Words of wisdom that nurtured Tobago

Dr Rita Pemberton

Some of Tobago’s traditions have fallen victim to the cultural erosion that results from modernisation. The first casualty has been language, the Tobago creole, which was dubbed “broken English”: it was the business of the schools to teach children “good English” and eliminate the “inferior” language. The Tobago creole was “educated out of the population,” but it remained alive among the unschooled population and the older Tobagonians.

The language loss became painfully evident when both populations dwindled in size, and as yet there has been no attempt to inject life into the language in the interest of heritage preservation.

The second tradition that has lost visibility on the Tobago landscape is the African tradition of using proverbs to raise children and develop communities. Out of this tradition, there developed a number of expressions which are typically Tobagonian and which spanned the realm of human interaction.

They were in common usage during the early 20th century to develop desirable social habits in children and adults. These social pillars can best be appreciated in the language in which they were used, so no attempt will be made to defile them with “standard English.”

Respect was seen as the base for the development of other desirable social traits, so children were taught respect for adults with the requirement that they greet all adults that they encountered on the street at any time of day or night. All adults were to be addressed with their appropriate title: Miss or Mr, Nen Nen or Nennie, godmother or godfather for godparents, cousin if a relative – and you dared not pass them straight, because it would be reported and the offending child would be in hot water at home. In addition to being a sign of respect, it was a means of fostering unity, equality and cohesion in the society. A child passing an adult straight could be interpreted as if the adult was an inferior person, or something negative had been said at home which could create tensions among the adults.

Children were expected to obey their parents and all adults. Those who would not listen were upbraided as being “too harden,” and an irate parent would ask if “Stick break in yuh ears or what?” or if “Yuh have bucket ears?”

Children were guided to handle friendship and warned to choose their friends carefully, because: “A good friend hard to find.”

They were exhorted not to allow themselves to be misled by bad company, because “Friends does carry yuh, but they don’t bring yuh back”: if you go out with them, when trouble comes, those very friends would abandon you and you stand alone. When that happened you would be reminded that: “Where yuh catch yuh cold, go and blow yuh nose,” or “Yuh buy yuh shoes, yuh must wear them”; “Where yuh stop you stand,” and “Where yuh hang you swing, where yuh drop yuh stay.”

But don’t try to run away from your responsibilities, because: “Yuh can run as much as yuh like, daylight go ketch yuh,” and when trouble comes, “Crapaud smoke yuh pipe.” In other words, you will be on your own.

Healthy friendships were encouraged and when you were or made a friend, remember,“Friendship should be like daily bread, not like cake, fuh special occasions.”

It was important to maintain good relations with others, because when you need assistance you turn to the people you know: “When dog foot bruk, he find he master door,” meaning that people run home when they are in trouble.

To encourage people to tide over difficulties they were reminded that “the water run out but the boley (calabash) nuh break,” so you can start again. There was a need to be careful in all actions and remember your own limitations and responsibilities, because “Blind man nah a mek trouble ah forest,” because he cannot find his way out without assistance and “hen wheh get chicken nah a climb over river,” because she has to protect her chicks from danger.

The society placed importance on showing appreciation for kindness received and “bad talk” was discouraged: “Don’t sit on river stone and talk river bad,” and “Don’t dam the river you cross, you might want to cross it again.” In addition, the warning was given that: “The dog that brings the bone ah the one that ah carry it back” – so beware of the gossip-mongers.

The other social pillar was a need for people not to be too trusting and to examine people carefully, because “When bush fall in water it doh rotten same time,” meaning that people should not be taken at face value. It was advisable to “Sift water before you dip.” Referring to the practice of some birds which hide in the bush and fly away when seen: “Garling say doh trust no shadow.”

A high value was placed on honesty, especially in assessing oneself. Since everyone has faults, it is not acceptable to be too critical of others when you demonstrate similar characteristics to those you condemn: “Monkey don’t see its own tail.”

Wise decision-making is based on careful study of proposals and proposer: “A promise is comfort to a fool,” and remember that “Full belly man tell hungry belly man to hold strain.”

Don’t allow people to take advantage of you: “Buy me for a fool, but don’t sell me for a fool” and don’t assume that people are better than you are: “Don’t put people on top of yuh head,” “Those who hate yuh can’t sell you and who like yuh can’t buy you.”

Challenges in life are inevitable because: “Every fat burrow hog have it Saturday,” so do not celebrate the difficulties of others, because yours will come: “Today for me, tomorrow for you.”

You should pursue your dreams, because: “Where horse reach, jackass does reach.”

Most interesting is the classification of men that was used to advise women.

A manicou man was the worst type of man, with the following characteristics: worthless, irresponsible, selfish and good for nothing.

A manjack man was the medium type, but not the ideal.

A macco man is the suspicious, jealous type, who spends his time watching every move of his spouse/mate/girlfriend.

The miser: he “nah ah leggo money at all!”

Man better man: named after the bush that was believed to enhance virility, he was considered the best type of man.

By common usage of these messages, individuals were constantly reminded how best to conduct themselves; children were raised; communities were developed; and a society was formed with members who were empowered to strive to survive and overcome the challenges they faced in early 20th-century Tobago.