Some Additonal Notes & Song Examples From Walter Jekyll's 1907 Book "Jamaican Song & Story"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a three part pancocojams series on Walter Jekyll's 1907 book entitled Jamaican Song and Story" Annancy stories, digging sings, ring tunes, and dancing tunes..

This post showcases some notes and examples from that book that interest me and/or appeals to me aesthetically for one reason or another. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/10/racial-referents-including-color.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post is entitled "Racial Referents (Including Color Referents) For Afro-Jamaicans In Walter Jekylls' 1907 Book "Jamaican Songs And Stories..."

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/10/little-sally-water-few-other-examples.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That series is entitled ""Little Sally Water" & A Few Other Examples Of Familiar Singing Games & Other Songs In Walter Jekyll's 1907 Book "Jamaican Song And Stories".

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Walter Jekyll and all those who shared this folkloric material with him. Thanks to all and thanks to Project Gutenberg for publishing this manuscript online.

****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
These notes and examples for Jekyll's 1907 book Jamaican Song And Story... are given "as is" without their musical notations or the Windows Media that enables you to hear these examples (I don't have Windows Media so I don't know if it really works.

I'm aware that other people who would compile a list of examples from that book which interest them may select different examples than this list. 

In this comilation I added  the word "page" or "pages" in brackets to explain what those numbers mean. I also added asterisks to separate one example from another.]

I didn't add any of my"editorial notes after any of these entries. However, I will add some comments below in that section of this post.

DISCLAIMER: I don't like and don't agree with some of the characterizations that Walter Jekyll's made about Afro-Jamaicans in this book or his opinions about certain things such as "Obeah". However, I'll give him a lot of slack since this book was written in the very early 20th century. Dduring that time Jekyll's attitudes and opinions about Afro-Jamaicans were probably considered to be very progressive. I'll also give Walter Jeyll's some slack because his book is such a treasure trove for people like me who are interested in life in Jamaica in the late 19th century and very early 20th century.

****
EXAMPLES OF ADDITIONAL SONGS FROM WALTER JEKYLL'S BOOK "JAMAICAN SONG AND STORY: ANNANCY STORIES, DIGGING SINGS, RING TUNES, AND DANCING TUNES" .

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/35410/35410-h/35410-h.htm

PART II. DIGGING-SINGS.

[pages] 157; 158

The Negroes when they get together never stop chattering and laughing. They have a keen sense of the ludicrous, and give a funny turn to their stories as they relate the common incidents of daily life. The doings of their neighbours form the chief topic of conversation here as in most places, and any local event of special importance is told over and over. Presently, after repeated telling, the story, or part of it, is set to one of their dance tunes, and tune and words henceforth belong to one another. This is the origin of the songs which follow. With the explanatory notes attached to them it is hoped that they will afford some insight into the peasant life of Jamaica.

The tunes fall into two main divisions, "dancing-tunes" and "digging-sings," and besides the formal dances, whose steps are thoroughly known, there is an informal kind called "playing in de ring." It may be described as dancing mixed with horse-play. It was in this kind of romping that Parson Puss took part in the Annancy story (No. XXIX.), and perhaps it was hardly the thing for the cloth! Ring tunes begin anywhere and anyhow, and do not necessarily conform to the eight-bar rhythm of the more regular dance tunes….

Nothing more joyous can be imagined than a good "digging-sing" from twenty throats, with the pickers—so they call their pickaxes—falling in regular beat. The pickers work faster and faster to the strains of a rousing "Oh, Samwel, oh!" or "The one shirt I have ratta cut ahm." One man starts or "raises" the tune and the others come in with the "bobbin," the short refrain of one or two words which does duty for chorus. The chief singer is usually the wag of the party, and his improvised sallies are greeted with laughter and an occasional "hi," which begins on a falsetto note and slides downwards, expressing amusement and delight very plainly.

**
LVII.

[page] 163

Continuing with subjects connected with field-work, we come now to a sing which must have originated in old-163- slavery days, when ringing a bell was the signal for beginning and knocking-off work:—

Bell oh, Bell oh,
Bell a ring a yard oh! oh Degay,
Bell a ring a yard oh!
Baboon roll de drum oh,
Monkey rub de fiddle, oh
Bell a ring a yard oh!

The bell is ringing up at the house, says one of the slaves to Degay the head-man, and we want our breakfast; and another, seeing Degay look cross at anybody presuming to make suggestions to him, tries to make him laugh with the piece of nonsense that follows. We shall meet with Degay or Deggy, for there is some doubt about his name, again. It will be thought that either the word Baboon is misplaced or the barring is wrong, but it is not so. The negro is careless of accent, as of many things. Here he likes to have it on the first syllable, which he lengthens to "bah." "Rubbing" a fiddle conveys the exact idea of the way they play it. Holding it not up to the chin but resting on the biceps, they rub a short bow backwards and forwards across the strings. If one of these is tuned it is considered quite satisfactory, and the rest make a sort of mild bagpipe accompaniment. Time is no object.

