had a large territory that stretched from Senegal through Mali to Burkina Faso and the rest of what was French West Africa. These were vast savanna lands with lower population densities. Slave raiding was easier and more common here than in forested areas with natural forms of physical defenses. The word "Dyula" is pronounced "Gwullah" among members of the Akan ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. The primary land route through which captured Dyula people then came into contact with European slavers was the "Grain Coast" and "Rice Coast" (present-day Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegambia, and Guinea). The story of Gullah Jack (an African slave imported from Angola to the United States) may indicate that the word Gullah originated in Angola, as some commentators believe the word is a shortened version of the country's name. Gullah Jack's other name was Jack Pritchard because he was sold to a white man with the last name Pritchard.[13]"...

**** Excerpt #2: From https://www.nps.gov/places/gullah-geechee-cultural-heritage-corridor.htm#:~:text=The%20Gullah%20Geechee%20people%20are,Island%20cotton%20and%20indigo%20plantations. 
"The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor was created to call attention to the historic and cultural contributions of the Gullah Geechee people. The Gullah Geechee people are the descendants of West and Central Africans who were enslaved and bought to the lower Atlantic states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia to work on the coastal rice, Sea Island cotton and indigo plantations.  Because their enslavement was on isolated coastal plantations, sea and barrier islands, they were able to retain many of their indigenous African traditions. These traditions are reflected in their foodways, arts and crafts, and spiritual traditions. They also created a new language, Gullah, a creole language spoken nowhere else in the world.

The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, and the federal Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission established to oversee it, were designated by an act of Congress on October 12, 2006 through the National Heritage Areas Act of 2006. The Corridor runs from Pender County North Carolina to St. John’s County Florida. The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission is charged with helping to achieve the goals of the Corridor designation: to recognize, sustain, and celebrate the important contributions made to American culture and history by the Gullah Geechee; to assist state and local governments and public and private entities in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida in interpreting the story of the Gullah Geechee and preserving Gullah Geechee folklore, arts, crafts, and music; and to assist in identifying and preserving sites, historical data, artifacts, and objects associated with Gullah Geechee people and culture for the benefit and education of the public."
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #2: The Gullah Singers.wmv

TheGullahLady, June 4, 2011

De Gullah Singers natives of Wadmalaw Island, SC provide an in depth picture of the evolution of their ancestor; West Africans enslaved on rice, cotton and indigo plantations of coastal South Carolina. The isolation they were subjected to on these sea islands served as mechanism for them retain more of their Afican culture than any other enslaved African population n the United States. We invite to experience their story through music(children songs and games, work songs, Praise House & plantation Spirituals, stories(Cuumyah and Been yah tales) demonstrations of antebellum work skills, crafts, open fire cooking and recipes and so much more. We invite to visit the Gullah Islands southwest of Charleston, SC.

**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #3: Experience Savannah's Rich Gullah Geechee Heritage

Visit Savannah, Dec 28, 2016

Experience Savannah's rich Gullah Geechee Heritage with Gail Smith, historical interpreter.

**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #4: McIntosh County Shouters - 'Spirituals and Shout Songs'
[Behind The Scenes Documentary]

Smithsonian Folkways, Feb 1, 2017

In this video, members of the McIntosh County Shouters share the origins of the ring shout, including both its religious and secular traditions, as well as the community it brings. For the folks that practice it, it can be a way to honor and connect with their ancestors.

 

Songs Featured (In Order):

"This Might Be Our Last Time"

"Drive Ol' Joe"

"Believer, I Know"

 'Spirituals and Shout Songs from the Georgia Coast' is available on CD and Digital.

[...]

Acclaimed upholders of the African American ring shout, the McIntosh County Shouters keep the faith, form, and fervor of the generations-old tradition rooted in their small community of coastal Georgia. Companion songs to the shuffle-step devotional movement called “shouting” have resisted slavery, strengthened spirit, and left us a cultural keystone for the future. Through their classic shout songs and spirituals, the Shouters beckon us to remember the past while envisioning the future of the African American cultural legacy.

The collection is part of the African American Legacy Series, co-presented with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture....

