Jamaica’s 7+ Storylines
Although next to the Indigenous Yamaye Taíno epics, Anansi the Spider-Man stories are the second oldest tales in Jamaica.
Added to this, the island has 7 other types of Traditional Stories
This blog is intended to introduce the reader to my Jamaican homeland's storytelling tradition. Some links are to additional relevant in-depth information.
The Northern Caribbean's largest Taíno islands are my Yamayeka or Jamaica, the third largest. It is the size of Connecticut and is 90 miles south of Texas-sized, Spanish-speaking Cubanakan or Cuba. And 334 miles south of Cuba's eastern next-door island is its second-largest neighbor, the French-Creole-speaking Ayti Bohio or Haiti. Haiti is 232 miles east of the big island of Cuba whose coastline is just 90 miles south of the American coast of Florida, a place that the Teksta Taíno had called Bimini, their northernmost Bagua or Caribbean Sea territory which they had settled around 800 BC, just 200 years after arriving north from the Orinoco River Basin in South America. So, although called Amerindians, the Taíno are Caribbean and North American Indigenous people.
My island of Jamaica has some tales to tell.
These Seven Traditional Storytelling tales are of ghosts; pirates who sailed and pillaged throughout the Caribbean Sea, Central and South America; Three-Fingered Jack the Maroon; a White Witch;,a Rolling Calf; a Twice Buried Man; dreams of a recoverable Spanish Jar filled with gold dobloon coins; potentially tragic encounters with a river sunken, solid Golden Table; and naughty, risque schoolboy's stores called “Big Boy and Teacher”... But, let’s leave that rascal for the second last!
So... What If
You were walking home one night and came across this red firey-eyed, snorting, smoke-breathing bull, dragging a chain, blocking your way, then growing larger and larger?
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Jamaicans call this ghostly bull from Hell, a Rolling Calf.— Illustration by the author Many a person has seen this phantom suddenly blocking the path home. And one does not have to be high on rum. Although some were. |
The Rolling Calf phenomenon has been widely reported and believed by Jamaican folks for many, many years. Mostly recounted by some who were out late at night while trying to make it home, especially in the rural country parts. Not only snorting fire, the specter usually has a noisy chain that it drags, loudly clanging along the ground. Where did he escape from?
Growing up in Jamaica, I know of only one incident reported about a relative's encounter with a Rolling Calf while riding his horse home late at night. (This incident occurred in the last half of the 1930s, during the horse and buggy days). The young man had a few rum drinks under his belt, and while heading home, a Rolling Calf suddenly blocked his way on the dirt path. The horse whinnied, reared up, and bolted, with its rider hanging on for dear life. Was it a disgruntled or mischievous spirit?
A story about Captain Henry Morgan. Was he a privateer, a *buccaneer, or a pirate?
Henry was born in Wales in 1635 and died in Jamaica in 1688 at 53 years old. Nicknamed by sea men as "Morgan the Terrible" he was actually a sanctioned pirate, euphemistically converted to a British privateer by the King of England. Then knighted for attacking and harassing the Spanish at sea, in Cuba, and Venezuela, and sacking Panama City. The Amerindian-sourced loot, such as their silver, gold, and possibly, Margarita Island pearls, was brought back to Port Royal, the major commercial center in the Americas. It was also known as the "Wickedest City On Earth". This notorious, rich 17th-century location is where Morgan hung out when not visiting his three plantations. A slave owner, pirate, drunk, and thief, he was both attacked by some of Jamaica's English officials and rewarded by the King for his harassment of the Spanish, French and Dutch enemies. So, he was made lieutenant governor of Jamaica.
While on a trip to Port Royal, Jamaica, I visited a church that survived the Great Earthquake of 1692, which hit the peninsular at 11:42 am, on June 7th. Sin City sank under the sea's sandy soup-like soil and remained unexplored until the 1960s. The church’s keeper showed me Captain Morgan's silver drinking goblet with a whistle welded to the top of the handle. The caretaker said that the goblet belonged to the Captain and the whistle was welded there so that when he was too drunk to call for a refill, and couldn’t speak, all he had to do was blow on the whistle which meant, "Fill ‘em up!” Then, he may go outside with pistol in hand and force any passerby to drink with him, or be shot!
Our story is set in the doomed Sodom & Gomorrah pirate town of Port Royal, at the entrance to Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. A pirate has a specific romantic meaning to storytellers, but in Port Royal, God, or Fate sank the most infamous sin city in the 17th century Caribbean Sea. This was the favorite hangout of the Welshman, Sir Captain Henry Morgan, other pirates, women of the evening, and thrill-seeking businessmen.
