Παραμύθια από την Καραϊβική

Oxford Myths and Legends

by Philip M. Sherlock, Χριστίνα Πάλλη (Translator), Rosamund Fowler (Illustrator)

As a child, Philip Sherlock loved to listen to folk tales. Since then he has made a significant contribution to Caribbean folklore by recording many of them in print for the first time.
Here are fables of the birds and animals of the West Indies: jaguar, snake, crested curassow, wild pig, parrot, wise owl, and of Anansi—the spider who can assume human form.
These twenty-one stories are a wonderful mixture of early tales from the Arawak and the Carib people, the original inhabitants of the Caribbean, and from the Ashanti people of West Africa. Read together they help to provide a background to the history of the West Indies. The stories are retold here in a warm, rich style—some tales gentle and philosophical, some humorous and full of action.

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Folklore, Animals, Folk Tales

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

What struck me about these stories is the similarity between traditional folk tales in different parts of the world. I grew up, of course, with British or European stories, whereas these stories are either of Carib or African origin. Yet many of them sounded familiar, not in the specifics but in the general themes -- explaining the world and how things came to be the way they are, through stories with animals as characters illustrating different aspects of human behaviour.

What was also interesting about these stories was that the moral was not always clear. The spider Anansi figures heavily in the African-origin stories, and he often tricks the other animals or acts selfishly, taking advantage of their generosity or trust. Sometimes this works out, and sometimes it doesn't. The outcome wasn't as predictable as I'd expected it to be.

The first few stories are from the Carib people, the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Caribbean who gave the region its name but suffered heavily under European colonisation and are now very few in number. They explain the origins of the people, saying they used to live on the moon but saw in the bright procession of worlds around them there was one that looked dull and needed cleaning. So they went down to Earth on cloud chariots to clean it, but got stuck here when the cloud chariots broke loose and floated away. They cried out to Kabo Tano ( the 'Ancient One') for help, and he gave them a huge Coomacka Tree with all kinds of fruit and vegetable. Then he ordered them to cut it down, and each one took cuttings from it. "And so, to this day, every Carib has food close to his dwelling." Then there are stories to explain the animals, for example how the sun-spirit Arawidi created the dog as a companion for humans, molding it out of fish. The part he held in his hand became the nose, and that's why every dog has a cold nose.

Then the majority of the stories are those the enslaved Africans brought with them to the West Indies from their homelands. Many of them are originally Ashanti tales - in the West African language Twi, the word for spider is "ananse". The characters in these stories are animals, but with human characteristics, for example living in houses, wearing clothes, talking, paying each other money. Anansi the spider, the central character, is often greedy and selfish, scheming to outwit the other animals, but is portrayed sympathetically - as the weakest animal, he can't compete physically with the tigers etc, so has to use his wits.

One interesting parallel with the Carib stories was the trajectory of all the animals living together as friends at first, before pulling apart and becoming enemies as a result of some trick. For example in the Carib stories, the reason man needed the dog as a companion was that all the other animals had deserted him after times were hard and he started hunting them to stave off his hunger. In the African stories, Anansi and Tiger used to be friends, but Anansi stole Tiger's lunch one day and so Tiger retreated deep into the bush and Anansi hid in a tree, safe in his web.

I would be interested to know how this book was put together - what the original sources were, and how much the modern-day author Philip Sherlock adapted them. It was always a question in my mind, particularly when I saw striking parallels with other cultures. For example the character of the Wise Owl appears in both the African and Carib stories, and is of course also familiar from European stories. It's quite amazing that people in three different corners of the world should see an owl in the same way - reminds me of the parallels I'm seeing in "The Golden Bough", a massive compilation of myths and traditional beliefs from around the world that I'm reading gradually over several months. For me, this was the most interesting part of these stories. I enjoyed them for themselves and their characters too, but mostly for the unexpected feeling of deep familiarity.

[Rati Mehrotra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delightful collection of tales, some of them Carib, many West African, that form the tradition of West Indian folk tales. This would be a 4-star rating if not for one misogynistic tale titled "Why women won't listen". Otherwise, I loved the stories here, many featuring the trickster Anansi.

[Sasha-Gaye Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think this book is great does any one agree?

[Tara Constantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book in the classroom for my HSP and immediately gravitated towards it. As someone who grew up with the folk-tales as a large part of my childhood, it was incredibly nostalgic. I read the stories during my free time at lunch, and even sat and read one of the stories with one of the students. It is a great book to dip in and out of and also a great tool when thinking about multi-cultural education. The tales tend to convey a moral and are culturally incredibly significant in the Caribbean, children with Caribbean parents are likely to have heard about Anansi, a character that has West African origins that were taken to the Caribbean with the slave trade. This book could be incredibly useful not only in diversifying the literature on offer and speaking to the backgrounds of children in the class but also in cross-curricular learning. I think if a child were to try and read the book themselves they would probably want to be 9+ however, this book would also be great for storytimes with younger children as it can be read with great animation and there are so many cheeky and mischievous things that Anansi gets up to that will definitely get some laughs.

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This older book was a lot like a ripe apple with a small worm hole drilled into one side.

The wormhole was a single folk tale- Why Women Won't Listen. You might be able to figure out why just from the title.

While poking fun at the generalized characteristics of men or women, it's okay by me if it's done with humor. This was not; it was seriously misogynistic. Not all cultural artifacts are valuable simply because they are cultural artifacts, turns out.

But enough about that. The rest of the folk tales, which often contained origin tales and good humor, were told with such skill that if read aloud would sound perfectly natural for storytelling. Most of the stories I have read need to be adapted for that, but not this writer's work. My compliments.

The entertainment value is there too. Definitely recommended.

[Faloni © · Rating 5 out of 5]

🏝🌞 Awwwwwwww thanks 🎤🎅🏽❄️ girl! I
🧘🏽‍♀️ 🎨🏡 Really appreciate that 🙂🎄🏔🏘

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun stories!

[Mrs. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the stories except "Why Women Wont Listen". The Anansi stories were my favourites.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming selection of Caribbean folk tales that include fables of the birds and animals of the West Indies: including Anansi, the spider. Twenty-one selections from the Arawak and the Carib people, and from the Ashanti people of West Africa. A great introduction to folk tales and legends.

[Micaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first intro to Anansi! Nowadays, I might like a better historical intro, but that is par for the course for fairy books.

[Shavaugn · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is good