Jamaican Stories Week 8: African Traditions - Assignments - Reading - Resources - Images

The Yam-hills (George Parkes, Mandeville) Reading time: 4 minutes. Word Count: 400 words

One time Anansi start to work a groun' at the road-side. After clearing up his field, he dig nine yam-bills. Now no one is allowed to count up to the nine. If he say nine, he drop down dead. So Anansi say, "I got to eat somet'ing out of this." So he sat down an' begin to cry. Hog was passing, say to him, "Br'er Anansi, wha's the matter with you?" Anansi said, "My dear Bredder Hog, from mawning I dig these few yam-hills an' trying to count them, but I can't manage to count them yet." Hog said, "Cho! you too wort'less! You mean say you can't say, 'One, two, t'ree, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine?'" And as Hog say "nine," Hog drop down dead. Anansi take him up, put him in his bag an' carry him home an' eat him.

The nex' day he came back an' eat up Goat, who share the same fate as Hog, an' every day he went back dig the same hills. At that time Monkey was on a tree watching an' seeing all that take place. He came down from off the tree, an' while Anansi dig the same nine hills again an' was sitting down crying, Monkey come up an' said, Br'er Anansi, wha' the matter with you?" Anansi said, "My dear Bredder Monkey, from mawning I dig these few yam-hills, an' I'm trying to count them but I can't manage!"

Monkey said, "I will count them for you, but you mus' sit down 'pon one." Monkey then said, "One, two, t'ree, four, five, six, seven, eight, an' the one Br'er Anansi sit down upon." Anansi said, "That's not the way to count them!" Monkey said, "I'll count them good for you now!" Monkey began, "One, two, t'ree, four, five, six, seven, eight, an' the one Br'er Nansi sit down upon deh." Now Anansi is a man with a very short heart. He got vex an' say, "You mean to say that you can't say 'One, two, t'ree, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine?" An' as the word nine come out, Anansi drop down dead. Monkey took him up an' said, "You can fool the others, but you can't fool me!"

Questions. Make sure you can answer these questions about what you just read: how did Hog and Goat get killed? how did Monkey know what Anansi was trying to do? how did Monkey trick Anansi? Source: Jamaica Anansi Stories by Martha Warren Beckwith (1924). Weblink.