Lewis Galdy, the Twice-buried Man
At 11:42 on June 7, 1692, a gigantic earthquake hit the most notorious city in the Caribbean. As seen, considered the Sodom & Gomorrah of the Americas.
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The gravestone of Port Royal resident, for the Frenchman, Lewis Galdy’s second burial states, "Here lies the body of Lewis Galdy who departed this life at Port Royal on December 22, 1739, aged 80. He was born at Montpelier in France but left that country for his religion and came to settle in this island where he was swallowed up in the Great Earthquake in the year 1692 and by the providence of God was by another shock thrown into the sea and miraculously saved by swimming until a boat took him up. He lived many years after in great reputation. Beloved by all and much lamented at his Death." Galdy became instrumental in the church as a thanksgiving for his resurrection. |
Then there is 3-Fingered Jack the Maroon
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| A publication’s illustration of Three-Finger Jack from a play in England. And like my great-grandmother, he was a Maroon. |
Jack Mansong began as a captured man from Africa, sold into Caribbean enslavement, and sentenced to a dangerous 7-year-survival lifespan on a sugarcane plantation in Jamaica. But, he escaped to the highest, cool Blue Mountains where my wife and I spent our honeymoon. The first place to escape to in Jamaica was to join the Yamaye Taíno who had become “Wild High Mountain” Cimarrones, the source of the word Maroon. There he became a leader, then a highwayman and an outlaw hunted by the island’s British. You’ll have to go here to learn about his fateful death.
The White Witch of Rose Hall
So notorious was she that her next-door neighbor, the late, great American Country singer, Johnny Cash, wrote a song about her titled “The Ballard of Anne Palmer”. Listen then check out her story. Then, make up your own mind!
Rose Hall, owned by former Delaware lieutenant governor, John Rollins and his wife, Peggy, is in Montego Bay and is now a haunted tourist attraction with rum punch tours of the imposing mansion. None of the staff dare sleep in it overnight since the belief is that you would wake up the next morning outside without any memory of how you got there. Or is this just a ghost story?
What is also believed is that the young mistress, Annie Palmer was from Haiti where she learned the practice of voodoo and may have murdered three of her husbands, and some enslaved lovers, and killed by one of them named Takoo. He believed that she had cursed his intended son-in-law and Takoo's own child. We are told that the blood stains remained on an imposing main wooden staircase as proof of her wicked deed.
Or was this sweet-looking lady maligned, as a descendant believed?
A Golden Table & A Spanish Jar
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| Two golden items leftover from the Spanish occupation of Jamaica, a Golden Table and a ceramic Spanish Jar filled with gold coins, of course! |
A not-so-lucky person, walking along a river bank's fishing hole, to his utter surprise, saw a table of gold rising out of the water.
He said that he ran back home for a strong rope. When he returned, the table was now floating in the middle of the deep hole. Excited as the Dickins, he tied one end of the rope around his waist for leverage, twirled a loop cowboy style, casting the hoop over the table, pulled the rope taught and began to haul step by step. He made step one, then two, then three...
Before he could make step four, suddenly the tug-of-war was being lost! The table began to haul him backward, step by step! He was now being pulled back towards the deep hole. His left foot slipped on the river's clay bank into the water, knee-deep! He frantically tried to untie the rope from around his waist! But the knot was too tight! The poor fellow was dragged back into the water and began to sink, being drawn deeper and deeper.
The only reason why we know this story is that One Love was lucky to have a penknife in his pocket, which he used to cut the rope. Or, this is what he said. We would not have believed One Love, except that Jamaicans have told similar encounters with a Golden Table.
Big Boy & Teacher
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| “No Teacha', Á don't want no cream soda, Á will tek de empty pint," Big Boy said to Teacher. (In Jamaican English, "Á" means "I"} |
These short risqué stories were sometimes swapped between silly schoolboys, the ending riddle one would have to guess. Not recommended in polite company, they were like naughty limericks. So, I won’t tell that one here. What I will say, is that’s not soda in the bottle that she’s offering the Rude Boy.
Then there is a story about “Teacher and the Class Assignment.”
“Write a short story about the most exciting football game you have ever seen”, Teacher said.
The next day, the students turned in three to four pages. One kid even wrote six pages. Big Boy turned in just one page with one short sentence.
It read, “Game rained out.”
PLUS 1
I am the only Jamaican author/illustrator who has gone beyond Anansi, the son of gods, in creating a trilogy on his son, Intikuma or Ticky-Ticky on his adventurous quests. The Ghanaian Spider-Man stories were introduced into the Americas after the 1600s when many spider folkloric epics had already been an integral part of many Indigenous cultures. Anansi's son, Intikuma is a 12-year-old with infamous daddy issues and is known by his pet name, Ticky-Ticky, given to him by Aso, his mother who is a full-blood human.