("Bell a ring" may mean either "The bell is ringing" or "The bell has rung." "A yard," in the yard. The immediate surroundings of the house are called the yard. They seldom speak of going to a friend's house. They say they are going to his yard.)

**
LVIII.

[page] 164

Breakfast is at twelve o'clock, and after a short rest work goes on again. A shower starts a new train of thought:—

The one shirt I have ratta cut ahm,
Same place him patch ratta cut ahm,
Rain, rain oh!
Rain, rain oh!
Rain, rain oh fall down an' wet me up.

"The rats have cut my only shirt with their teeth. I put in a patch and they bit it through again in the same place, so when the rain came down it made me very wet."

(The broad "ahm" (for him, it), is more used now by the Coolies than the Negroes. "Ratta" is both singular and plural. When I first heard the word I thought it referred to a terrier. "Same place him patch"—in the same place where it was patched, just where it was patched.)

**
LIX.
[pages] 164, 165

The kindly sun comes out, the shirts are dry, and an amorous youth, with that absence of self-consciousness which is characteristic of the race, begins:—

Jessie cut him yoke suit me,
Jessie cut him yoke suit me,
So-so wahk him wahk suit me,
Jessie cut him yoke suit me,
oh suit me,
oh suit me,
oh suit me,
Jessie cut him yoke suit me.

Broadly this means:—"all that Jessie does is right in my eyes. She dresses perfectly, but it is enough for me to see her walk to adore her. Jessie cuts her yoke"—technical term of modistes and tailors I am told—"to suit my taste."

("So-so walk him walk," is literally:—"the mere walk that she walks with suits me." They are fond of this repetition of a word, first as noun and then as verb. Thus they will say:—Me like the play him play:—It sweet me to see the dance him dance:—The talk him talk was foolishness:—The ride him ride, him boast about it.)

**

LXIII.
[page] 168

Here are two different versions of the same sing. The chord of the seventh held on by the voices sounds well.

Oh Samwel oh! Oh Samwel oh!
Oh Samwel oh! Oh Samwel oh!
Samwel, the lie you tell 'pon me
turn whole house a me door.

(They never tell lies about people here, but always upon people. "Turn whole house a me door," turns the whole house out of doors, upside down as we should say.)

**

LXIV.
[page] 169

Oh 'liza oh!
Oh 'liza oh!
Oh 'liza oh!
Oh 'liza oh!
'liza 'pread you coat make I lie down dé
under the Bushatahl.

"Coat" is petticoat. I am told that 'liza could take off a petticoat and still be quite properly dressed.

"Make I lie down," etc., i.e., let me lie down under the Butcher's Stall. This is the name of a precipice just below my house. Horses have several times fallen over it and been killed. They then become butcher's meat for the John Crows, the vulture-like birds which are so useful as scavengers.

**

LXV.
[page] 169

We do not get many songs of the American plantation type like the following:—

Aunty Mary oh!
Aunty Mary oh!
Aunty Mary oh!
Aunty Mary oh!
Aunty Mary oh!
Aunty Mary oh!
Aunty Mary Thomas,
O meet me a cross road.

(Cross roads are always a favourite place of meeting, and a rum shop is generally to be found there.)-170-

This is a monotonous form, and I am glad the musical bent of our people turns in another direction.

**
LXXIII.
[page] 173

Cheer me oh!
Cheer me oh!
Cheer me oh!
My will fight fe you.

**
LXXV.

Now we come to a tragedy. Selina is drowned, and they sing smoothly and flowingly:—

[pages] 174, 175, 176

Oh Selina!
Oh Selina!
John Crow de a river side a call fe Selina!
Oh poor Selina!
Duppy an' all a call fe Selina!
Oh poor Selina.

Everybody in Jamaica believes in Duppy, and many women and children will not go out at night for fear of meeting one.

