Caribbean Folklore: Trickster Tales with Kesha Christie

The Rich Tradition of Anansi Stories, Monkey Tales and Caribbean Folklore

In this bonus episode, Hema and guest Kesha Christie explore the origins and rich tradition of Caribbean folklore and trickster tales. Starting with an Anansi story skillfully told by Kesha, they follow it up with a talk about the origins and roots, tracing it back to West Africa, specifically Ghana. 

Kesha shares another tale, Monkey Who Loves Trouble, followed by a discussion on how these narratives have travelled and evolved across different cultures and Caribbean countries. The stories, shared by passionate storyteller Kesha Christie, offer deep lessons wrapped in engaging and entertaining plots, making them valuable for audiences of all ages. The episode also highlights the significance of communal storytelling in passing down wisdom and cultural heritage.

Previous episode: Exploring Caribbean Folklore with Kesha Christie

To learn more about Kesha and her work visit her website.

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Transcript

Kesha: So the origins of a Anansi stories come from West Africa, specifically in the area that we now know as Ghana. These stories travelled with the people and they were kept and shared as resilience, as wittiness, as understanding, as fortification. Um, life doesn't always have to be this way.  

Hema: Kesha, it is so great to have you back.

Kesha: Thank you.

Hema: The last time we spoke, we talked about folklore in the Caribbean in general, we gave a few examples and there was one that you mentioned that I wanted to dive into a little bit more. The trickster. And in our conversation, you talked about the trickster coming across as two different versions, Anansi and the Monkey Taless.

Kesha: Yes.

Hema: So let's dive into that.

Kesha: Okay. Well, I've got some stories that I could share with you. Since we're gonna dive in, we might as well start with the story.

Hema: Let's, let's hear it.

Kesha: All right. This is an Anansi story, and this called Anansi and Common Sense. 

Well, Anansi was a collector of all kinds of things. Whenever he would go out, he would collect clothes, shoes, you know, boots, mangoes, and on Sunday he would go around to everyone in the village and collect Sunday dinner. You know how valuable Sunday dinner is. But Anansi wasn't just collecting these things for the sake of collecting, and Anansi's main goal was to be rich. So he would try and sell these things back except for the food, of course, but collecting shoes and selling old shirts was not going to get Anansi the riches he was looking for. So he sat down and he started to think about what it is he could sell that would make him rich, and he'd then think and think and think and then say, sometimes you think until you stink. Well, that's where Anansi was, and then he noticed that his neighbour was talking to the postman and asked for a piece of advice. Wait. If Anansi had all of the common sense in the world, then everyone would have to go to Anansi to get a little bit, and then Anansi would sell it and make big money. So when Anansi went out and started to collect common sense. First, he grabbed himself a scandal bag, and he started to put in the common sense. He went to the library, the schools, you know, the regular places. 

But that scandal bag did what every scandal bag does. It got a little hole that became a big one, and the common sense oozed out. So then Anansi decided he was going to be environmentally friendly and put the common sense in a paper bag.

So he started to put it in a paper bag. Well, this paper bag got wet. And so, you know what happens when paper bags get wet? It split in two. So here was Anansi starting again, trying to figure out where was he going to put this common sense. Hmm. Old things are good things. So Anansi found himself a large calabash. Hmm. Perfect shape with a hard shell. And Anansi put the common sense in there. And he went every, he went to the church, the barber shop, neighbour's house, and he asked everybody for a piece of common sense. Some shared their common sense, some he had to fight for. He put all the common sense when he felt he had collected it all, and Anansi needed a hiding place. 'cause if common sense was easy to get, no one would pay for it. So when Anansi look east, he look west, he look high, he look low, and he couldn't find a place. But you know, your mother is the wisest person you know, and he remembered his mother telling him that whenever you're looking for something, always start at home. 

Tired, Anansi's back at his house, looked in the backyard and there was a large eucalyptus tree with its broad branches. That was Anansi's hiding place. 

