00:00
When mi was a likkle girl, mi family did move to a place called Santa Cruz in di parish of St Elizabeth. Now, fi wi garden was di envy of di community, and when di grudgeful people dem a pass, dem look over di fence and cut dem eye. Mi madda, she plant ruby-red hibiscus, corn ripened by the sun, ortanique orange—so unique.
00:41
Di Croton dem line either side a di driveway, firm, hairy Renta yam. As fi di banana dem, is as if dem a salute di entire garden. Yu si, a night-time di scary, lumpy, croaky lizard dem come alive.
01:07
Dem dance pon di wall, play hide-and-seek behind di picture dem. And when dem croak, is as if dem croak in tune to “Song of the Banana Man”: “Come, Mr Tally Man, tally mi banana. Daylight come an mi waa go home.”
01:30
“Mi come ya fi wuk, mi nuh come ya fi idle. Daylight come an mi waa go home.” Now, fi mi madda was a raconteur, an she enjoy telling wi stories. She tell wi story bout Rolling Calf, Blackheart Man, Jonkonnu, Duppy, an story bout when she was a pickney, an all di tings she used to get up to.
02:02
Now, mi a go tell yu one story bout Anancy the Trickster. One scorching hot day, Anancy was walking down a country road with a cutlass in him han. All of a sudden, him look up an him si di tallest and lankiest banana tree him ever see in a him life, full wid banana
- Storyteller
- Marie Wray-Williams
- Recording date
- 24 Jul 2026
- Location / community
- Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, Jamaica
- Duration
- 06:44
- Card label / subtitle
- An Anancy tale of greed and consequence
- Themes
- Morals & Lessons, Trickery & Wit
- Language / dialect
- English, Jamaican Patois
- Cultural / community context
Marie introduces the story through memories of growing up in Santa Cruz in the parish of St Elizabeth, Jamaica, where her mother shared folk stories with the family.
The performance draws upon Jamaica’s oral storytelling traditions and features Anancy, the trickster figure found throughout Jamaican and wider Caribbean folklore. Marie performs the story in Jamaican patois and refers to figures and traditions including Rolling Calf, Blackheart Man, Jonkonnu and Duppy. The story also reflects the influence of Jamaican folklorist, storyteller and cultural icon Louise Bennett-Coverley.
The storyteller’s original language, rhythm and grammatical forms have been preserved rather than translated into Standard English.
- Archive permission
- Consent given by Marie Wray-Williams
10 Sep 2026, 10:53