A man, they say, has two spirits, one from God and the other not from God. The one from God is good, and the one not from God may be either good or bad. During sleep, these spirits leave the body and go to other people's houses in search of food. Being shadows themselves, they feed on the shadow of food and on the smell of food. They are seldom far apart, and the heavenly spirit can always prevent the earthly spirit from doing harm. At death the God-given spirit flies up upon a tree, and goes to heaven the third day. The other spirit remains on earth as Duppy. Its abiding place is the grave of the dead man, but it wanders about at night as it did when he was alive. A good Duppy will watch over and protect the living. A bad Duppy tries to frighten and harm people, which it is able to do now that it has lost the restraining influence of its former companion, the heavenly spirit. It can assume any sort of shape, appearing sometimes as a man, sometimes as an animal. If it is a very bad Duppy, it makes the place where it is unbearably hot. The Negro believes that he can put a bad Duppy upon another person.[48] He proceeds as follows:—Going to the grave at midnight, he scoops a small hollow in the ground and puts in some rice, sprinkling it with sugar-water, a mixture of water and moist cane-sugar. He then directs Duppy to visit the person whose name he mentions, and goes away without looking behind him. The person on whom Duppy is put becomes "tearing mad," and it requires a ten-pound fee to "take the shadow off." How to do this is the Obeah-man's secret. A Duppy of one's own family is worse than a stranger's, and the "baddest" of all is Coolie Duppy. One of the most dreaded Duppies is "Rolling (i.e. roaring) Calf." It goes about making a hideous noise, and clanking a chain. "If Rolling Calf catch you, give-176- you one lick, you dead." Your only chance is to run, and you must keep on "cutting ten" (making the sign of the cross), and the pursuing monster has to go round that place ten times. "Shop-keeper and butcher," so goes local tradition, "tief too much (rob their customers very much) and when they dead they turn Rolling Calf."

Those who are born with a caul can see Duppy. So can those who rub their faces with the rheum from the eye of a horse or dog, and those who cut their eyelashes. Every Duppy walks two feet above the ground, floating in the air. If a child is not christened before it is six months old, Duppy will carry it away into the bush. To avoid this, a Bible and pair of scissors are laid on the child's pillow. The scissors are a protection, owing to their cross-like form.

Such are the main beliefs with regard to this remarkable superstition of Duppy on earth.[49]

This, however, is not all. At the day of judgment the two spirits will be reunited to the body, and in many cases the God-given spirit will go to hell after all. I often ask my boys which of these three is themselves? Is it the body? Is it the heavenly spirit? Is it the earthly spirit? But they do not understand the question and have no sort of reply. When I ask if it is not hard that the heavenly spirit after its sojourn in heaven should go to hell, they laugh.

** 

LXXX.

When known details run dry, the following gives full play to the inventive faculty:—

[page] 181

Me know the man oh! know the man,
Name John Watson, know the man;
him come from Bread Lane, know the man;
him ride one grey mule, know the man;
the mule name Vic oh! know the man;
him have one tumpa toe, know the man;
him come a Mister Thomson, know the man,
fe go sell him grey mule, know the man;
he no make no sale oh! know the man,
me know the man, know the man.[50]

Other bars of this air have an inclination to 2/4 time besides those indicated.

It will be observed that repeat marks have only been put to the first sing. It was not considered necessary to continue them. The various "turnings" of the tunes may be put in any order. The negroes themselves never put them twice in the same sequence.

**

LXXXII.

[pages] 182, 183

You want to yerry Duppy talk oh!
Come go da river before day,
an' you will yerry them laugh oh!
Come go da river before day;
You want to yerry Duppy talk oh!
Come go da river before day.

"If you want to hear Duppy talk, go to the river before day."

****

PART III. RING TUNES.

[page] 190

That informal kind of dancing, referred to in some of the Annancy stories, known as "playing in the ring" or "Sally Water" has its origin in English children's games. Sometimes it is merely a case of hunting the slipper or of finding a key passed from hand to hand, but more often what begins in playing ends in dancing. The nature of this playing in the ring will be best understood from examples.

**

XCI.

[pages] 192, 193, 194

The negro is a born actor, and to give emphasis to his words by appropriate gestures comes naturally to him. The little comedy which follows suits him to perfection:—

Whé me lover dé?
Seemya, seemya.
Me lover gone a sea?
Seemya, seemya.
Me no see me lover ya.
Seemya, seemya.
Him gone a Colon bay.
Seemya, seemya.
Go fin' you lover now.
Seemya, seemya.
No make no 'tupid dé.
Seemya, seemya.
Fool dem let dem go.
Seemya, seemya.
Me lover come back.
Seemya, seemya.
Go take you lover now.
Seemya, seemya.
Wheel him make me see.
Seemya, seemya.
Throw a kiss to him.
Seemya, seemya.
Wheel him let him go.
Seemya, seemya.[52]

A ring is formed, and a girl is put in the middle. She asks:—"Where is my lover?" and the ring answers in chorus:—"See him here." "Has my lover gone to sea?" and the answer comes again:—"See him here." The gal goes on:—"I do not see my lover; has he gone to Colon bay?" and then, as though speaking to herself:—"Go, find your lover now. There! don't pretend to be stupid." At this point she takes the hand of a boy in the ring as if she were going to dance with him, but immediately pushes him back, and says, still speaking to herself:—"Fool them, let them go." Then simulating contrition and breaking the hitherto even rhythm:—"My lover, come back!" At "Go take your lover now" she goes again to the same boy, takes him out of the ring-circle and dances with him. They wheel at the words "Wheel him make me see," which mean, "Let me see you wheel him." Finally at "Wheel him let him go" they part hands.

