The cow-boy went an’ tell the master an’ he order them to have it cleaned up. Anansi hide in the ma. The master give his darter the belly to go an’ wash at the river. She carry it in a bowl, dash it down in the water. Anansi then jump out an’ say to the girl, “Look! I in the river having a bathe an’ yo’ carry that nasty t’ing come an’ t’row on me!” The girl begun to fret an’ cry. Anansi say, “You got to carry me to your father mak him pay me for it!” She then tak Anansi to the father an’ Anansi say will tak a cow in payment.
Anansi said he not going to carry the cow come home so to give any of his family any, so he went into a t’ick wood, kill the cow, mak up a large fire an’ put it in to roast. He then started to look for ol’ yams in the bush. He saw two eyes in the earth. He said, “Lawd, from me bwoy bo’n is de firs’ me know say dirtee can hab yeye!” So now he start to dig out dese yeye,[1] dig up Bredder Dry-head.[2] He go fe put him down back in de eart’. Dry-head say, “No, jus’ carry me go where dat big smoke is yonder!” Anansi refuse to carry him. Dry-head said to him, “If yo’ don’ carry me, de whole of you’ body will catch fire!” Anansi start to run. His whole body begin to blaze, have to run back an’ tak up Dry-head. On reaching the fire, Dry-head order Anansi to bring the cow to him. Anansi with a sulky heart got to comply with Dry-head’, order. Dry-head start eating the cow an’ eat off every bit,—Anansi never taste it!
[1] Yeye is Jamaican for “eyes”. [↑]
[2] “Dry-head is one of the same species, but he is a different man from them.” “Dry-head is a man always hide himself in the bush to eat up what Anansi or Tacoomah have,” Parkes says.—He figures as a kind of old man of the sea in the Anansi stories. [↑]
23. Cunnie-More-Than-Father. [[Note]]
George Parkes, Mandeville.
Anansi has seven children. He ask them how they would like to name. Six of them like different name, but one boy say he would [[28]]like to name “Cunnie-mo’-than father.” So for every tack[1] Anansi put up, Cunnie-mo’n-father break it down. One time he work a groun’ very far away into the bush, an’ in going to that bush he pass a very broad flat rock. So one day a man give him a yam-plant; that yam name “yam foofoo.”[2] The same day plant the yam, it been bear a very big one same day. So nobody in the yard know the name of that yam save him, Anansi, alone. So when he go home, he cook the yam an’ call the wife an’ chil’ren aroun’ to eat, an’ say, “Who know name, nyam; who no know name, don’ nyam!” So as no one know the name, they didn’t get none of it; Anansi alone eat off that yam that night. The nex’ day go back to the groun’ and the yam bear a larger one. He bring it home an’ bile it again, call the wife an’ chil’ren an’ say, “Who know name, nyam; who no know name, don’ nyam!” The nex’ day he went back an’ the yam bear a larger one than the previous day. He cut it an’ carry it home, cook it, call up the wife an chil’ren; he alone eat it.
Cunnie-mo’n-father say, “Look here! I mus’ fin’ out the name of that yam!” He got some okra an’ went to the place where the broad rock is an’ mash up the okra an’ have the place quite slippery, an’ hide himself away in the bush near by. Anansi now coming with a larger yam this time. As he reach to the rock, he make a slide, fa’ down, an’ the yam smash. He said, “Lawd! all me yam foofoo mash up!” Cunnie-mo’-n-father now catch the name, an’ he ran home now an’ tell mother an’ other chil’ren, “Remember! yam foofoo!” Anansi then take up the pieces, put them together and carry home. He cook it an’ ca’ all of them roun’ to eat. He say, “Who know name, nyam; who no know name, no nyam.” They began to guess all sort of name; after that, whole of them say, “Yam foofoo! yam foofoo!” Anansi get vex, say, “Huh! eat! nobody fin’ it out but Cunnie-mo’n-father!”