Old Stories, Legends and Folk Tales:

Recently I visited Rum Cay, Bahamas; a place that was extraordinarily comfortable and happy.  Its people and culture transported me to my home Montserrat.  It is remarkable that small communities like Rum Cay, Bahamas and Montserrat, West Indies have so much in common.  Rum Cay had about nine settlements now only one settlement, Port Nelson, remains settled with a population of eighty people most of the original inhabitants have moved to Nassau. Montserrat’s population was displaced because of an active volcano that made two thirds of the island uninhabitable. A Montserratian population once over twelve thousand now has approximately of four thousand with most of the original inhabitants now living in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Also like Montserrat, Rum Cay is very dark and quiet at night; there is a definite stillness outside the populated settlement, only the faint noise of the ocean and a few birds and insects can be heard.

While I was there I learned that Rum Cay has a pond that is called Mermaid Pond. Their legend has it that if a person gets the comb of the mermaid when she surface to plait her hair one will obtain instant wealth.  I was taken a back because Montserrat my island shares a similar legend:

The Montserratian legend varies a bit from the one told in Rum Cay but the premise is the same.  Who can tell how far this legend is spread or where it really first originated?

There are so many old stories, legends, folk tales that I have come across in my reading and travels. Could it be that the legends were started to explain the night-time or silence of dusk? Could it also be that there was a similar legend in Africa and slaves took these stories with them where they settled? Or is it that these legends coincidentally evolved simply to entertain children and give hope and provide humor. If we compared Rum Cay and Montserrat to places like Nassau and United Kingdom both centers of migration we will see that many old legends and folk tales are being and have been lost? Will the next two generations know about our old stories that shaped our culture and made us who we are as these legends?

Do you know of similar stories that your ancestors told? I urge you to share your stories with the world, so that we may learn more about each other and so that those narratives are not forgotten forever.

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Jumbie Table

Every Christmas Eve it is part of our culture in Montserrat to set the jumbie table (jumbie are ghosts). The jumbie table reveals a tradition held by my ancestors many years ago. When Montserratians (people from Montserrat) say jumbie table we are referring to the table set at Christmas Eve with all the food (roast pig, bread, blood pudding, duckna , black cake [fruit cake], pork, chicken, turkey, potato pudding, dasheen, yam, bananas, macaroni cheese, rice and peas, goat water, tart) and drinks; wine and spirits (water, sweet drink[ soda], lemonade, Guinness, Vita malt, brandy, beer, ginger bear, ginger wine, Manischewitz wine and sorrel drink) that we would consume on Christmas Day. Just before the meal on Christmas day the spirits (liquor) is poured into the corner of house around the table for the ancestors.

As I explain the jumbie table I sit here compelled to note this.  I am in a state of disbelief that my mother and my cousins both sixty plus stated they have never seen a jumbie table set by their parents. My cousin, who is my age, exclaimed “how old are you Brenda?” It seems as if anyone younger than my grandparent’s age (eighty plus years) have not shared this experience. Fortunately for me my cousins Grand Aunt is still alive, so she called her right after I spoke to her. She confirmed that I am not hallucinating or having an out of body experience by remembering the details of the jumbie table. I quickly learned that the term jumbie table is an endearing and commonly used expression but many of my generation and my mother’s generation have never seen a jumbie table set.

It is believed when the tradition was abandoned, and the jumbie table not set, the jumbie would come out making noise all night.

For me the jumbie table commands respect, in that it makes us feel pride in our heritage. It does not spell suspicion but admiration for the practices held long ago by our ancestors. I understand that it may be a part of our African heritage to carry out this practice. Our culture is rich in history and traditions and identifies us as a people. The fact that I am in my thirties and have witness the setting of the jumbie table for many Christmas by my grandparents is indeed a compliment and honor.