Frequent references will be found to Colon. Jamaica labourers used to go there in large numbers to work on the Panama canal.-194-

**

CII.

"Adina Mona," with its Italian-sounding words, is noisy, but not so rough:—

[pages] 202, 203 

Ho! Adina Mona,
Adina Mona,
cutchy fe gran'ma;
Adina Mona,
Me tell Nana marnin'.
Adina Mona,
Nana no want it;
Adina Mona,
Me beg Nana wahter;
Adina Mona,
Him give me dirty wahter,
Adina Mona.

Here they stand face to face in separate couples. At the beginning of one bar the boys knock their hands upon their thighs, and at the beginning of the next bar clap them against those of their partners, as in the first motion of the game of Clip-clap. As they do this the boys walk backwards, occasionally wheeling, and making, as they say, "all manner of flourish."

**

CIII.
[pages] 203, 204

"Palmer" affords an opportunity for individual display:—

Palmer, you just from town, Palmer, oh William Palmer!
Palmer, you just from town, Palmer, oh William Palmer!
Show me the figure whé you bring, Palmer, oh William Palmer!
Dat dé no style at ahl, Palmer, oh William Palmer!
Palmer, you just from town, Palmer, oh William Palmer!
Put on de style now more, Palmer, oh William Palmer!

Palmer has just come back to his mountain home from Kingston, and is urged to show the latest step for a quadrille figure or other dance. His companions affect surprise. What! is that all? Oh, Palmer, that's not style!

**

CIV.
[pages] 204, 205

Very popular is the next one:—

Mother Freeman, a whé me Gungo dé?
Not a one can sow me Gungo;
Fe me Gungo, da precious Gungo,
Not a one can sow me Gungo;
All the gal them a go dead 'way 'pon me,
Not a one can sow me Gungo.
All the boy a go dead 'way 'pon me,
Not a one can sow me Gungo.
Mother Freeman, where is my Gungo (a kind of pea)?

 

No one will sow my Gungo, or perhaps rather:—Will no one sow my Gungo? For my Gungo is precious Gungo.

As they sing and dance, the boys pretend to faint, and fall into the arms of the girls. When the words change, the girls fall into the arms of the boys, who catch them. "Dead 'way 'pon me," besides meaning to faint, has a slang interpretation equivalent to: "All the girls are death upon me."

**

CXI.
[pages] 209, 210

We all know the next tune:—

Me lover gone a Colon Bay,
Colon Bay, Colon Bay,
Me lover gone a Colon Bay
With a handsome concentina.
Oh what is your intention,
intention, intention?
Oh what is your intention?
My intention is to marry you.
I will married to you,
I will married to you,
I will married to you,
I will married to you,
I will married to you,
I will married to you
With a handsome concentina.

(Levi always sings:—"What is your retention, retention, retention?")

In "I will married to you" the wheeling becomes a giddy business, at least to the onlooker. The dancers never seem to feel it, nor do they appear to mind the heat. They simply stream with perspiration and put their handkerchiefs round their necks to save their white collars.

****

 PART IV. DANCING TUNES.
[pages] 216, 217

Turning now to the Dancing tunes, the chief difference to be noted is that they show a more marked departure from what may be called the Jamaican type of melody. Sailors bring popular songs to the seaports, and from there they spread into the country. For a time some of the original words are kept, but before long they get changed. The change is partly due to that corruption of the text which naturally takes place as the songs pass from mouth to mouth, but mainly to the fact that the words, referring as they do to English topics, have no interest here. So we generally find that the tunes are refitted with a complete set of new words, describing some incident which has lately happened in the district, or some detail of daily life. When these reflect, as they often do, upon the characters of individuals the names have been changed and all evidence pointing to the locality destroyed. The same course has been pursued where it is thought the susceptibilities of persons or their relations might possibly be offended, even when there is nothing mentioned to their discredit.

