"The bottle tree reflects the historical trajectory of the transatlantic slave trade from Africa through the Caribbean to the U.S. For centuries, Kongolese captives were transplanted to the Low Country region of South Carolina and Georgia through the ports of Savannah and Charleston. African religious beliefs and traditions that survived the brutality of the Middle Passage were passed down from generation to generation, and continue to be practiced by descendants of the region, known as the Gullah, who still reside along the coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia…. Ancestors of the Gullah were some of the first people in the American South to use bottle trees. Tree branches were cut short and empty bottles were placed upside down on the shortened limbs. The enslaved believed evil spirits were drawn to the bottles by the light of the moon, and became trapped inside where they are forced to stay for the rest of the night… Wandering spirits can be evil or those of deceased loved ones. To keep the latter from searching for things they want or need, personal items were placed at their gravesites. Objects included clocks, lamps, dishes, pots, pans, toys, etc., that were broken or punctured in some way so that the spirit of the objects could join the spirit of the deceased in the afterlife…The objects were believed to retain the power of the deceased’s spirit, while glass bottles “preserve” the abilities of the dead so they may live on.” -Donnamarie Baptiste For Those Gathered In the Wind, Bottle Tree Installation
