Suriname folk-lore

27.

Anąnsi bɛn go strei̯ nąŋga Kakalaka, suma sɑ krɩ̨ mɔro hei̯. Ma nō, Kakalaka bɛn ką' frei̯, ɛn Anąnsi bɛn ką' krɩ̨' bǭn. Ma nō, di den go fō strei̯, Kakalaka tai̯g' ɛ̨ŋ taki, ‘Mek' ų' krɩ̨' na tapu wąn awara bom.’ Nō, Anąnsi no mąŋ frei̯, ɛn so Kakalaka opo frei̯, a g'a tap' 'a bom. A sidǫ. Anąnsi 'ɛ feti fō krɩ̨, ma na maka de shüt' ɛ̨ŋ. Nō m'a i bari, ‘Mati Kakalaka, 'a bom 'abi mira, mi no mąŋ krɩ̨ŋ.’ Nō mō Kakalaka bar' gi' ɛ̨ŋ 'a tap' 'a bom taki, ‘Wɛ, opo frei̯.’ Anąnsi taki, ‘Ma, mi n'ɛ frei̯, dą' yu no wɩn' mi, bika' wi no bɛn strei̯ fō frei̯. Wi bɛn strei̯ fō krɩ̨'.’

Ma nō, Kakalaka taki ɛ̨ŋ wɩni, bika' i fɔsi dɔro. Dąn den go kari mati K'kaforu fō kɔ̨' kɔti 'a trɔbi. Di K'kaforu dɔro, wą' trɔ̨' a si taki, Kakalaka dɛ na ɛ̨ŋ s'ti mɔfo. Nō mō a bari, ‘Ko-ko-di-a-kɔ!’ Dąn Kakalaka aksi Kakaforu taki, są wą tak' 'a bar' di 'ɛ bari? A taki, te i wan' yɛri, dą' i waka kɔ̨' nąŋga futu. So fa-i-si Kakalaka waka kɔm, Foru nyami ɛ̨ŋ. Na dat' meki fō ɛ̨ŋ nyą' Kakalaka tɛ tidɛ.

27. Climbing Contest: Enemy as Judge.¹

Anansi was going to bet with Cockroach [to see] which of them could climb higher. But now Cockroach was able to fly, and Anansi was able to climb well. But now, when they went to compete, Cockroach said to him, said, ‘Let us climb to the top of an awara² tree.’ Now Anansi could not fly, and so Cockroach flew up, and went to the top of the tree. He sat down. Anansi struggled³ to climb, but the thorns stuck him. Soon he cried out ‘Friend Cockroach, the tree has ants, I cannot climb it.’ At once Cockroach cried back from the tree-top, he said, ‘Well, fly up.’ Anansi said, ‘But I do not fly, nor did you beat me, because we did not bet about flying. We were betting about climbing.’

But now Cockroach said he won, because he was the first to arrive. Then they went to call Cock to settle the dispute.⁴ When Cock came, he saw immediately that Cockroach was his delicacy. At once he cried out, ‘Ko-ko-dia-kɔ!’ Then Cockroach asked Cock, he said, what was the meaning of this cry which he cried? He [Cock] said, if he wanted to hear, then he must walk over to him on foot. So just as Cockroach came toward him, Cock ate him. That is why he eats Cockroach to this day.

1 Told by 2.

2 A thorny palm tree identified in Encyc. as Astocaryum Segregatum Drude. (p. 60).

3 Lit., ‘fought’; also idiomatic for ‘hurried’.

4 Lit., ‘to cut the trouble’.