The music consists of three "flutes" (fifes), two tambourines and a big drum. This is the professional element, which is reinforced by amateurs. One brings a cassada-grater, looking like a bread-grater; this, rubbed with the handle of a spoon, makes a very efficient crackling accompaniment. Another produces the jawbone of a horse, the teeth of which rattle when it is-217- shaken. A third has detached from its leather one of his stirrup-irons, and is hanging it on a string to do duty as a triangle. The top of the music is not always supplied by fifes. Sometimes there will be two fiddles, sometimes a concertina, or, what is more approved, because it has "bigger voice," a flutina. On asking to see this strange instrument I was shown the familiar accordion.

Their chief dances are the Valse, Polka, Schottische, and Quadrilles in five figures, of which the fifth figure is the most popular, or as they would say "sweet them most." This figure goes either to 6/8 or 2/4 time. The 2/4 figures of the Quadrilles are often used for Polka, and Polka and Schottische tunes are always interchangeable, the only difference being that the Schottische requires a slower time.

**
CXVIII.

[page] 218 

2nd Figure.

Guava root a medicine,
Guava root a medicine,
Guava root a medicine fe go cure all the young gal fever.

A decoction of the root of the Guava is used in cases of fever.

"Medicine" is pronounced so as to rhyme with Edison.

**  

CXXIII.

[page] 218 

The rapid speed necessitated by some forms of 2/4 time just suits the following

Fire, Mister Preston, Fire!
Fi-er down the lane!
Then send the brigade fe go out the fire,
The brigade can't out the fire.
Fire, Mister Preston! Fire, Mister Preston!
Fi-er down the lane!
Fire, Mister Preston! Fire, Mister Preston!
Fi-er down the lane!

**

CXXV.
[page] 223

5th Figure. 

Fan me, soldier man, fan me;
Fan me, soldier man, fan me;
Fan me, soldier man, fan me oh!
Gal, you character gone!
Sake a ten shilling shahl,
Sake a ten shilling shahl,
Sake a ten shilling shahl oh!
Make me character gone.

Manny Clark, a popular player of dance tunes, goes to Ginger Piece and is overwhelmed with attentions by the girls. He addresses himself as follows:—"Manny Clark, you are the man! You just ride to Ginger Piece and all the girls are dying for you." Then, turning to one of them, he adds:—"Oh, you boil the soup with your best, taking Anatto and salt fish to stick into it. Do you want to kill me with kindness?"

Anatto gives a rich yellow colour to the soup. Salt fish (stockfish) is one of the principal articles of diet of the peasantry.

**

CXXXV.

[page] 231

5th Figure.

Run, Moses, run,
Mister Walker da come;
Run, Moses, run,
Mister Walker da come.
If you buck your right foot, buck your left foot,
Never try look back;
If you buck your right foot, buck your left foot,
Never try look back.

To "buck" is to strike, and the word is applied to a stumbling horse, who is said to buck his foot against a stone, or simply to buck. It also means to butt with the head and is most likely a corruption of this word. Bucking, or charging stag-fashion with the head, is the favourite way for women to fight. Here is an account of such a contest:—

**

CXXXV.
[pages] 231. 232

5th Figure.

Whé you da do? Whé you da do?
Whé you da do make Sarah buck you?
Whé you da do? Whé you da do?
Whé you da do make Sarah buck you?
Adela da jump but Sarah buck him,
Adela da jump but Sarah buck him,
Adela da jump but Sarah buck him.
Whé you da do make Sarah buck you?
You Adela ho you ought to shame!
You Adela ho you ought to shame!
You Adela ho you ought to shame!
Whé you da do make Sarah buck you?

Fights between women are by no means uncommon. This was a case of cherchez l'homme. The ladies both wanted to marry the same man. The "sing" was evidently composed by one of Sarah's partisans for the-232- words are:—"What did you do to make Sarah buck you? Adela jumped, but Sarah bucked her. You, Adela, oh you ought to be ashamed!" Adela's sideway jump was not quick enough to save her from Sarah's head.

 "Whé you da do?" literally, What you is do? for What you did do? meaning What did you do? So, if they were trying to talk "deep English," for "Adela da jump" they would substitute "Adela is jump" and think it was quite right

**
CXXXVIII.

[page] 234

We get a glimpse of the doings of the soldiery in peaceable times in:—

5th Figure.

Soldier da go 'way,
Married woman let go your bull-dog to-morrow;
Soldier da go way to-morrow,
The last of the ring ding to-morrow,
Soldier da go 'way,
Married woman let go your bull-dog to-morrow;
Soldier da go 'way,
Married woman let go your bull-dog.

The soldiers are shifting their quarters. As they are apt to be rather riotous on the night before departure, the owner of the bull-dog is advised to unchain him so that he may guard her property more effectually.

