Suriname folk-lore

66.

Wan kɔnd'e bɛn dɛ, ɛn wąn Foru bɛn dɛ bari. Ɛf' a bar' so, na her' kɔndre 'ɛ trubu. Konu pɔt' taki suma kir' na Foru, a sɑ tro nąŋga wąn umą pikin fō ɛ̨ŋ.

Anąnsi yɛre. A go tai̯g' Konu taki, ɛ̨ŋ sɑ kiri na Foru. Mek' Konu gi hɛm mɔni ɛn bai̯ sani, dąn ɛ̨ŋ sɑ go kir' ɛ̨ŋ. Di Anąnsi go a tą' tu wiki. A kir' wan Pɔ̨pɔ̨, a tyar' kɔm. Konum no bribi ɛ̨ŋ taki na na Foru dati de bar' so. Konum tai̯g' hɛm, taki, ɛfu na Foru no bari baka wą' mų', dąn a sɑ tro nąŋga na pikin. Ma bifɔs' wą' mųn, dan na Foru bari. Dąn Konum sɛni tek' Anąnsi, mek' srot' ɛ̨ŋ.

Ma na ɩni na kɔndre wąn mama bɛn mu kɩs' wąn pikin. 'A dei̯ di a kɩs' na pikin, a kɩs' wą' mąn pikin. A weri wą' mamiyo yapɔ̨ŋ nąŋga wąn gɔ̨' saka na ɛ̨ŋ sei̯. Na ɩni na gɔ̨' saka wąn broko sɛmnefi bɛn dɛ. Di na pikin gebɔro, a taki wąntrɔ̨'. A tai̯gi ɛ̨ŋ mama taki, ‘Mi mama, gi mi pikin watra. Mek' mi go lɛre ɔndrofeni.’ Ɛn na boi̯ gowɛ. Ma na Gadu bɛn sɛni ɛ̨ŋ kɔm fō kir' na Foru, bika' na Foru bɛn dɛ wąn Foru dɩsi bɛn sabi soso obia. A bɛn dɛ bari wisi. Wɛ, nowąn suma bɛn dɛ ferstand są' na Foru dɛ sɩ̨ŋgi. Ma te 'a Foru 'ɛ sɩ̨ŋgi, na na kɔndre sheki. Ma na boi̯ ferstand wantrɔ̨' sɑ' na Foru dɛ sɩ̨ŋgi. Na Foru dɛ sɩ̨ŋ':

Mąn Kwakwa, Mąn Kwakwa,
Ba Toto, mi na Kwɛmąndo.
Mąn Kwakwa,
Mąn Kwakwa.

[p. 270]

Dąn na boi̯ piki ɛŋ wantrɔ̨', taki:

Na mi, na mi, na Fiąntoni,
Ba Toto, mi na Kwɛmąndo,
Mąn Kwakwa.

Dąn na Foru hati kɔm brɔ̨n, bikasi sɛns a bɛ̨' dɛ no wąn libi suma bɛn dɛ sabi sąn a i sɩ̨ŋgi. Dąn na boi̯ a i g'we fō go mit' ɛ̨ŋ. Sɩksi yari ląŋga na boi̯ waka 'fɔsi a miti pɛ na Foru dɛ. Di a dɔro, dąn a si wąn bɩgi wei̯land. Na dapɛ na Foru bɛn libi. A habi wąn bɩgi kapa pɛ a dɛ bɔri ɛ̨ŋ obia. Di na boi̯ kɔ̨' krosbei̯, dąn na Foru go na ɩni na obia kapa a tek' obia. Dąn a ląŋga ɛ̨ŋ nɛki fō diki na boi̯ ai̯. Dąn na boi̯ teki na srɛbnɛfi, a kɔti ɛ̨ŋ nɛki.

Dąn a drei̯ baka nąŋga na nɛki fō na Foru, ɛn a tyari kɔm sori Konum. A ben dɛ twalfu yari ląŋga de na boi̯ bɛn teki fō go pɛ na Foru dɛ. Di a sɔr' Konu, Konu no bribi ɛ̨ŋ. Konum taki, so mɛni yari ląŋga kaba na Foru no dɛ bari mɔro, ɛfu na nō a kɔm taki yu kiri na foru. Dąn a taig' Konum taki, meki Konum luku na ɩni ɛ̨ŋ buku, ɛfu na so wąn yari wąn mama no bɛn kɩsi wąn pikin nąŋga wan mamiya yapǫŋ. ‘Dɑti na mi, di Gadu bɛn sɛni fō kɔ̨' kiri na Foru, bikasi a bɛn dɛ wąn Foru dɩsi no wąn suma bɛn sab' kiri hɛm. A bɛn dɛ wąn tumusu bɩgi Obia Foru. Luku na nɛki fō ɛ̨ŋ.’ Ɛn di Konum kɔm yɛre, so ɛ̨' kɔm bribi na boi̯ taki, a no lei̯. Ɛn so a bɛn meki a tro nąŋga hɛm umą pikin.