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO #5: The Gullah People Remember Their Enslaved Ancestors (2002)

Journeyman Pictures, Dec. 14, 2018

Gullah Island (2002) - The Sea Islands, off the Carolina and Georgia coasts, are home to a people known as “The Gullah”, descendants of former slaves from Africa.

**** Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

19th Century African American Spiritual/Ring Shout "You Got A Right To The Tree Of Life" (also known as "Run, Mary Run") -Part II: YouTube Sound File & Videos

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on the 19th century African American Spiritual/Ring Shout "You Got A Right To The Tree Of Life" (also known as "Run, Mary Run" and "Ain't You Got A Right To The Tree Of Life").

Part II showcases several YouTube examples about the religious song "You Got A Right To The Tree Of Life" (also known as "Run, Mary Run" and "Ain't You Got A Right To The Tree Of Life").

Selected comments from one of these video's discussion thread are also included in this post.

The Addendum to this post presents information about the Gullah Geechee people, the population of African Americans who are most often associated with the ring shout.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/04/19th-century-african-american.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I presents information about and a few text (word only) versions of the 19th century Southern African American Spiritual/Ring Shout "You Got A Right To The tree Of Life" (also known as "Run, Mary Run" and "Ain't You Got A Right To The Tree Of Life").

****
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer/s) of this song. Thanks also to the collectors of versions of this song and the known adapters/arrangers of this song. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all those who are featured in these showcased YouTube examples. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

****
SHOWCASE YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
Example #1: RUN MARY RUN: FUNDRAISER--Rashida Bumbray & Dance Diaspora Collective



Rashida Bumbray, Apr 20, 2012

Curator and choreographer Rashida Bumbray has been performing the ring shout—a spiritual dance developed during slavery—for about a decade. This is a fundraising and promotional video for the newest installment of her dance work, RUN MARY RUN: for which she considers the harmonic ideas and tonal vocabulary of the McIntosh County Shouters—master ring shout artists—as a point of departure. Creating an active ritual for the ceremony of the ring shout, Bumbray and the performers take us on a ride through the cosmologies of the Low Country, Geechie Sea Islands, Tennessee Blues, P Funk, and Hip Hop—relating the shout to the history of Black American music. This iteration of Run Mary Run is developed in collaboration with a large ensemble, the Dance Diaspora Collective and special guest master dancer, Adenike Sharpley, Professor, Oberlin College.

Released on: 1994-04-19

****
Example #2: Weeksville Heritage Center



Mireille Liong, Jul 8, 2012

RUN MARY RUN: Jubilee Curator and choreographer Rashida Bumbray's newest installment of her dance work, RUN MARY RUN : Jubilee, considers the harmonic ideas and tonal vocabulary of the McIntosh County Shouters. Creating an active ritual for the ceremony of the ring shout, Bumbray and the performers take us on a ride through the cosmologies of the Low Country, Geechie Sea Islands, Tennessee Blues, P Funk, and Hip Hop. This iteration of Run Mary Run is developed in collaboration with Dance Diaspora Collective and special guest master dancer, Adenike Sharpley, Professor, Oberlin College.
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. Azaka86, 2012
"I have to say as a member of The McIntosh County Shouters. This is by far the greatest reinactment of the ring shout in a ceremonal fashion I have ever seen. Growing up and watchin the ring shout as a child the elder never took the shout to the point it was taken in this clip, because of the rules of "church" against dancing but to see that you guy held true to the shuffling of the feet while making the circle truly make me proud. The only thing that was missing was the beating of the stick. :)"
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/african-american-ring-shouts-origins.html for a 2013 pancocojams post on ring shouts that features the The McIntosh County Shouters

**
REPLY
2. Rashida Bumbray, 2012
"You have no idea how meaningful your comment here is. You have blessed us innumerable ways by giving us your compliment and thoughts. My dream has always been to come to Watch Night with you all, or to come and study, interview, etc. Your comment renews my faith that this will happen. Thank you for your thoughts. We will get the stick situation in order. Much much love and respect."

**
3. Jason Shi Roberts
"i'm so grateful to have found this. i am researching the early Black church and having this visual will contribute to my work immensely!"

