Suriname folk-lore

16. Tigri nąŋga Kɔnkɔni.

Tigri sɛn' kari ala meti fō den kɔm na dɛdɛ hoso, bikasi na gɔ̨' dɛdɛ, na feanti fo ala meti. Ala dati Tigri pɔti wąn gɔ̨' na ɔndro parada. Ma Kɔnkɔni nąŋga Anąnsi bɛn sabi na triki fō Tigri. So bifɔs' den go na bɛri, Anąnsi sɛni ala den twalfu p'kin fō hɛm gowe nąŋga hɛm wei̯fi. Nō mō a go na Tigri a taki, ‘Mi Tata Tigri, luku fa na wei̯fi fō mi nąŋga dɛn p'kin no habi wą' hei̯ maniri nąŋga respɛki fō yu. Ma mi dɛ go, nō mō, na hoso go tyar' den kɔm baka.’ Anąnsi gowe. Ɛn nąŋga den twalfu p'kin fō hɛm nąŋga hɛm wei̯fi kɩbri na papa-gɔdo.

Den wakti Anąnsi so te... ma den no kąn wakti hɛm mɔro, bikasi na dɛdɛ mu' gowe. Tigri taki, ‘Ala mą' mu' waka na ląŋga lo.’ Ma Kɔnkɔni sɔrgu tą' fō lasti wą'. A tai̯gi Tigri taki, ‘Mi kąn waka hesi-hesi so, a mɔro bɛtrɛ yu meki mi trɔ̨n krɛpsi.’

[p. 174]

Tigri taki, ‘A bǭ'. Ma yu mu' waka leti na fesi na ląŋga lo.’ Kɔnkɔni dɛ na fesi, a bɛn srapu hɛm yei̯si. Tigri dɛ na baka, a dɛ kiri den meti wąn fō wąn. Ma Kɔnkɔni bɛn dɛ lɔ̨' ala tɛm, go na wą' sei̯. Nō mō a de bari sɩ̨ŋgi:

Ųn luku bǭ',
Mi Tata Tigri
De go nyam ųn.

Tigri taki, ‘Yu boi̯ Kɔnkɔni, na kɔndɩsi no dɛ taki yu mu' waka na ląŋga lo? Ma yu de dyɔmpo, dyɔmpo. Yu no habi wą' rɛspɛki taki na bɛri yu de?’ Kɔnkɔni taki, ‘Mi no ką' lɛpi. Ma na so mi lɔbi dyɔmpo, dyɔmpo. Yu sabi-taki mi na Kɔnkɔni, mi dɛ krei̯ fō mi baka nɛki. Den trawą' no wani sɔrgu fō den, ma mi dati, mi sɔrgu fō mi srɛfi.’ A yurtɛm di 'a skapu yɛre so a bari, ‘Bɛ! Bɛ!’ A sɛti lɔ̨' gowe. Ala den trawą' du na srefi, tu. Ma Tigri no bɛn hab' bōrō, bikasi a bɛn kiri nɔfo meti na gɔ̨' bɛri. So gɔ̨' dɛdɛ, ma Tigri tą' fō kiri na tra meti.

16. Mock Funeral, - Gun is Dead.⁵

Tiger sent to call all the animals to come to a funeral, because Gun, the enemy of all animals, was dead. In the meantime⁶ Tiger put Gun under the bier. But Rabbit and Anansi knew Tiger's tricks. So, before they went to the burial, Anansi sent away all his twelve children and his wife. Presently he went to Tiger, and said, ‘Father Tiger, see how my wife and children are lacking in proper manners and respect for you. But I am going home, this very moment, to bring them back.’ Anansi went away. He and his twelve children and his wife hid in a large gourd.

They waited for Anansi so till... but they could not wait longer, because the dead had to be taken away. Tiger said, ‘All men must walk in a single row.’ But Rabbit saw to it that he should be last. He said to Tiger, said, ‘I can walk so fast that it is better that

5 Told by 6. Compare, for Ivory Coast, Tauxier (I) 293-294, Guro No. 36.

6 Lit., ‘all that’, idiomatic for ‘in the meantime’.

[p. 175]

you make me krepsi.’¹ Tiger said, ‘All right. But you must walk right at the head of the file.’ Rabbit was in front, and he sharpened his ears. Tiger was in back, and he was killing the animals one by one. But Rabbit was running all the time from one side to the other. Soon he cried out, singing:

‘You take care,
My Father Tiger
Is going to eat you.’

Tiger said, ‘You boy Rabbit, does not the condition say that you must walk in single file? But you jump and jump. Don't you realise you are at a funeral?’ Rabbit said, ‘I cannot help it. But so I like to jump and jump. You know that I am Rabbit, and I cry from the back of my neck.² The others do not care to look out for themselves, but I am one who takes care of myself.’ When the sheep heard this they cried out, ‘Beh! Beh!’ They set out on a run. All the others did the same, too. But Tiger was not disturbed, because he had killed enough animals already at Gun's burial. So Gun was dead, but Tiger remained to kill the other animals.

1 A man chosen by the government to lead the funeral, and to see that the body in the coffin is not tampered with before the coffin is closed and put into the ground. The origin of the word was explained as being the name of the first man who was chosen by the government to hold this office. No burial can take place without a krɛpsi. The explanation given by the informant was that in former times the body was often molested for purposes of black magic.

2 This innuendo has reference to the manner in which the tiger kills his prey, i.e., by attacking it from the back and seizing it by the neck.