**

CXL

[page] 235

A few years ago Jamaica boasted of water as efficacious as that of Mecca in the opinion of some people. It seems to have lost its repute in these sceptical days:—

4th Figure.

Dip them, Mister Bedward, dip them,
Dip them in the healing stream;
Some come with jackass, some come with bus,
Dip them in the healing stream. 

**
CXLI.

[page] 236

It says much for the expertness of the dancers that they can fit the same steps to tunes of such varying accent as the two last examples present. Here is another which differs again:-

Very well, very well, Mister Collin now,
An' him leave an' join Sabbatarian bands,
An' him lose the whole of his members now,
Oh then poor Sabbatarian bands!

Mr. Collin was a minister who told his flock that he had made a mistake in keeping Sunday holy, and that for the future he would have service on Saturday and the people were to come to church on that day and work on Sunday. The "sing" suggests that his congregation was not persuaded by his arguments.

**

CXLII
.
[pages] 236, 237 

The light-hearted way in which the Negro turns serious things into fun is well illustrated by:—

4th Figure.

Oh trial! Great trevelation children ho!
Trial! We're bound to leave this world.
Baptis', Baptis', Baptis' till I die.
I been grown up in the Baptis' side
an' die under Baptis' rule.
Oh trial! Great trevelation children ho!
Trial! We're bound to leave this world.
Church-light, Church-light, Church-light till I die,
I been grown up in the Church-light side
an' die under Church-light rule.
Oh! trial! Great trevelation children ho!
Trial! We're bound to leave this world.

And so on through all the sects and persuasions, Wesleyan, etc., etc., among them Mettetis (Methodist).

There is no doubt about the word being trevelation a mixture of Revelation, one of their favourite books in the Bible, and tribulation, for which it is intended. The wrong phrasing of two notes to "bound" is as they give it. We should allow only one.

** 
CXLIII.

Every district has its rival churches and the various ministers have to humour their congregations, and not preach too hard things to them, so as to keep them from deserting to the enemy.

[pages] 237, 238, 239

2nd Figure.

Father, I goin' to join the confirmation.
No, me son, you must have a little patien',
Why I tell you to have a little patien',
You must go an' read the Revelation.
I heard from my old generation
That they never go an' join the confirmation,
For they didn' have that great occasion
To leave an' go an' join the confirmation.

It will have been observed that rhyming is the last thing sought after. Here, however, we have a genius who has set his mind upon it with some success. Patience, as pronounced by the Jamaican without the final letters, is a good and new rhyme to the rest. In the old days of slavery, says the father, they did not have the occasion (i.e. opportunity) to leave their work to go and be confirmed.

The Black man is such an accomplished actor that he can assume any character. In these sings he throws off the stage trappings and shows his real attitude-239- towards religion, his indifference and levity. He does not take it as a serious matter at all, and it has no effect upon his daily life. To go to church is a mark of respectability. To obtain that mark is one of his reasons for going. The other reason is to show his clothes and his boots. He will talk like a saint for the mere pleasure of rolling out words, and the ministers have to pretend to believe something of what he says. They are not, however, really deceived, and will tell you in private with a sigh that Christianity makes no progress; it is profession without practice. Of the Negro's real religion, which is bound up with Obeah, we get hardly a hint in the sings. This is what we should expect. Some things lie too deep for words and a man's religion is one of them. One general reference I have been able to find, and one particular one, and that is all. Here is the first:—

**

CXLIV.

[page] 239

5th Figure. 

Obeah down dé why oh! Obeah down dé,
Obeah down dé why oh! Obeah down dé.
Giberaltar is a well fine place but Obeah down dé,
Giberaltar is a well fine place but Obeah down dé.

**
CXLV.

[pages] 240, 241

And here the second:—

5th Figure
 

The other day me waistcoat cut,
The other day me waistcoat cut,
The other day me waistcoat cut,
What a pain an' grief to me.
I spend me money but the beggar don't dead,
I spend me money but the beggar don't dead,
I spend me money but the beggar don't dead,
What a pain an' grief to me.
All me money gone like butter 'gainst sun,
All me money gone like butter 'gainst sun,
All me money gone like butter 'gainst sun,
What a pain an' grief to me!
Sake of the man me live 'pon tree,
Sake of the man me live 'pon tree,
Sake of the man me live 'pon tree,
What a pain an' grief to me!