**
4. K. D. Wilson, 2015
"Such a beautiful tradition, said to have set the "ball in motion" as they say for later music forms that African people in the US have produced. Lovely in its construction is the ring shout, and a cool way to give God some praise. Indeed, in Christ Jesus do we have the right to Life."

**
6. Anwar Uhuru, 2016
"That moment when my ancestors are smiling down in gratitude that they aren't forgotten bless you for uploading this and Sister Bumbray for birthing this for us to see!"

**
7. Unison Global Ministries, 2018
"This looks like the Ringshout in its original form. I had a big disagreement with a member of the McIntosh Ringshouters based in Georgia because they feel they have a monopoly on the Ringshout. He even went on to say that no one outside of McIntosh county can ever effectively do the Ringshout right because it’s inherited by people of that county. And he insisted if people do not do it the McIntosh way they shouldn’t attempt do it at all. I’m African American felt his comments were completely silly. In fact The original Ringshout was not shuffling feet. It was all out African Dances in a counterclockwise fashion as seen in this video. But anyhow keep up the great work."

**
REPLY
8. Jasmine Pearls, 2018
"Did he mean only Geechee people can do it?"
-snip-
"Geechees" (also known as "Gullahs" and "Gullah Geechees" are a sub-set of African Americans. Read an excerpt about the Gullah Geechee people in the Addendum below.

**
REPLY
9. Jasmine Pearls, 2020
"There was an old former slave saying she was doing it in Texas. There is also easter rock which is similar because they move in a circle.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/video-examples-of-winnsboro-easter-rock.html for a pancocojams post on Winnsboro, Louisiana's "Easter Rock" traditions.

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Example #3: You Got a Right to the Tree of Life



Various Artists – Topic, May 19, 2015

Provided to YouTube by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

You Got a Right to the Tree of Life · The Seniorlites

Wade in the Water, Vol. 2: African-American Congregational Singing

℗ 1995 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
-snip-
The lyrics for that version are given as 3c in Part I of this pancocojams series.

****
ADDENDUM- INFORMATION ABOUT THE GULLAH GEECHEE PEOPLE
Excerpt #1:
From
https://gullahgeecheecorridor.org/thegullahgeechee/
"THE GULLAH GEECHEE PEOPLE
The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of Africans who were enslaved on the rice, indigo and Sea Island cotton plantations of the lower Atlantic coast. Many came from the rice-growing region of West Africa. The nature of their enslavement on isolated island and coastal plantations created a unique culture with deep African retentions that are clearly visible in the Gullah Geechee people’s distinctive arts, crafts, foodways, music, and language.

Gullah Geechee is a unique, creole language spoken in the coastal areas of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The Gullah Geechee language began as a simplified form of communication among people who spoke many different languages including European slave traders, slave owners and diverse, African ethnic groups. The vocabulary and grammatical roots come from African and European languages. It is the only distinctly, African creole language in the United States and it has influenced traditional Southern vocabulary and speech patterns.


ARTS, CRAFTS AND MUSIC

[...]

Deeply rooted in music traditions brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans, their music evolved out of the conditions of slavery that characterized their lives. The influence and evolution of musical forms that arose out of Gullah music can be heard in many musical genres such as spirituals and gospel music, ragtime, rhythm and blues, soul, hip hop and jazz."...

****
Excerpt #2:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah
"The Gullah ... are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina, in both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. They developed a creole language, the Gullah language, and a culture rich in African influences that makes them distinctive among African Americans.

Historically, the Gullah region extended from the Cape Fear area on North Carolina's coast south to the vicinity of Jacksonville on Florida's coast. Today, the Gullah area is confined to the Georgia and South Carolina Lowcountry. The Gullah people and their language are also called Geechee, which may be derived from the name of the Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia.[1] Gullah is a term that was originally used to designate the creole dialect of English spoken by Gullah and Geechee people. Over time, its speakers have used this term to formally refer to their creole language and distinctive ethnic identity as a people. The Georgia communities are distinguished by identifying as either "Freshwater Geechee" or "Saltwater Geechee", depending on whether they live on the mainland or the Sea Islands.[2][3][4][5]"
-snip-
Among the other information on that Wikipedia page are theories for the referents "Gullah" & "Geechee" and West African words and custom that are part of Gullah Geechee history and culture.

