Trinidadian folklore and myth (Grenada as well)?

Question

Hello, I'm interested in the folklore and myths of Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada.

Basically I am half Afro-American and half Trinidadian (although I have some Grenadian heritage as well) and I'm looking to learn more about my Caribbean heritage.

Any stories that you heard growing would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Answer 1

Trinidadian Folklore

"Papa Bois" is the most widely known of all our folklore characters. He is the old man of the forest and is known by many names, including "Maître Bois" (master of the woods) and "Daddy Bouchon" (hairy man). Papa Bois appears in many different forms, sometimes as a deer, or in old ragged clothes, sometimes hairy and though very old, extremely strong and muscular, with cloven hoofs and leaves growing out of his beard. As the guardian of the animals and the custodian of the trees, he is known to sound a cow's horn to warn his friends of the approach of hunters. He doesn't tolerate killing for killing's sake, and the wanton destruction of the forest.

There are many stories of Papa Bois appearing to hunters. Sometimes he turns into a deer that would lead the men into the deep forest and then he would suddenly resume his true shape, to issue a stern warning and then to vanish, leaving the hunters lost or perhaps compelling them to pay a fine of some sort, such as to marry "Mama Dlo".

If you should meet with Papa Bois be very polite. "Bon jour, vieux Papa" or "Bon Matin, Maître" should be your greeting. If he pauses to pass the time with you, stay cool, and do not look at his feet.READ MORE>>>http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/scarykid654...

Folklore has also been an important spoken tradition in Grenada. The tradition of telling folk stories is alive and well here, particularly on the island of Carriacou. Three of the most popular characters from these tales testify to the many cultures that have combined on these islands: Anancy, a West African spider, trickster-god; La Diablesse, the devil-woman; and Ligaroo, from the French Loupgaroux, meaning werewolf.READ ON..

http://grenada-guide.info/past.and.prese...

Answer 2

I had always heard some of the politicians calling each other all kinds of names at like- political rallies and stuff to make jokes about one another but I never knew what all the things were....

The thing to remember is Trinidadians words from that time are mostly with a French accent.  So "Papa Bois" isn't pronounced "Papa Boys".  It is  "Pah-pah-Bwah" the "S" is silent. "Douennes" is pronounced closely to "dwayne".  "Loup Garoo" is pronounced closely to "lou-ga-reww" etc....

Also "patois" in Trinidad means different from "patois" in the United States.  Down here it usually means the old French-creole language that was spoken back then.

The you have Soucouyant (Sue-kew-yant) -- a.k.a. Vampires

http://www.triniview.com/TnT/Soucouyant....

http://www.tntisland.com/folklore.html

http://www.nalis.gov.tt/Folklore/TRINIDA...

http://berdina.tripod.com/folklore.htm

Also lookup "Obeah" (The English speaking Caribbean's equivalent of Voodoo.)

Also since people in the English Speaking Caribbean moved around often way back when... Those names may have changed over time... And different people pronounce things differently and folklore gets blended a lot.

For example, some people talk about a "backoo" ("Back-cou") often.  Which as far as I've heard is from Guyana in South America???

A Backoo is supposed to be a half-man & half-horse looking animal that brings bad luck to someone if you vex it and give it to someone a.k.a "To put-a backoo on somebody".  But supposedly-- if you own one and treat it well-- it supposedly will grant your wishes.  As the legend was told to me the Bakoos live in the wilderness (or interior of Guyana) in the rain-forests away from humans.... Supposedly-- whenever Europeans tried to trap them and put them into captivity the backoo would bring them bad luck and somehow the person would wind up dead just before that person could present a living backoo- so the story was told to me.......

An example of a name changing throughout the Caribbean is Soucouyant and a (Soucounyet?) "Sou-coon-yeh" sp? as said in Antigua?

There's all kinds of stuff though...

P.S. does anyone know what a "Ling-Lam" is???? I assume it was another name for ghost??