Mi a no soso Įŋgi,
Dɩsi weri kamisa;
Mi na Papa umą,
Mi dɛ weri k(o)rosi.

66. Enfant Terrible: Killing Magic Bird.²

There was once a kingdom, and there was a Bird which screeched. If it screeched so, the whole kingdom was disturbed. The King announced that the person who killed the Bird would marry a daughter of his.

Anansi heard of this. He went to tell the King that he would kill the Bird. Let the King give him money to buy things, then he would go and kill it. When Anansi went he remained away two weeks. He killed a Pompom,³ and brought [it]. The King did not believe him that this was the Bird which screeched so. The King said to him, said, if the Bird did not screech again within a month, then he could marry the girl. But before the month was up, the Bird screeched. Then the King sent for Anansi and had him imprisoned.

But in this kingdom there was a mother who was about to be delivered of a child. The day she gave birth to the child, she bore a male child. He wore a striped dress and had a shooting sack at his side. Inside the sack was a broken razor. When the child was born he talked at once. He said to his mother, said, ‘Mother, give me a little water. Let me go in search of experience.’ And the boy went away. But God had sent him to come and kill the Bird, because the Bird was a bird who knew pure obia.⁴ It was screeching black magic.⁵ Well, not a person understood what the Bird was singing. But when the Bird sang, the kingdom shook. But the boy understood immediately what the bird was singing. The Bird was singing:

Man Kwakwa, Man Kwakwa,⁶
Ba Toto, I am the Kwemando.
Man Kwakwa,
Man Kwakwa.⁷

2 Told by 1. Compare Nigeria (Edo), Thomas (II) 19-21, No. 4; Jamaica, Beckwith (II) 113-116, Nos. 89-90; Bahamas (predatory bird motif), Parsons (III) 125, No. 74. It is to be noted that this story partakes of the widely distributed type of tale of a child born with a knife and a hunting-sack, who talks and performs feats of magic and valor and who is endowed with great cunning. As an example, see Equilbecq, ii, 63ff. We found this type of tale very popular in Dahomey, and collected a number of versions of it.

3 Icteridae, Encyc., p. 372.

4 The great healing and protecting principle among the Suriname Negroes.

5 Wisi.

6 This ‘is a very high Kɔmfo song’.

7 Song No. 123.

[p. 271]

Then the boy answered at once, he said:

It is I, it is I, the Fiantoni,¹
Ba Toto, I am the Kwemando,
Man Kwakwa.

Then the Bird became angry, because in all its existence no human being had known what it was singing. Then the boy went away in search of it. Six long years the boy travelled before he came where the Bird was. When he arrived, then he saw a big valley. There the Bird was living. It had a large kettle where it cooked its obia. When the boy came closer, then the Bird went into the obia kettle and took the obia. Then it stretched out its neck to dig out the boy's eyes. Then the boy took the razor and cut its neck.

Then he turned back with the Bird's neck, and he brought it to show the King. It was twelve years since the boy had started for the place where the Bird was. When he showed the King, the King did not believe him. The King said, it is already so many years since the Bird had not screeched, and it is now you come to tell you killed the Bird. Then he said to the King, said, let the King look in his book, if in such a year a mother had not been delivered of a child born with a striped dress. ‘It is I whom God sent to kill the Bird, because it was a Bird which no one knew how to kill. It was a very powerful Obia Bird. Look at its neck.’ And when the King heard this, he came to believe the boy that he did not lie. And so he had him marry his daughter.

I am not an ordinary Indian,²
Who wears a Kamisa;
I am a Papa woman,
I wear clothes.³

1 Na as an emphatic particle occurs in Ashanti, Rattray (V) p. 181: - ‘na... emphatic, translated by “it is”.’

2 Name for a Snake deity worshipped especially by women.

3 Song No. 192; an Earth spirit song, said by informant to be an Ɩŋgi Kɔmfo. The latter word is Ashanti for native priest.