January 23, 2015
Have you ever wondered what our ancestors used to entertain themselves before electricity, cable and the Internet? Part of their excitement was to gather around the lamplight and share strange stories. Some were so creepy many people then were afraid to stroll in the dark. The stories from back in the day are still part of our culture as folk tales. Here is our list of the most popular ones.
Anansi
Only people from back in the day could weave tales about a talking 8-legged creature and make them hilarious. Bro’ Anansi and all his antics found an entertaining way to convey life lessons, whether it was about honesty being the best policy or how greed got you into trouble.
Rolli’n Calf
Abundant tales of a large calf-like creature with fire blazing red eyes and a frightening chain dragging behind him made walking in the countryside a test of your bravery.
Rolling calf was said to block the way of nighttime travelers, and chase them with wicked intentions. To get away, you had to drop things so he would stop and count them, or run to an intersection so he’d get confused.
Ol' Hige
Do you remember the story of the witch who shed her skin at night and took the form of a cat? She would destroy people by sucking their breath while they were sleeping,
To get rid of her you had to throw salt and pepper in her skin so she would burn when she tried to get back in.
River Mumma
River Mumma is a female water spirit who is said to guard Jamaica’s rivers. Legend has it that she sits on the banks of the river combing her long hair, and leaves her comb on the rock to entice victims who she then draws into the water.
Annie Palmer (The White Witch of Rose Hall)
We’ve all heard that Annie Palmer was an evil woman who murdered her husband and her lovers and practiced witchcraft on her slaves. Though she died in 1930, the eerie tales surrounding her life and death still live to this day.
A story is only as good as the storyteller, of course, so these tales may not be as terrifying as when our ancestors told them.
We’d like to hear from you. Do you have any Jamaican stories to share?