****
This concludes Part II of this two part pancocojams series.

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Visitor comments are welcome.

"All Hid" (An African American Children's Rhyme Chanted During The "Hide & Go Seek" Game)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on the children's game "Hide & Seek" (also known as "Hide & Go Seek".

Part I showcases an African American children's rhyme that was used as a prelude to the chasing portion of "Hide & Seek" games. This rhyme is part of the Gullah culture of Georgia and is included in the book Step It Down: Games, Plays, Songs, Stories from Afro-American Heritage (University of Georgia Press, originally published in 1972, Brown Thrasher Edition, 1987). This rhyme is also included in Old Mother Hippletoe: Rural and Urban Children’s Songs New World NW 291 (1978).

Most of this post is a reprint of a post that was published in November 2014 on cocojams2, another blog that I curate that focuses on some examples of African American children's rhymes and cheers. This pancocojams post also includes an Addendum that presents information about the Gullah people.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/10/big-joe-turner-hide-seek-blues-song.html for Part II presents information about Big Joe Turner and showcases YouTube examples of the Blues song "Hide And Seek" as it was performed by that Bluesman. The lyrics for Big Joe Turner's "Hide And Seek" allude to the children's game "hide and seek" and include some rhyming verses that are similar to the Gullah children's hide and seek rhyme entitled "All Hid".

The content of this post is presented for cultural and recreational purposes.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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EXCERPT #1
From Portion of Step It Down: Games, Plays, Songs, and Stories from the Afro-American Heritage edited by Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes, (University of Georgia Press, 1987, pp. 182-184) [This excerpt is given as it was found in that book.]
"Children these day don't play like they used to play-nowhere-mine and no one else's. In "Hide and Go Seek" the children nowadays play it right quick and angry - I say angry, because if the one that's counting ask them, "Is all hid? sometimes they'll holler, "Not yet!" and sometimes they'll just throw off and give a kind of a "No!" and all that way...

But in my time coming up, when the person says, "Is all hid? he said it in a tone and the children answered him a tone. And those tones would combine together, which would make a beautiful play.

And the children don't count now-well, they really does count-nothing but counting. They says "Onetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnineten!" But in those days, we had a rhyme that we called counting. Such as, one would go to the base and lean up against a tree and not peeping, because it's not fair, you know, they would hide thetr eyes and lean against the base and he would say,

Honey, honey, bee ball,
I can't see y'all.
All hid?

And those children would holler back.
“No-o-o!”

And the counter would say,
Is all hid?

And the children would say
“No-o-o!”

And sometimes those children be right close to there-but not too close,you know, not too close for the law of the base, ten feet-but they don't be too far and they put their hands up to their mouth or put their heads down and say "No-o-o!" real soft. You see, that make him think they're way off! They sound like a panther!...And then it go on like this (singing):

I went to the river, I couldn't get across.
I paid five dollars for an old blind horse.
One leg broke, the other leg cracked,
And great Godamighty how the horse did rack.
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”
I went down the road,
The road was muddy.
Stubbed my toe
And made it bloody.
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”

Me and my wife and a bobtail dog,
We crossed that river on a hickory log.
She fell in,
And I fell off,
And left nobody but the bobtail dog.
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”
Is all hid?
“No-o-o!”
One, two,
I don't know what to do.
Three, four,
I don't know where to go.
Five, six,
I'm in a terrible fix.
Seven, eight,
I made a mistake.
Nine, ten
My eyes open, I'm a looking!

And they know he's looking. In other words, he could stop right there at "one, two", and when he stop there, they know they better lay close because he maybe done left the base then because he say "One, two, I don't know what to do"! He's looking around then, see, let you know he'a about to leave the base. "Three, four, I don't know where to go", because they are all hid, see? "Five, six, I'm in a terrible fix"; see, he's looking someplace. "Seven, eight"-he didn't find nobody there-"I made a mistake!-see? Then he say, "Nine, ten, my eyes [are] open, I'm a-looking!" and he's going everywhere then, see?

