Suriname folk-lore

130. Agari.

Na fɔs' tɛm yu bɛn 'abi so mɛni suma di bɛn lɔ̨'-wɛ. Ma nō, wą'-tu bɛn lɔ̨'-wɛ. Ma di dɛn lɔ̨'-wɛ, dąn dę' g'a busi, dąn ąngri kɔ̨ kir' dem, dąn dę' mit' wąn bɔsu busi-ba'ana, dąn dę' lɔsi. Ma nō, wąn fō dę' man bɛn dapɛ t'a ba'ana lɔsi, dą' i pɔt' den na sei̯ fai̯a. Ma nō den tra wąn, bufɔs' 'a ba'ana lɔs' bǫ', dę' a nyam' ɛ̨ŋ. Nō mō den tra wąn ɑks' 'a man taki, ‘Wɛ, bai̯a, yu n'e a nyam?’ Dąn a i piki den taki, ‘Mati, mek' a gari, a no gar' 'ɛtɛ.’ Dąn den trawą' 'ɛ nyam tɛ dɛm bɛri 'ɛ furu, ma ɛ̨ŋ dati no dɛ nyam.

Pikinso baka, nō mō den yeri suma de kɔm ɩn' na busi fō kɔ̨n kis' dɛm. Nō mō dę' ala bigɩn lɔ̨n. 'A mą' no a n'ab' tɛ̨' fō luku dem ba'ana di a 'abi pɔt' 'a sei̯ fai̯a. Nō mō den tra wąn den bari gi' ɛ̨ŋ taki, ‘Mat' Agari-o! Fa agari?’ So den trawą' kɔ̨' spɔt' ɛ̨ŋ, fō di a bɛn dɛ pɔt na ba'ana na sei̯ fai̯a f' agari. Na dat' mek' den gi' a wąn nem fō Agari.

130. The Fastidious go Hungry.¹

In early days you had many, many people who were running away. But now, (once) several had run away. But when they ran away, they went into the bush, and there they suffered hunger,² then they came upon a bunch of bush plantains, which they roasted. But now there was one man there who, when the plantains were being roasted, put his at the side of the fire. But now the others, before the plantains were well roasted, they ate them. Soon the others asked the man, they said, ‘Well brother, aren't you eating?’ Then he answered them, he said, ‘Friends, let them get done, they are not well done yet.’ Then the others ate until they were full,³ but that one did not eat.

A little later, all at once they heard people coming to the bush to catch them. Instantly they all began to run. The man had no time to look after the plantains which he had put at the side of the fire. At once the others shouted to him, said, ‘Friend-Well-Done - o! How is it getting done?’ So the others came to ridicule him, because he had put the plantains at the side of the fire to have them well done. And that is why they gave him the name Agari.⁴

1 Told by 1.

2 Lit., ‘hunger came to kill them’.

3 Lit., ‘their bellies were full’.

4 Meaning ‘well done’.