Caribbean Folklore: The Lantern in the Cane Field, A Chinese-Caribbean Folktale with Kesha Christie

Exploring the Untold Stories of Chinese-Caribbean Heritage 

In this episode, storyteller and frequent guest Kesha Christie dives into the often-overlooked Chinese-Caribbean heritage, exploring folktales and oral histories that highlight the rich cultural fusion in the Caribbean. 

Kesha talks about her research journey uncovering the often untold Chinese-Caribbean stories from Trinidad, Guyana, and Jamaica. The folktale 'The Lantern in the Cane Field,' brings in recognizable Chinese symbols like the dragon and lantern into Caribbean setting.

Resources

Event: Surfacing - Chinese Caribbean Intellectual Thought and Creative Practice https://sites.google.com/view/surfacing-2025 organized by the Chinese Caribbean Studies Network

What is Hakka Chinese? https://caribbeanchinese.ca/Hakka-Chinese 

Listen to more Caribbean folklore episodes

Exploring Caribbean Folklore with Kesha Christie
Trickster Tales
Anansi's Antics in Antigua & Barbuda
The Power of Pataki Stories in Cuba
A Lizard's Lesson
Making a Deal with Death
The Lady and Her Three Sons

Connect with Kesha

To learn more about Kesha and her work, visit http://www.talkintales.ca
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Transcript

Kesha: So it gave me the understanding that reading and listening to conversations is how those who have Chinese heritage often are made to feel like they are visitors, even though generations have lived in the Caribbean. Digging in deeper, I came up on different folktales that were not really folktales, they’re more community memory. They more talk about the things that they brought with them.

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Hema: Hi Kesha. Thanks for coming back to The Moreish Podcast.

Kesha: Hi Hema. Great to be here.

Hema: We are rounding out and coming close to the end of the year, and we've done so many folk tales and folklore with you. I'm really excited to hear what you have for us next.

Kesha: Okay, well this one took some digging, because a lot of the lessons and history are more oral memory, and it was a little bit difficult, but I stuck with it. So this week I wanted to share with you a Chinese-Caribbean folktale. And so I began the digging. I'm Jamaican, so we know there's Chinese-Jamaicans everywhere, but I wanted to stretch what I knew. And so I brought in my scope to the Caribbean, and and I also attended a few events recently where we were talking about Asian-Caribbean heritage and how there's been a huge focus on the stories that travelled across the Atlantic, but not necessarily the stories that travelled via the Pacific. And so those were the stories that I was looking for.

So I felt like I was in the right space in the right room, and it introduced me to terms that I hadn't been familiar with in a Caribbean context. The whole idea of Hakka Caribbean or Hakka heritage was a new term in relation to the Caribbean for me, and that's probably just my own ignorance, but it also helped open up my research. 

And so I first landed in Trinidad. And in Trinidad they were talking about dragon mas and the dragon mas band and how that started in the early 1900s . Don't quote me on that. But that was the first connection or infusion of Asian-Caribbean heritage and the traditional Carnival festival that we now know today. So that was the infusion moment, and I thought, oh, this is a great place to start. 

And I was digging a little bit deeper, digging a little bit deeper, deeper, and it took me to Guyana. So I was like, oh, again, my ignorance, Guyanese people wasn't just, um, Indo-Caribbean and Afro-Caribbean. No. So it gave me the understanding that reading and listening to conversations is how those who have Chinese heritage often are made to feel like they're visitors, even though generations have lived in the Caribbean and that travel, they were really in the Caribbean and a part of the Caribbean before the Indians came to the Caribbean.

So it seems odd that in the Caribbean community we're more accepting of Indo and then we still kind of feel like those of Chinese heritage are set aside. Digging in deeper, I came up on different folktales that were not really folktales, they're more community memory. They more talk about the things that they brought with them.

They talk about their migration fables and also the stereotypes, cause it seems like every Chinese-Caribbean person has a shop or their beliefs and things. So I started to, to look at the similarities rather than our differences. So instead of honing in, I had to kind of take a higher level view to find the stories that I thought I would. 

And so I started to note that there are things that we have similar in that the Hakka community they brought with them lanterns, and lanterns are seen as a symbol of protection, uh, representation of ancestors watching over us. In the Caribbean, yes, because a lot of our stories involve lighting, a candle, lighting a, a, some type type of a lantern. So here's crossover comes. 

And then I started to look at the idea of the dragon. And the dragon is such a powerful symbol in Chinese culture worldwide. And where does, where's its place in the Caribbean? And I started to look at how it showed up. I started to look at how the dragon represents the protector over water and over life. And then I started to look back at our folktales specifically Mami Wata, Wata Mumma, River Mumma,. And we have the understanding that she was always a beautiful woman and the tail was of a mermaid. But what if that tail was really more of dragon's tail? I mean, you think about it and in that context they look same. 

So the Chinese, Asian, and Hakka influences? The same, but different terms, are in the stories that we tell that we share already. But I was really digging for something that was authentic, something that was real, but there isn't anything that's Chinese-Caribbean, or anything that is referred as, ‘Hey, is an Asian-Caribbean folktale’. So you had to kind of dig and get the pieces together. So what I ended up doing was pulling little pieces together to create a create story that would feel right.

