CaribCoL

This blog is for all my Caribbean massive, feel free to submit info about your homeland to http://caribcol.tumblr.com/submit . You can send anything from stories, memories, pictures to info on your culture. PLEASE KEEP IT POSITIVE, we are all WEST INDIAN. :)

National Symbols National Bird — Doctor Bird (Red-billed Streamertail, Trochilus polytmus) National Flower Hibiscus elatum National Tree — Blue Mahoe National Food — Ackee and Saltfish National Motto — “Out of Many, One People.” (Unity among many cultures and races.) National Coat of Arms

Me glad fi see yuh come back, bwoy, But lawd, yuh let me dung Me shame a yuh so till all a Me proudness drop a grung. Yuh mean yuh go dah Merica An spen six whole mont deh, An come back not a piece better Dan how yuh did go weh? Bwoy, yuh no shame? Is so yuh come? After yuh tan so lang! Not even lickle language, bwoy? Not even lickle twang? An yuh sister what work ongle One week wid Merican She talk so nice now dat we have De jooce fi understan? Bwoy, yuh couldn improve yuhself! An yuh get so much pay? Yuh spen six mont a foreign, an Come back ugly same way? Not even a drapes trousiz, or A pass de riddim coat? Bwoy, not even a gole teet or A gole chain roun yuh troat? Suppose me laas me pass go introjooce Yuh to a stranger As me lamented son what lately Come from Merica! Dem hooda laugh after me, bwoy! Me couldn tell dem so! Dem hooda seh me lie, yuh wasa Spen time back a Mocho! No back-answer me, bwoy - yuh talk Too bad! Shet up yuh mout! Ah doan know how yuh an yuh puppa Gwine to meck it out. Ef yuh waan please him, meck him tink Yuh bring back someting new. Yuh always call him ‘Pa’ - dis evenin When him comes seh ‘Poo’.

Fire and Anansi. Henry Spence, Bog, Westmoreland. (taken from http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/jas/jas042.htm) Anansi an’ Fire were good frien’. So Anansi come an’ see Fire an’ dey had dinner. So he invite Fire fe come see him now. So Fire tell him he kyan’t walk, So Fire tell him from him house him mus’ lay path dry bush, an’ him walk on top of dry bush. Anansi married to Ground Dove. Ground Dove tell him no, he mustn’t invite Fire; him wi’ bu’n him house an’ bu’n out himself. Anansi wouldn’t hear what him wife say, an’ he laid de trash on. An’ Fire bu’n from him house, an’ when he come near Anansi house he mak a big jump, bu’n Anansi, bu’n him house, bu’n eb’ryt’ing but him wife. Fire fool Anansi!

POSTED BY: THAREA, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO You refer to all salt crackers as “Crix”. You know the meaning of the word “obzokie”. You go to parties for the food… and the word free never quite had the same meaning. Your recipe for making orange juice is plenty water, plenty sugar, plenty ice and only 2 orange… and ah pak ah red kool-aid tuh stretch it… You say “boy” at the beginning of a sentence and “man” at the end of it… and the words “yes we” doesn’t refer to any people. “Priority” doesn’t have anything to do with what you have to do right away. You put ketchup and peppersauce on your pizza. Anchovies? Yuh losin’ it or what? Your cupboards are full of canned corned beef, pepper sauce and red beans and baked beans …and a dry coconut for the pelau. You think steak is a waste of good meat. You rather cut it up and stew it with some potatoes instead … or curry it and make roti. You use your finger to measure the water when cooking rice. You bring home food from a party. “Dis August holidays” actually start in July. You show disappointment by sucking on your teeth (steupsing) …and You can conjugate “ah steupse” by age four (three if yuh smart) You still call a soda a “sweet drink” and an avocado, a “zaboca”. and you go to the shoprite clerk and ask them “whe allyuh have de breez?” meaning “where is the laundry detergent?”. You say “whappenin” even at a funeral. You tell the host “Good Night” when you arrive at someone’s home in the evening. When someone pays you a compliment, you say “Doh mamaguy meh”. When someone sympathises with you, you comment “Yuh think it easy?”. You refer to all sweet coloured juice as “Kool-Aid”. You call a quarter a “schilling” when this really means 24 cents. You know that using “blue” makes white clothes whiter. Just because something is called a “bake” you don’t assume that it indicates the way it was cooked. You have at least one relative living in either England, Canada, or the US. You know that a washy-kong bears no relationship to King Kong. You know about straightening, pressing, S-curls and Gherri curls regardless of your ethnic background. You have cancelled plans because of rain even when you’re going to be indoors Rain is also a legitimate reason to miss work. All vaccinations are called injections. All dish washing detergents are called “Squezy”. You know of at least one person who wakes up at 4am to LISTEN to cricket from Australia / New Zealand on the RADIO. On at least one occasion you have: been told that you have a cold in some part of your anatomy other than your head or chest and/or had a virus named after something popular with the times eg. Bionic, Ninja, the hijab and the sting. Despite lack of interest, someone has tried to convince you of the benefits of taking a purge, or becoming a born again. You can feel cold when it’s 25° C. You pronounce words in plural, even though it’s meant to be singular, eg.”gimme ah COKES” or “ah GRAPES”. You say “FLIM” (film), “AXE” (ask) or “PITIAH”(picture), “STATELLITE” (satellite), “CUTLASH” (cutlass). You know what “Wukking a 10-days” is, and know darn well it’s going to take much longer than 10 days. You know the meaning of several indian words, eg. “dahl”, “bahgee”, “channa”, “bharra”, “chunkae”, “bowgee” and use them in every language and actually believe them to be the correct English terms. . You know that a lime is not necessarily a fruit. You call any ‘older’ woman “Tantie” and any ‘older’ man “Uncle”, regardless of whether or not they are related to you or even know you. You could sing an entire Parang song in Spanish word for word, but don’t speak or understand a word of Spanish. When in doubt of how to prepare something to eat … CURRY is the always the solution. You know Trinis will curry any and everything (not just meat) even mango, fish, conch, chataigne, etc… You can call your fellow “countryman” by an ethnic name and it would be ok,eg.chinee-man, creole, dougs, or pyol.

This blog is for all my Caribbean massive, feel free to submit info about your homeland tohttp://caribcol.tumblr.com/submit . You can send anything from stories, memories, pictures to info on your culture. PLEASE KEEP IT POSITIVE, we are all WEST INDIAN. :) PLEASE INCLUDE: NAME & WHERE YOU REP :)

Since I had someone (Tharea) post about Trinidad & Tobago, I thought I would post some info on that island too. National Motto: “Together we aspire, Together we achieve” National flower: the Chaconia, (Warszewiczia Coccinea (Vahl) Kl.), called “Wild Poinsettia” or “Pride of Trinidad and Tobago” National Birds: The Scarlett Ibis (Tantalus Ruber) & The Cocrico  (Rufus Tailed Guan) National Instrument: The Steelpan Coat of Arms