So Anansi spun a web around the calabash, around his belly and started to climb this tree. One foot, two foot, three foot. He fell. One foot, two foot, three foot. He fell again, climbing and falling. And Anansi was getting tired. But by this time a little crowd was starting to gather in Anansi's yard 'cause everybody wanted to know what's the spider up to. They watch him climb and fall and climb and fall, and no one said a word until she came. 

Shelley Ann was the cutest little 5-year-old you had ever seen with her big pigtails and her beautiful Sunday dress. She walked and made her way to the front of the crowd. She looked up and saw what was happening. Oh, and she thought, why wasn't anybody telling Anansi what was wrong? So she called out Brer Anansi and Anansi looked down thinking to himself, does this child not see that I am busy? Well, when he looked down, she knew that she had his attention. Wouldn't it make more to put the calabash on your back so that you can climb easily and freely? 

Well, this hit Anansi hard. If Anansi had spent all this time collecting all of the common sense, how is it that this little pickney is going to come into his yard and give her 2 cents? This made Anansi vex. Steam came from his ears. He grabbed that calabash and flung it to the ground. It landed on a root and shattered and common sense took flight. It went east, it went west, north, south, and all around the world. So if you ever wonder how it's, that there's common sense in every part of the world, well that's easy. It's a Anansi who made it so.

Hema: I was captivated with you telling that story and, and as you were telling it, I'm visualizing this spider.  And what I love about the story that you, you chose to tell is it's good for all ages.

Kesha: Mm-hmm.

Hema: Children, adults, anybody can hear this. And it's not just a story that's told in the Caribbean. You can tell this to anybody.

Kesha: Yes. Storytelling is a communal activity.

Hema: Ah, and Anansi, the little trickster who is really not that bad.

Kesha: No, he is not. He's wise and he's just sharing his wisdom with everyone in different ways. Some need a little and others need a lot.

Hema: He's also, you know, maybe not the smartest in this story and a little clumsy, but that's okay.

Kesha: We all learn and grow right.

Hema: Is Anansi meant to be a specific age?

Kesha: No. No, because we all had, we all need that cleverness, that resilience and resourcefulness at every age. And so everyone who listens to the story, and I like to tell the story of mixed audiences, is that you see the kids light up in one way and the grownups light up a little bit differently 'cause they've picked up on different parts of the stories that ignite that curiosity and that love for them. It's at every age.

Hema: Every age. And so it doesn't matter, and I'm referring to Anansi as a he, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a he.

Kesha: No. And Anansi doesn't have to have a gender.

Hema: I think the listener then, can decide for themselves what Anansi looks like, how old they are. 

Kesha: Yes.

Hema: Anansi stories are often told to children. 

Kesha: Mm-hmm.

Hema: And, and that's where we start to pick up and learn these lessons through this storytelling.

Kesha: Absolutely. It's how they learn their social skills. And, um, their ideals on how to, to behave. And it's not just that trickster in him, it's how he's navigated the problem that triggers that problem-solving that, that, critical thinking is all unveiled in the story that that process. And so now that young person will then kind of figure out another life situation based on the story that they heard.

Hema: When you do your live events and you tell this story or any of the other stories that you tell, are you telling a story and then is there a lesson or is there a conversation afterwards?

Kesha: Sometimes. It really depends on the session and, sometimes they just, just perform and share the story, which I do. But I like to leave a little bit of that lesson, behind as well. And when I do like schools, they, they kind of like when you, you, you spell it out. So I, I take the time to spell it out, but a lot of people take different parts of the story as their own, and I'd like for them to, keep that little gem. It's like a gift that I give to you, and you hold onto what the meaning is for you.

Hema: For anybody who hasn't listened to the first episode that we did together, I'll leave a link down below, but to reiterate, the Anansi story stems from, and the origins come from where?

Kesha: So the origins of Anansi stories come from West Africa, specifically in the area that we now know as Ghana. He was fashioned after the icon, the Ashanti spider God. And so these stories travelled with the people and they were kept and shared as resilience as wittiness, as understanding, as fortification. Um, life doesn't always have to be this way, and there were little messages that were sent through that you could grasp through the stories, but the stories weren't told and the lesson was told. The stories were told, and everyone who needed a piece held onto the piece that resonated most with them.