Obeah (pronounced in two syllables, Ob-ya, with short Italian vowels) is the dark blot upon this fair island of Jamaica. In every district there is an Obeah-man, or Bush-doctor, as he is often called, from his supposed knowledge of herb simples. He is by no means the innocent person which this latter designation would seem to imply. He deals in magic and sorcery of all descriptions, and there is not a Black man who does not believe in his powers. They consult him on every conceivable business and he gets heavy fees. He will secure a man the favour of his master so that he shall not lose his place, or help him to revenge a wrong, real or fancied. And herein lies the danger. The puerilities of inefficacious charms and mysterious ceremonies with which he deludes his clients are not all. He keeps poison in his bag, and for sufficient reward arsenic has been obtained to put in the liqueur, or ground glass for the coffee. The Government attempts in vain to stamp out the evil.

The story of the last sing is briefly this. A has a friend who is an Obeah-man. From him he gets Obeah to injure an enemy B. The enemy does not suffer. So A says his waistcoat is torn, a figurative way of expressing the fact that he is beaten, B's Obeah turning out to be stronger than A's and able to repel it. Having indiscreetly talked about what he meant to do to B, B reports him to the police, and he has to abscond and seek shelter in the bush till the matter blows over.

**
CXLVI.

[page] 242

It is a pleasure to be able to leave the hypocrisy of Negro Christianity, and the lurid atmosphere of Obeah and to return to everyday amusements.

5th Figure.

All them gal a ride merry-go-round,
Me no see no gal like a dem ya.
Ride him, ride him, ride him, ride him,
Ride him round the town,
Ride him, ride him, ride him, ride him,
Ride him round the town.

The merry-go-round is popular. "I never saw such girls," says an admiring bystander. Literally, "I have not seen any girls like those (here) girls." A neighbour of mine used to be made very angry when he first came to Jamaica because when he asked "Have you seen so-and-so?" the answer always was "I don't see him." This is good negro English for "I haven't seen him." It does not mean, as he thought, "I don't see him now," and the poor boy could not understand why his master got so "crahss."

**
CLI.

[pages] 245. 246

Here are three sings referring to Colon, the port of disembarkation for labourers on the Panama Canal: 

5th Figure.

Isaac Park gone a Colon,
Isaac Park gone a Colon,
Isaac Park gone a Colon,
Colon boat a go kill them boy.
Colon bolow[57] gone a Colon,
Colon bolow gone a Colon,
Colon bolow gone a Colon,
Colon boat a go kill them boy.

It was not the boat from Kingston to Colon that killed the boys; the deaths took place on the other side. Many were due to fever, but more, if the stories current here are true, to organised assassination. The wages were very large, and when a Jamaica boy has money in his pocket he gets "boastify." This annoyed the low-class mongrels. A Coolie who was there described to me the proceedings of one night, when the 'panish (by which is meant any straight-haired people) went out in a band and murdered every woolly-haired man they met. They began at one end of the camp, a straight line of barrack huts. Some of the victims were shot through the windows, others slashed with cutlasses. Where there were no lights the assassins passed their hands over the strangers' heads, and if they felt wool, revolver or cutlass did its work. Straight-haired Coolies, that is to say, East Indians, were allowed to go unharmed.

**

CLV.

[page] 248

The words of the next dance have a certain interest, but the tune is poor:—

Polka.

Oh 'zetta Ford, gal, you name no worth a cuss!
Tief big big hog,
Put ahm in a jar.
Piccany da cry,
Sit down whole a day,
You tief big big hog,
Nyam ahm out a door.

The girl stole the pig, killed it, cut it up and put the meat into a jar. This was done out in the bush, far away from her yard, and took the whole day. Meanwhile her poor little babies were starving at home, having been left without any one to look after them.

**
CLXIV.

[pages] 253, 254

5th Figure.

James Brown, you mahmy call you.
James Brown a shake him shoulder.
Sake a the young gal butterdore,
James Brown a shake him shoulder.

To express dissent they do not shake their heads but wriggle the whole of their bodies. It is a most expressive action.

A butterdore, more properly butter-dough, is a kind of cake.

**

CLXV.

[page] 254 

The next repeats the idea of No. CXVIII., but in the mouth of a girl.

4th Figure.

When I go home I will tell me mumma say,
When I go home I will tell me mumma say,
When I go home I will tell me mumma say
That the boy in the country love me very much.

**

CLXVII.

[page] 256

2nd Figure.

When the rain an' the breeze an' the storm an' the sun
I never see a man like Quaco Sam,
He live in the sun as well as the rain,
I never see a man like Quaco Sam.
Quaco Sam was a little bit a man,
I never see a man like a Quaco Sam,
For he never build a house but he live as any man,
I never see a funny man as Quaco Sam.

**

CLXVIII.

[page] 257

5th Figure.

Anch a bite me a me back gully, gully;
Anch a bite me a me back gully, gully;
Anch a bite me a me back gully, gully;
'cratch me back, me will make one shirt fe you fe you.
Anch a bite me,
Anch a bite me,
Anch a bite me,
Anch a bite me,
Anch a bite me a me back gully, gully;
'cratch me back me will make one shirt fe you.

