"They have also kept animal tales that are very similar to animal tales in Africa," he adds. "The characters are not exactly the same, because the ecology has changed, but the themes of the tales are very similar to the themes that you find in Africa."

Back on Sullivan's Island, overlooking the vast ocean that brought her ancestors to the shores of enslavement, Towne says Gullah/Geechee people should not lose sight of their past.

"This is actually the bloodline of our people, the water," she says. "I must come here and my children come here. And my children's children must come here too. Because we must never forget."