“Once upon a time, a very good time, Monkey chew terbakker and spit white lime, Bullfrog jump from bank to bank while Mosquiter keep up the time.”
Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – we’re in the Bs.
Country: The Bahamas
Title: An Evening in Guanima: A Treasury of Folktales from The Bahamas
Author: Patricia Glinton-Meicholas
Language: English
Translator: None
Publisher: Guanima Press Ltd 1993
This collection of folktales from The Bahamas is an absolute delight. As someone who enjoys folktales from throughout the world, I enjoyed seeing how stories travel through time and space. There is a heavy influence from West Africa, the African diaspora and African Americans, the American South, as well as a notable Scottish influence. Glinton-Meicholas discusses these varied influences in her introduction, which is a must read. I was also reminded of Russian and Asian works while reading the brief collection. “The Gaulin Wife” certainly has echoes of the Japanese folktale “The Crane Wife” as an example.
Like most folktales, the lessons are the same: don’t be greedy, listen to your elders, don’t be a glutton, watch out for tricksters, and a melon don’t grow on a pumpkin vine.
It’s certainly worth a read.
A Girl Named Tommi 