The young tri-racial Spider-Boy gets the help of Cuffy, a local Obeah (voodoo) man, and is allowed to follow in his father's adventurous footsteps in a first search on the Indigenous Caribbean Taíno's Island of the Dead. Cuffy made this visit possible through a cohoba trance. There, he meets his god-relative, Maquetaurie Guayaba, Lord of the Afterlife. Feeling sorry for the little fellow, Guyaba, Lord of the Fruit of the Sweetness of Life, loans Ticky-Thicky his spirit search-dog Opiyel, and a reality crossing flying Bat-Canoe for an extensive journey into the Americas. In Part 1, the search begins in the Caribbean. Parts 2 & 3 (in production), following his father's trials in Anansi's search for "rich American relatives", take Ticky-Ticky to Turtle Island (where I live) to meet his other, somewhat sympathetic god relatives. Then, off to the past with an encounter in Central America.
The books Ticky-Ticky’s Quest as a series are a new approach to our traditional Jamaican AnansiStories. which, in 1968, I had turned into a published folkloric comic strip. One of my stories is titled. How Anansi Came to the Americas from Africa (Amazon Books) is a graphic novel, to be used in an Advance Placement (AP) format. The Ticky-Thicky trilogy is a good source for a multiethnic lesson. Here are links to Amazon, and Barns & Noble, where both the B&W books and in Kindle color are available (Amazon Books, 4 1/2 star rating).
Ticky-Ticky from Barnes & Noble. How Anansi Came at Barnes & Noble.
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Part One back & front covers: The adventure of a young Spider-Boy who searches for his missing father, Anansi the Spider-Man takes him from Jamaica to the skull-like Coabey, the Taino's Island of the Dead. |
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Ticky-Ticky's relative, Maquetaurie Guayaba, Taino God of the Afterlife with his Sweetness of Life guava berry symbol. |
Then, the adventure continues in Parts 2 & 3
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| Spiders Are Famous! Back & Front covers show Turtle Island and our hero with ancient spider gorgets found in North America. Below, Ticky-Ticky meets two daughters of American folkloric icons, Brer Rabbit, an enslaved African trickster hero, who lived next to Cherokees with their own hare stories. Uncle Remus's tales seemed to have been a result of cross-cultural storytelling interactions dominated by the Cherokee and the local indigenous American animal characters not found in Africa. And, Michabo the Great Hare, the Algonquian god, co-creator of men and women. |
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| Oginiminogowon, Michabo's daughter. |
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| This is Bunny Rabbit is Brer Rabbit's daughter. |
Teachers:
Tell your class about any one of the stories of the above Jamaican characters. Develop a lesson on any one of the personalities who made history in the Caribbean, and had worldwide appeal.
(1) Write a report on what two things Annie Palmer and Henry Morgan had in common. How did they differ?
(2) IDEA: Read the book on Ticky-Tickty’s Quest and discuss the story. Or do an illustrated short story or comic book with Taíno themed character(s). You can search the Internet for Taíno gods like Guabancex the hurakan/hurricane and her two accomplices, GuatauBA! the thunder & lightning Herald & or his twin, the devastating Deluge, Coatrisque.
HINT: Remember that zombies originated in Haiti with the poisonous puffer fish’s flesh, possibly a local Taíno invention.
Middle Reader:
(1) What large Caribbean island is located near Jamaica.
(2) Where did many of their refugees go after the island's Revolution?
(3) Vice-president, Kamala Harris is tri-racial, a Jamaican, an Indian, and a European ancestry. How is Ticky-Ticky tri-racial, and what does this designation mean?
Elementary level:
1) Anansi's web showed humans how to build houses, link people together in a village, an could put out forest fires. Draw your own spider storybook character. What is her or his power?
(2) Who are Jamaica’s first people?
(3) Name one fruit that they ate and which is now found In Hawaii. It looked like a pine cone and tasted like an apple.
(4) Why was he called Three-Fingered Jack?
(5) To what famous Jamaican group did he belong. (Hint: Its also a color).
NOTES
(1) * Buccaneer- Buccaneers were those Frenchmen who came to inhabit a small island off the coast of Haiti. Originally employed by the Spanish as cutters of exotic woods such as mahogany, mahoe, lignum vitae (guyakan), etc. They had been expelled from the main island of Hispaniola. They had learned how to make barbacoa or barbecue from the Taino, On their new home cay they cooked meats on a grill they called a "bucan". They sold barbecue meats to passing ships and then began to rob their customers to become buccaneers.
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