Hush Harbor Rootworks was specifically named such for the ritual spaces our ancestors carved out in secluded woodland forests in order to maintain their connection to Creator through rituals of worship, music & storytelling. It was their church, hospital, library and school within the harsh reality of the New World environs. It was their sacred space amongst the oldest of ancestors, the trees. Some people call them brush arbors, hush arbors or whatever the misaligned, mispronounced words you can think up. In the beginning, these places were completely indigenous in practice not European ( read Christian )in nature. I can't say what happened in every #slavechurch or every hush harbor but I can say what happened in the gathering places of my own ancestors for it is recorded in our family traditions. One occurrence was the caring out a ritual song and dance specific for ceremony which was a difficult manuever for enslaved people. Fasting, calling on ancestor spirits, rights of passage, storytelling all his happened in the stomping grounds. My own grandma had many stories handed down to her about where her enslaved family members "went to water " in Jackson County, Florida. Blue Hole, Sugar Mill and Bozell ( Baltzell ) Spring in Marianna were places lots of people worshipped before and after reconstruction. This picture was taken Bozell aka Baltzell Spring. This spring is close to what was the property of George F. Baltzell who was appointed postmaster of Marianna, Florida several times between 1833-1865.
Photo : Travis Marques
#history #florida #hushharbors #hushharborrootworks #folksways #traditions #brusharbors #plantationmedicine #medicineways #swampforests