Hema: I can just imagine those days, those early days where all of this was just around a fire in your home, oral traditions of storytelling before anything was ever written down and, and how it might have morphed and changed depending on circumstances and culture.

Kesha: Absolutely. I, it's, it's like, um, we add a little bit of ourselves, whenever you tell the story. And stories were always told at night after all of the, you know, all of your chores and work was done, stories were told at night as, as a, communal activity where you get together and instead of just chatting people business, as the grownups would say, the stories were told and the lessons were for young and old.

So there wasn't like, oh, the kids over here are going to hear one story. And the grownups over there. It was always done together and everyone took their little piece and questions were asked. And the storyteller knew everything, the storyteller could tell you about your bloodline, could tell you about where you were from, as well as the nuances of life.

So you could literally have your, it was like having your whole history in front of you as the stories were being told.

Hema: When we were talking in that first episode and you were talking about Anansi and the trickster, you also mentioned that that trickster character turns up in a different form in other places. And you mentioned, you mentioned monkey.

Kesha: Ah, Monkey Tales. At first I didn't like to tell Monkey Tales because I was just like, ah, come on. I know where these stories come from. I didn't wanna share them because, the references that they were given. But as a good storyteller, you dig in. And I started to dig in and realized that these stories were necessary.

That trickster character isn't making fun. It's giving us a different point of view. And when I started to, to, to find some of these, monkey tales, I started to realize, wait a minute, all of these characters are the same. They have the same archetype. Their situations and their experiences are a little bit different because the story is from a different island, but this is one of the stories that I love the most. 

I don't have a favourite story. Every story I'm telling that's my favourite in the moment. But these are the stories that kind of resonate a little bit differently. 

And this is, Monkey Who Loves Trouble. On an island there was a tree kind of in the middle between the market and the, the homes. And Monkey loved to be in this tree because in this tree you could find out everything. The girls would lean and talk their soso. Everyone passed to go to market. It was the place to be. So Monkey would stay in that tree often. But every day he would see the same old woman walking back and forth with her wares to market, and back from market. 

On this particular day, the old woman had a bottle on her head, and and all she was trying to hold this bottle it would lean and it would lean, and Monkey would find so much fun watching her wiggle her head and try and oh, oh, as she walked along. But as she got in front of the tree, boy, the bottle won. It leaned and it leaned until bashaaa it hit the ground in pieces, and when it was on the ground, there was this thick black liquid, and the old woman was trying to scoop it up. Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble. She would cry out. 

She tried to grasp as much as she could. She had to let it go. There were too many pieces, too much. She took what she had left, oranges and such, and went to market. When she was gone, Monkey looked around. There was nobody. Came down from the tree. Trouble, eh? Monkey stuck in his fingers, stuck it in his mouth and was like, boy, trouble nice. So he put in two fingers. Trouble's really good. Monkey put his whole hand in and started licking and licking.

Trouble trouble trouble trouble. He scooped up as much as he could without getting cut with the glass. Lick, lick, lick, lick, lick. Oh, he's so good. You know what Monkey thought to himself, I want more trouble. And he knew exactly where to get it. 

So Monkey found his way to Papa God's house. got there, Papa God, Papa God, ooh, I need trouble. I need trouble. I need more trouble. Papa God looked at Monkey and said, Monkey, you need more trouble like you need a hole in your head. Why are you here asking for trouble? Oh, he said. I had trouble and trouble is nice. Give me more trouble. Well, you are sure you are more trouble, Papa God asked and Monkey said Yes. Yes, it's great. It's great. 

Papa God pointed to three bags and said, Monkey, take one of those bags since you want more trouble. Okay. Monkey went to the first one. Mm-hmm, not that one. Monkey went to the last one. Mm, not that one. Take that one in the middle. And when you take that one in the middle, you make sure you go out far, go out as far as you can where there are no trees around before you open that bag. Yes, Monkey said. 

