Suriname folk-lore

48.

Wąn mąn bɛn meki wąn bɩgi grɔ̨'. A prani na grɔ̨' nąŋga furu nanyąm, ma a no dɛ sɛri da nanyąm. Ma ɩbri suma dɛ kɔm na ɛ̨ŋ, a dɛ taki, ‘Go na ɩni grɔ̨', yu ką' puru somɛni nanyąm lei̯k' yu wani, ma yu mu tai̯g' mi bei̯nɛ̨m.’

Ma ala sɔrtu suma bɛn go, ma den no bɛn ką' tyari nanyąm gowɛ, bɩkasi den no bɛn sabi ɛ̨ŋ bei̯nɛ̨m. Ma wan dei̯ Anąnsi tai̯gi hɛm wei̯fi, a taki, ‘Mi wei̯fi, tidɛ wi no habi no nanyam nąŋga wi pikin. Mek' wi go na Papa, go puru nanyąm. Ma, yu kąn puru somɛni lei̯k' yu i ką', bɩkasi no wą' suma no mąŋ tyari na nanyąm gowɛ. Ma mi, Anąnsi, dɑti 'ɛ go tyari hɛm.’ A taki, ‘Mi wei̯fi, wer' wąn

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pɩs-duku gi mi, dan yu pɔt' mi lidǫ' na ɩni wą' baki, dą' mi go prei̯ lei̯k' mi na wąn nyunyu pikin.’ So hɛm wei̯fi teki Anąnsi, a wer' na pɩs-duku gi hɛm. A pɔt' hɛm na ɩni na baki, a waka go na na Papa grɔ̨'.

A taki, ‘Mi Papa, mi kɔm bɛgi ɛfu yu no habi pikin nanyąm gi mi?’ Na Papa piki hɛm, a taki, ‘Luku, sowąn bɩgi grɔ̨' mi habi. Ɛf' yu wani, ɛn ɛf' yu sabi mi bei̯nɛ̨m, yu kąn tyari alamala gowɛ.’ A tai̯gi, ‘Mi Papa, mi sɑ go na ɩni grɔ̨', go bɩgin puru. Tɛ mi kaba, mi sɑ proberi si ɛf' mi kan lai̯ yu bei̯nɛ̨m. Ma tąŋgi, tąŋgi, yu kąn mek' mi libi na nyunyu pikin diaso na yu na fes'-sei̯, bikasi na ɩni grɔ̨' habi tumusi maskita?’ Na papa taki, ‘Ɛf' a no dɛ stotu, nąŋga ala presiri mi sɑ luku ɛ̨ŋ gi yu.’ So Anąnsi wei̯fi libi na p'kin na fes'-sei̯, a go na ɩni grɔ̨'. A puru nanyąm so tɛ... dati bei̯na a no bɛn mąŋ tyari hɛm. Di a kɔm 'a fes'-sei̯, a taki, ‘Mi Papati, mi kɔm luku na p'kin. Mi kɔm gi hɛm p'kin bɔbi.’ Nō, a dɛ teki Anąnsi na ɛ̨ŋ futu tapu. Anąnsi tak' hɛm sa‧afri na ɛ̨ŋ yei̯si, a taki, ‘Puru mɔro, bɩkasi wi go tyari hɛm gowē.’ So, di na mama kaba gi hɛm bɔbi, a gowē baka na bakagrɔ̨', go puru mɔro nanyąm.

Pikinso na baka, di Anąnsi wei̯fi bɛn go na bakagrɔ̨', Anąni bɛn bɩgin stotu. A den bari, bari, bari tumusi, a dɛ skɔp' hɛm futu na lɔktu. So na Papa hati ben kɔm brɔ̨n, a taki, ‘Sɛnsi mi dɛ, mi no si sowąn stotu p'kin.’ O mɔro a di dɛ doi̯ Anąnsi, o mɔro a dɛ bari. So a taki, ‘Gadō! Mi Kɔ̨ŋgodifa, sɛnsi mi dɛ, mi no si stotu p'kin yɛte lei̯ki dɩsi.’ Di Anąnsi yɛre na nɛm fō Kɔ̨ŋgodifa, a bɛn presiri tumusi. A de bari mɔro. So na Papa lib' hɛm na fes'-sei̯, gowɛ na bakagrɔ̨', go kari hɛm mama. A taki, ‘Mɩsi, kɔm teki yu p'kin, bɩkasi a stotu tumųsi.’ Na mama taki, ‘Mi sari tumusi fō yɛre dati, bikasi na hoso, a no dɛ so stotu. Sɔntɛ maskita bɛn beti hɛm, dati meki a dɛ stotu so. Ma mi sɑ kɔm wantɛ, wantɛ, na fes'-sei̯ fō kɔm luku hɛm.’

So a kɔm 'a fes'-sei̯, a teki hɛm p'kin, a dɛ di doi̯ hɛm. A taki, ‘San hɛdɛ meki yu dɛ stotu so, te na Papa hati srɛfi kɔm brɔn nąŋga yu?’ Dą' Anąnsi taigi hɛm wei̯fi sa‧afri na yei̯si, a taki, ‘Na nanyąm a fō ųnu, yu puru nɔfo nanyąm?’ Taki, ‘Ɛfu yu no pur' nɔfo, go puru mɔro.’ So na mama tai̯gi na Papa, a taki, ‘Mi Papa, mi wani go puru p'kin nanyąm mɔro.’ So na Papa piki hɛm, a taki, ‘Yu n'a' fō go puru mɔro, bɩkasi yu no kąn tyari hɛm gowe, sɔndro yu sabi mi bei̯nɛ̨m.’