Hema: This is part of Caribbean history that I don't think is talked about enough because Chinese people, like you said, have been in the Caribbean for a very long time. 

They're an integral part of the community. They contributed to so much of the community and continue to, so I'm glad we're talking about this today and it's something that I wanna dig into a little bit further. 

But before we move forward, you're using the term Hakka, and I wanna make sure everybody understands what that is.

Kesha: Yes, so Hakka is a term given to the Chinese community where it kind of, it, its translation is like guest. It's that idea of them being a guest, which is not it. So I don't have a direct translation. I did not look that up. But based on the conversation that I've had at the recent event, that was my understanding, having that idea of being a guest in the place where you live and it's something that we see on a regular basis, but never thought of. You know, like when we think of the, the Hakka Chinese food restaurant, it's different from the Cantonese Chinese food restaurant. Not really understanding the differences.

But after being immersed in all of that knowledge and wisdom, um, they said to us that a lot of this stuff is still in the works, but it seems like a lot of the folks came from the Guandong region, and came to the Caribbean. But it's not just Jamaica on a whole, it's around the Caribbean. And that's how they, that's how this begins. Righ?  And so it's nice to, to be able to sit down and under have that understanding. 

Hema: And so that's interesting that it, it is loosely translated to guest because, Hakka for me and my understanding, and and it's limited, is so there's a few people that I know personally. Their families were Chinese and, and moved to India and that's where they're from.

We'll get to share more as we learn more, and as this organization that you talked about, puts out some more research and more stories. But in the meantime, you have a story to tell us.

Kesha: I do, I do. So this story is a Hakka Caribbean folktale we'll say, and it's called The Lantern in the Cane Field. 

So long before there were lights in Port of Spain, when the cane fields were the biggest produce, under the moonlight, there was an old Hakka man named Lee Chen. Every evening when the sky turned purple, he would come out of his little house and light his red lantern. It didn't have a blaze, it had a gentle flame. And it would shine out across the fields comforting, no one knew why. Like a heartbeat in the darkness. Hm. 

Lee Chen came from Guangdong many, many, many seasons ago, and he brought with him treasures, a jade green amulet and the red lantern. Under the Caribbean sun he worked in the cane fields, and he worked hard humming his old songs, giving him comfort. 

But one night the wind changed. It became harsh, vexed, the rain came down pelting. Everyone scrambled back to their houses, but Lee Chen and stayed in the field. Because that night he brought the lantern with him in the field, and while everyone was fleeing and rushing away, he trusted the lantern. It kept burning and burning and the, the wind kept roaring and louder and louder, and he kept to his work steady, kept to his work. 

But when you, when you, tilted your head, you could see the smoke from that lantern rising and rising, swirling and spinning. And if you looked really, really well, it took the form of a dragon. Big, bold, strong. It reached up all the way into the sky, its whiskers touching the clouds, and steady it stood firm. It calmed the storm easily as if it had been protecting and guarding. Now the wind slowed, the rain softened, and as the night went on, Lee Chen kept to his work, but that that light, that lantern was burning so bright and that smoke seemed like it was solid.

It was real. It broke up the clouds and dispersed that storm. Hmm. Everything got back to normal by daybreak, the lantern was burning low, and Lee Chen was working hard. He looked around and saw that the sky had cleared and it almost looked like the dragon bowed to Lee Chen before returning back to the lantern. Hmm. 

He looked at his lantern and he smiled. The air smelled like sugar and rain, but by the lantern, as he went to pick it up, he saw what looked like scales. And these scales, they, they glittered almost like glass and sugar. 

From that day, whenever the clouds seemed to roll in the way that they did, Lee Chen and his children and his children's children, they wouldn't fear. They would light their red lantern and leave them around that cane field, and it didn't matter how that wind howled and whistled and fought, when it reached that spot, it couldn't stay. It just dissipated. It was gone. 

Folks say it's because of the dragon of the lantern of coming out and taking, taking care of his people, guarding, and making sure that everyone is safe, but the lanterns, the lantern glows across that gray sky reminding of the dragon that crossed the sea and holding the flame so that it didn't matter where the people were, how far they were, they knew that they were close to home. 

This story reminds us that the Hakka community arrived in the Caribbean through Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, in the mid-1800s as indentured servants, or indentured workers, and they brought with them their songs. They brought with them their altars, and they brought with them their customs, and the red lantern is one of them. We mostly see them when they celebrate Chinese New Year, but they still there if you're looking. 

We see that the lantern is a symbol of guidance and protection. It's a symbol of hope and family connection. The dragon, the guardian of the sea, the guardian of water and of life. So when we tell our stories, we see that fire and water are sacred forces. The tale, this tale, celebrates new homes, new suns, and the flame, the belief that burns bright so that generations later they'll still be able to find their way. 

Hema: This story, you talked about at the beginning that there wasn't a, a complete tale that you found and you were piecing things together. And as I was listening to you, I could envision all of these things in my mind, the red lantern, and the cane fields and the dragon, because these images are out there for us to see and understand, but they're not always associated with the Caribbean.