The bag was heavy but he took it and he ran. He ran as far as he could run. Looked around. There were no trees. Ah. It was time for Monkey to get his trouble. Monkey pulled the string on the bag, the bag fell down, and three big dogs came out. Monkey thought he was going to die.

He ran and ran and ran. He couldn't breathe. He ran outta breath. He was still running. He couldn't believe how fast these dogs were and Monkey thinking to himself, this is not the trouble he asked for. He ran and ran and ran and all of a sudden when Monkey thought he was going to die boop outta nowhere came a tree. He ran up that tree as fast as he could. He sat down at the top and then he heard the voice of Papa God said, Monkey, even you can ask for too much trouble. 

Hema:  Love these stories. They are lessons wrapped in entertainment and they're captivating and the way you tell it, ooh, I can see the pictures in my mind of Monkey going about his business. 

You said at the beginning that this wasn't a story that you would normally, or that you liked to tell? Tell me why.

Kesha: Well, there was always that, connotation that, um, African people look like monkeys. And so I was like, then why do we have all of these monkey stories? Is it me or did I miss something? Then I started to dig in and I was like, wait a minute. Monkeys represent, spiritual entities, represent our stories, and we had to adapt these stories so that the oppressors didn't know who was who or what was happening. And so these stories kind of took on a different meaning for me. They had a different value attached to the character and I was like, okay, these stories cannot be not told. They're a part of the richness of who we are.

Hema: Where does this, these Monkey Tales, where did they originate from?

Kesha: So these stories, the islands where they dwell now, I would say you'd find more Monkey Tales, in Trinidad, Guyana and, uh, Suriname, which means that they came from India because it was the Indian people that came, as indentured servants to these islands, and they carried their own stories, their own experiences, their own religion, and they brought them to the islands and they were adapted for their new experience, their, their new way of life.

And so it was a little bit of their foundation of where they're from and had new flavours.

Hema: I'm gonna link our original conversation down below the show notes because the folklore and the storytelling and the origins really speaks to, as you dig into it, speaks to who had a presence on the island and where they originally came from, and the stories stem from those experiences.

Kesha: Absolutely. That's why when I do all my storytelling are, are especially the live ones I try to give a little bit, a little bit more of the history to help everyone piece together where we're from. We're all one. We all have that thread, but it changes depending on, you know, who you are, where you're from.

These stories are not just, they are Caribbean stories, but they're not just stories told in the Caribbean. These are stories told all over. 

I mean, look at Miss Lou who brought patois to the world. She was telling these stories, along with her own poetry and such. And so we have these gems, but when we share them with the world, it gives them a certain uplift, a certain regal for me, I put on it. And it's something that we can carry proudly.

Hema: Absolutely. It is, these stories are fun. They're fun to listen to. The folklore and even the scary ones are just a part of the culture of the Caribbean and they're pervasive all over. 

Before we wrap, I wanna talk about your podcast. 

Kesha: So I share African and Caribbean stories, but mostly Caribbean stories. The reason why it resonates so well with me is because these stories change. their influence changes from island to island. The characters change and, the, some of the stories you don't hear unless you're on the island. So I wanted to create a platform where we can share these stories and for us, especially living in the diaspora, you're able to get that little bit of nugget, which triggers conversation that you may not have had before with family. So it's really for everyone to kind of sit and listen. I keep it short because we know we're all short on time, so I just try to give a little, a little dash of Caribbean vibe, different islands, we celebrate independence days for those islands who have their independence. There's still a few that don't, but that's a conversation for another day. But I keep it light and sweet, so we're getting a little bit of a dab, and then hopefully it'll entice you to come out to my live events to give more.

Hema: Yeah, and so I'm gonna link your podcast in the show notes. I'm also gonna link your website. And if they have any questions, you are the expert. I'm not. So they can reach out to you.

Kesha: Absolutely, follow me on social media because I share little nuggets there to kind of, pull in some more curiosity so you'll get some of your questions answered there as well.

Hema: Excellent. Thank you so much for joining me again, and we will talk soon.

Kesha: Absolutely. Take care.