IRIE CAMP JAMAICA
  • Camp Info
    • 2023 Session Info
    • 2023 Packing List
    • ICJ Camper Photos
  • About
    • Our Story
    • The Team
    • In the Media
    • 360 Tour
    • Logistics >
      • Travel Partners
    • Jamaica
    • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Support
    • Pay It Forward
    • Corporate Sponsors
    • Employment
    • Volunteering
  • Contact Us

Pap STory Gi Mi!

4/3/2019

Comments

 
Picture
"Story time! Story time!" A long time now mi nuh hear dem words ennuh! Yuh memba dem time deh? No? Well, come. Mi 'ave a likkle story fi yuh!

The Jamaican tradition of storytelling originated with the African Griots who were brought over to the work on the island's plantations. Storytelling was a way to provide entertainment, pass on knowledge, teach morality, and so much more.

Elders would very often tell a story to a child in order to explain the consequences of particular actions. On moonshine nights especially, families would sit out under the stars or on their verandas, and the elders would have the undivided attention of the children as they recounted one story after another about Bredda Anancy'santics to outsmart his friend, Bredda Tucoman.

Life experiences were also topics in storytelling. History lessons were narrated as stories of what happen to Great Great Grandpa So-and-so. From how him used to buck aaf him big toe when him was a bwoy to how him used to deal wid him pickney when dem nuh have mannas.

Male elders, especially when they had a little “whites” (a drink of rum), would transition to duppy stories as the hour got later. These spoke of the supernatural - ghosts - and were (looking back) ridiculously embellished. Every time a duppy story was repeated, it got more dramatic. Children were both intrigued and terrified by these stories and would often report having nightmares and “seeing duppies" in their sleep.

As our favorite storyteller, Dr. Amina Blackwood Meeks would say, "I think human beings are wired for storytelling and in this age of techno-fascination it is an important up-close-and-personal irreplaceable tool for human encounter."

Wi cyaan wait fi di next story time.

Until then, Jack mandora... mi nuh choose none!

Lorraine

Comments

    Author

    Hi, I'm Bobbi and while I'll generally be posting here, I'll occasionally invite others to share as well.

    Archives

    September 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017

    Categories

    All
    Travel Tips

    RSS Feed

Irie Camp Jamaica logo
​Toll Free (US & Canada) / WhatsApp: 
​1-800-795-1572​
© Irie Camp Jamaica, LLC, 2017 - 2023 -  All Rights Reserved
  • Camp Info
    • 2023 Session Info
    • 2023 Packing List
    • ICJ Camper Photos
  • About
    • Our Story
    • The Team
    • In the Media
    • 360 Tour
    • Logistics >
      • Travel Partners
    • Jamaica
    • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Support
    • Pay It Forward
    • Corporate Sponsors
    • Employment
    • Volunteering
  • Contact Us