Small black ants often swarm on the orange-trees, and the pickers, who do not use ladders but climb the branches, get covered with them. We all know that place in the "gully" or furrow of the back which we cannot reach ourselves.

**

CLXX.

[page] 258

Schottische.

Moonshine baby, don't you cry,
Mumma will bring somet'ing fe you,
Some fe you,
Some fe me,
Fe we go boil wi' dirty pot.

This is a hit at another careless cook who had disregarded the time-honoured rule, "First wash your pot."

A moonshine baby is a pretty baby.

**

CLXXV.

[pages] 262. 263

John Canoe dance.

Yellow fever come in,
Me can't walk again;
Him broke me hand, him broke me foot,
Me can't walk again.

The "John Canoe" are masked dancers very agile in their movements. Yellow fever is now happily rare in-263- Jamaica. "It has come and caught me," says the patient, "and broken my arms and legs so that I really can't walk."

"Again" has a curious use here, which is perhaps better shown by the following illustration. A man was reported to be dead. Next day came the intelligence:—"He don't dead again," he is not dead after all, he is not really dead. Compare No. LXII.

**

CLXXX.

[pages] 265, 266  

Schottische.

Me da Coolie sleep on piazza with me wrapper round me shoulder,
Me da Coolie sleep on piazza with me wrapper round me shoulder.

"Me da," literally, "I is," I am.

The piazza, which is not pronounced in the Italian way but nearly rhymes with razor, is the long narrow entrance-room of Jamaican houses. A wrapper is a large piece of linen which serves all sorts of purposes. It is used as an article of clothing both by day and night, and also makes a convenient bag for rice.

Many of the East Indian Coolies, originally brought over to work on plantations, have now settled in Jamaica.

**

CLXXXII
.
[page 267]

1st Figure.

You worthless Becca Watson,
You worthless Becca Watson,
You worthless Becca Watson,
You ought to been ashame.
Them write you name an' t'row it a pass,
Them write you name an' t'row it a pass,
Them write you name an' t'row it a pass, you ought to been ashame.


A familiar tune, I think a mixture of two.

To write disparaging remarks on paper, which is then thrown in the "pass" (path, road), for anybody to pick up and read, is a common trick. The epithet "worthless" seems to imply that Becca was not altogether free from blame. They seldom say "bad." It is almost always "worthless."

**

CLXXXIV.

[pages] 268, 269

Schottische or 4th Figure.

Them Gar'n Town people them call me follow-line,
Them Gar'n Town people them call me follow-line,
Them Gar'n Town people them call me follow-line,
Somebody dying here ev'ry day.
A ten pound order him kill me pardner,
A ten pound order him kill me pardner,
A ten pound order him kill me pardner
For somebody dying here ev'ry day.
Den number nine tunnel I would not work dé,
Den number nine tunnel I would not work dé,
Den number nine tunnel I would not work dé
For somebody dying here ev'ry day.

An incident, or perhaps it were better to say an accident, in the making of the road to Newcastle. A man who undertook a piece of contract work for £10 was killed by a falling stone. The so-called tunnels are cuttings. Number nine had a very bad reputation.

**

CXCI.

[pages] 273, 274

2nd Figure

Last night I was lying on me number,
An' a foolish man come wake me out of slumber,
Say Why oh! Why oh!
I never see a woman dancing with a wooden leg.
Bammerlichy, bammerlichy, bamby,
Bammerlichy, bammerlichy, bamby,
Bammerlichy, bammerlichy, bamby,
I never see a woman dancing with a wooden leg.
The scene is laid in the People's Shelter at Kingston which has numbered sleeping-berths.

At "Bammerlichy" etc. the dancers imitate the stiff action of a wooden leg.

Gordon Town is a hamlet nine miles from Kingston. The driving road ends there, and access to the mountain district beyond is obtained only by mule tracks.

Strangers are called "follow-line" because, as they come down from their homes in the higher hills, they walk in strings. No Black man or woman ever goes alone if he can help it. He always hitches on to somebody else, and the string increases in length as it passes along. This walking in Indian file is necessitated by the narrowness of the track, which is seldom wide enough for two to walk abreast.

The tune has the character of a march rather than of a dance, but I am assured it is used for a Schottische, which has a somewhat slower measure than a Polka, and for Fourth Figure. Their cleverness in adapting the same steps to different rhythms has been already commented on.

****
This concludes Part III of this three part pancocojams series on Walter Jekyll's 1907 Book "Jamaican Song & Story...".

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.