Kesha: Very true, and that's why it's so, it was interesting to get into the research and when they say you go down the rabbit hole, you do, and it's just the different directions that you end up going. And there's still more to uncover. And this was just, I'm gonna hold onto these two and bring them forward.

But there's so much more, like I mentioned earlier about looking at our…for existing folktales with a different lens, and then you really start to see the infusion, the influences, the beliefs are the same, told a little differently and it's important for us to realize that it's not them and us.

When we think of any of the cultures that, that thrive, live, bred, born in the Caribbean. It's always been an us, and sometimes when we think of the us we forget that there's, there's, something made us, something built us. And it's those little pieces. You know, curry wouldn't taste the same, you know what I mean? Chow mein in Guyana different from chow mein in Jamaica, different from chow mein in Trinidad, but without those influences, separately and collectively, it would change who we are, how we we live. And it's important for us to remember that it's not a them versus us, it's us. It's always been us and we just need to bring, highlight, bring home the idea of us being outside of the norm.

I always tell people that the Caribbean is the first place where diversity was real genuine. We never asked you to be a melting pot like the, the, US or Canada is a mosaic where there's still those clear lines. When you came to the Caribbean, that warm water just brought us all together and we all just come to the table, bring what you have to the table, and we all just feast together really. Mentally and physically.

Hema: The Chinese community is so ingrained in the Caribbean, and you see it a lot in food, first of all, but you also see it the neighborhood shop or restaurants that are accepted as just a, a part of the community. 

And I've heard some really interesting stories or little tidbits of stories of some of these Chinese shops extending credit to people in the community, whereas they would not have been able to get food or get credit anywhere else. 

I think it's an important part of Caribbean history that we don't, or we shouldn't forget. We should, as you said, embrace because it's an important part of our history.

Kesha: Definitely, definitely. Going on this adventure and uncovering, listening to the stories, the community stories, a lot of the, the research that I was doing was really interviews and, and conversations because we've been done so well at accepting that we didn't, we're now making room for the stories to thrive.

We're now making room for those little, little stories. I say little stories because it seemed like they were kept, and even when you're doing the research, you're, you're really unpeeling the onion to find those stories because they're so well kept, they're very quiet. And now is the time where we want to open that teapot. We want, we want to hear all of these stories. 

And it's funny that when I was at the OCAD event, hearing about culture from the academic space, uh, literature, art, and one of the presenters showed a picture of her grandmother, and was learning herself about who her grandmother was and how she owned property. Wait, that didn't happen. That's as a woman, well as being a Chinese descendant, owning land, what her business was and uncovering all of those layers just made it so, so important for us to really, we, you know, we want to hear where we come from.

I, I keep bringing it back to food. When we're cooking and you just put the meat in the pot, it doesn't have the same flavour as we bring in the Indo-Caribbean influences, you bring in the Afro-Caribbean influences, you bring in the Asian influences, and I'm pretty sure that there are other, like the Irish, et cetera. You put in all those influences together and you've got a meal and now we want the meal.

Hema: I was really excited to see that event pop up at OCAD here in Toronto, all about the Chinese-Caribbean community and the history because it is the first of its kind that I have seen in the city, that really talks about and dives into the history of the Chinese people that made their way to different parts of the Caribbean, and my understanding, and it seems to be solidified by what you're saying, is so much of the stories are oral traditions and they are not written. And hopefully through some of these, some of this work that these people are doing, we can start to document and write these stories down and keep them and preserve them so that that part of Caribbean culture remains for future generations to learn about. 

Kesha: Absolutely. And I look at a friend of mine who is Chinese-Jamaican, she is going through her history cause she's the value of stories. We all know the value of stories and especially as a storyteller, hearing her tell the stories. And a lot of times she'll say, this is the story my father told me, or this is the story my aunt told me, and now going deep diving into the research, when she says that I lean in more because now I understand that how deep these stories are coming from. And she not only tells folktales, she tells folks tales. So you're getting the people stories, the immigration, the migration fables. You're getting the, the community voice through her. And it's, it's very, to be in the room with her.

Hema: I can't wait to learn more about this part of Caribbean history. Learn more about some of these folktales and stories and traditions that come from the Chinese community. And hopefully if anybody hears this and they have more to share from their families, their grandparents, and they wanna get in touch with you or me and share some of those stories, I would be so happy to hear more from that Chinese community when they…when they arrived, what their life was like, what their grandchildren or children think about when they think about their Chinese heritage and their Caribbean life.

Kesha: Definitely, definitely.

Hema: Thank you so much for doing all of the work to research and find out a little bit about this, the story to share with us today. I'm sure there's gonna be so much more coming down the road as some additional research is unearthed, but I really appreciate you joining us today and sharing this one story.

Kesha: Oh, thank you so much. It, it's the research that helps to add the richness to the stories. And so yeah, it was definitely a lot of fun to, to learn more and it's just, it unearthed more questions that we all have. So looking forward to see where we go.

Hema: Kesha, we will see you soon for another folktale from the Caribbean.

Kesha: See you soon.

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