So Anąnsi taki hɛm wei̯fi sa‧afri na hɛm weifi baka, a taki, ‘Hɛm nɛ̨m na Kɔ̨ŋgodifa.’ So Anąnsi wei̯fi bɛn sabi na Papa bei̯nɛ̨m kaba, a taki, ‘Yu habi leti, mi Papa. Mi no a fō dɛ so bɩgi ai̯. Nō, mi no sabi fa mi sɑ tyari mi nanyąm gowɛ, bɩkasi mi no sabi yu bei̯nɛ̨m. Ma mi sɑ proberi, sɔntɛ mi sɑ habi na

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xoluku fō lei̯ hɛm.’ A taki, ‘A no Kwaku yu nɛ̨m, mi Papa?’ 'A papa taki, ‘No, no.’ A taki, ‘A no Kɔdyo yu nem?’ 'A papa taki, ‘No, no. Yu no dɛ go tyari na nanyąm gowɛ, bɩkasi yu no sabi mi bei̯nɛ̨m.’ No mō Anansi wei̯fi piki hɛm taki, a taki, ‘Mi Papa, ɛfu na Kɔ̨ŋgodifa yu nem, mi kan tyar' na nanyąm gowɛ dą'?’ Fa a bɛn kari na wɔrtu fō Kɔ̨ŋgodifa, na Papa bɛn fadǫ' dɛdɛ na grɔ̨' fō skrei̯ki.

So Anąnsi nąŋga ɛ̨ŋ wei̯fi nąŋga ala ɛ̨ŋ p'kin, den bɛn teki na grǫ' nąŋga ala den nanyąm, bɩkasi yu srɛfi sabi Anąnsi mɔro bɛtre nąŋga bɩgi hai̯ nąŋga fufuru.

48. Guessing a Name: Anansi Disguises as a Baby.²

A man had cleared a large field. He planted the field with many kinds of food, but he did not sell the food. But to everyone who came to him, he said, ‘Go in the field and gather as many provisions as you like, but you must tell me my surname.’

But all kinds of people had gone, but they could not carry away the food, because they did not know his surname. But one day Anansi said to his wife, he said, ‘My wife, today we and our children have no food. Let us go to the Papa, and gather food. But, [it is a place where] you may gather as much as you can, for no one is able to take the food away. But [yet] I, Anansi, am the one to go

2 Told by 6. Compare, beside Ivory Coast (Tauxier) references given for preceding tale, for Gold Coast (Ashanti), Rattray (I) 33; Jamaica, Beckwith (II) 118-120, No. 92a-c.

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and take it away.’ He said, ‘My wife, put a diaper on me, and lay me down in a basin, then I am going to pretend I am a newborn child.’ So his wife took Anansi and dressed him in a diaper. She put him inside a basin, and walked with him to the Papa's field.

She said, ‘Papa, I come to ask you if you haven't a little food for me?’ The Papa answered her, he said, ‘Look, I have so large a field. If you care to, and if you know my surname, you can take it all away.’ She said, ‘Papa, I will go in the field, and begin to gather. When I finish I will try to see if I can guess your surname. But please, please, may I be allowed to leave my newborn child here in front, because there are too many mosquitoes in the field?’ The Papa said, ‘If he doesn't fret, I will gladly look after him for you.’ So Anansi's wife left the child in front, and went to the field. She gathered food so till... that she almost could not carry it. When she came to the front she said, ‘Father, I came to look after the child. I came to feed him a little.’ Now she took Anansi on her knee. Anansi said to her softly in her ear, he said, ‘Gather more, because we are going to take it away.’ So, when the mother was through feeding him, she went to the back of the field, to gather more provisions.

A little later, when Anansi's wife had returned to the back of the field, Anansi began to fret. He screamed, and screamed, and screamed very much, and he kicked his feet in the air. So Papa became angry, he said, ‘As long as I live, I never saw such a fretful child.’ The more he rocked Anansi, the more he screamed. So he said, ‘By God! I, Kongodifa, as long as I live, I never saw a fretful child like this.’ When Anansi heard the name of Kongodifa he was very pleased. He screamed all the more. So Papa left him in front and went to the back of the field to call his mother. He said, ‘Miss, come take your child because he is very fretful.’ The mother said, ‘I am very sorry to hear that, because at home he is not so fretful. Perhaps a mosquito bit him and that is why he frets so. But I will come up front immediately to look after him.’

So she came up front, and she took her child, and she rocked him. She said, ‘What makes you fret so, till the Papa himself becomes angry with you?’ Then Anansi said softly in his wife's ear, he said, ‘The food is yours, did you gather enough?’ He said, ‘If you did not gather enough go and gather more.’ So the mother said to Papa, she said, ‘Papa, I want to go and gather a little more food.’ So Papa answered her, he said, ‘You do not need to go and gather more because you cannot take it away unless you know my surname.’

So Anansi said to his wife, softly again, he said, ‘His name is Kongodifa.’ So Anansi's wife knew already Papa's surname. She said, ‘You are right Papa. I needn't be so greedy. No, I don't know how I am to take away the food, because I don't know your surname. But I will try, perhaps I will have the luck to guess

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it.’ She said, ‘Isn't Kwaku your name, Papa?’ The Papa said, ‘No, no.’ She said, ‘Is not Kodyo your name?’ The Papa said, ‘No, no. You aren't going to take away the food, because you don't know my surname.’ At once Anansi's wife answered him, she said, ‘Papa, if your name is Kongodifa, then may I take away the food?’ As she called the word Kongodifa, the Papa fell to the ground dead of fright.

So Anansi and his wife and all their children took the field and all the food, because you yourself know Anansi best for his greed and his thieving.