But these children now don't have that kind of counting...and they won't leave the base! It worries me. I look at them and they won't leave the base, and when the others come, they expect to get their hundred-we called it a "hundred". The call it a base, but in my day, we called it "my hundred". If you make it to the base, if you outrun thee counter and get to the base, we called "my hundred". And you know, when they ask if all is hid, they ask, "All hid?" and they holler back "No!" and all that ....You know, it's no play. It's justa snap all the way through. It's no play in it....But we played.
-snip-
The following comments written by Bess Lomax Hawes in the introduction to Step It Down explain what Bessie Jones meant when she used the word "play":
Step It Down, pp xiv-xv
"By far the bulk of [Bessie Jones'] repertoire...she called "plays". Suddenly it occurred to me that the word "play" has more than one meaning; in addition to being, according to Webster's, "exercise or action for amusement or diversion", it can also be "a drama...a composition...portraying life or character by means of dialogue and action.

Using this second definition as a starting point, the special quality of fun the [Georgia] Sea Islanders were having became clearer. When they "played", they were constructing over and over again small life dramas; they were taking on new personalities for identification or caricature. They were acting."

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
Bessie Jones' "All Hid?" chant is also included in Old Mother Hippletoe: Rural and Urban Children’s Songs New World NW 291 (1978). The text is almost exactly the same as that found in Step It Down except that record gives the line as "I paid five dollars for an old gray horse" instead of "old blind horse". That record's text also doesn't include Bessie Jones' comments about that chant. However, Old Miss Hippletoe... includes the following album notes written by Kate Rinzler about "All Hid?":

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EXCERPT #2
Record Notes From "Old Mother Hippletoe..." [notes written by Kate Rinzler]
"Hide-and-seek is one of the most widely played hiding games in this country and is known in a multitude of variations around the world. A nineteenth-century English count out for hide-and-seek is chanted:
One a bin, two a bin, three a bin, four,
Five a bin, six a bin, seven gie o'er:
A bunch of pins, come prick my shins,
A loaf of brown bread, come knock me down. I'm coming.
(Gomme, p.211: see Bibliography)

Black children playing hide and- seek in the South borrowed and revised such verses to sing as the seeker waited for the other children to hide.

The words of “All Hid” derive from three sources. The variations of the query “All hid?,” the responses from hiding children, and the counting out by ones, twos, and so on are commonplaces in hide-and-seek as played in England and America; the count out formula (“One, two...”) is a counting rhyme like the well-known “One, two, buckle my shoe”; and the verses about acquiring a lame horse to cross a river are borrowed from humorous songs of black tradition".
-snip-
ADDENDUM - INFORMATION ABOUT THE GULLAH PEOPLE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah
"The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina, in both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. They developed a creole language, the Gullah language, and a culture rich in African influences that makes them distinctive among African Americans.

Historically, the Gullah region extended from the Cape Fear area on North Carolina's coast south to the vicinity of Jacksonville on Florida's coast. Today, the Gullah area is confined to the Georgia and South Carolina Lowcountry. The Gullah people and their language are also called Geechee, which may be derived from the name of the Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia.[1] Gullah is a term that was originally used to designate the creole dialect of English spoken by Gullah and Geechee people. Over time, its speakers have used this term to formally refer to their creole language and distinctive ethnic identity as a people. The Georgia communities are distinguished by identifying as either "Freshwater Geechee" or "Saltwater Geechee", depending on whether they live on the mainland or the Sea Islands.[2][3][4][5]

Because of a period of relative isolation from whites while working on large plantations in rural areas, the Africans, drawn from a variety of Central and West African ethnic groups, developed a creole culture that has preserved much of their African linguistic and cultural heritage from various peoples; in addition, they absorbed new influences from the region. The Gullah people speak an English-based creole language containing many African loanwords and influenced by African languages in grammar and sentence structure. Sometimes referred to as "Sea Island Creole" by linguists and scholars, the Gullah language is especially related to and almost identical to Bahamian Creole. There are also ties to Barbadian Creole, Guyanese Creole, Belizean Creole, Jamaican Patois and the Krio language of West Africa. Gullah crafts, farming and fishing traditions, folk beliefs, music, rice-based cuisine and story-telling traditions all exhibit strong influences from Central and West African cultures."
-snip-
Also, click http://www.yale.edu/glc/gullah/04.htm "Origin of the Gullah" for more information about this sub-set of African American culture.

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