Papiamentu, Kompa Nanzi and Brer Rabbit

(L-R) Nanzi (or Ananse), the African Spider - Brer Rabbit



I am attaching this to my blog. It is an article I wrote for caribseek.com. I also wrote on this topic in my 2002 book; The Story of Papiamentu-a Study in Slavery and Language. Papiamentu is a creole language spoken in Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire.

Kompa Nanzi and Brer Rabbit - Two Tricksters and Their Fates by Gary C. Fouse

The creole language of Papiamentu enjoys a distinguished status among the creoles of the world. The native language of some 300,000 people in Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire (and their diaspora -largely in the Netherlands), Papiamentu is not only established in written form, but also is the subject of a long-standing controversy over its origin. Linguistic researchers have still not been able to come to agreement on the question of whether Papiamentu resulted from the contact between the Spanish conquistadors and the Amer-Indian residents of the islands beginning in 1499 (polygenesis theory), or resulted from an Afro-Portuguese pidgin that originated on the west coast of Africa as the African-Atlantic slave trade developed. (monogenesis theory).
Though Papiamentu is at an advanced stage of development among creoles in having a written form (differences in spelling exist among the three islands and standardization is still in progress) another interesting aspect of Papiamentu’s history is the oral tradition which, like other Caribbean creoles, traces its roots back to Africa. One of the great oral traditions that African slaves brought with them to the New World is that of the trickster tales. These are tales that, in Africa, were told by the griots, or story-tellers of the various villages. The central character, depending on the part of Africa involved, was a spider, rabbit or tortoise, a small, weak animal that used its cunning to escape dangerous situations ( generally of its own making due to its devious nature) at the hands of larger, stronger adversaries, such as a tiger, fox or bear. The figure that found its way to Curaçao- and hence into Papiamentu folklore- was Kompa Nanzi - the spider (Ananse in Africa). Other islands in the Caribbean received their own tricksters, such as Konpè Lapèn (rabbit) in St. Lucia. Even in other parts of the world such as the Seychelles, tricksters have appeared, in one case, in the figure of the rabbit, Soungoula, which is derived from East Africa. (Chaudenson, p 293)

In the southern United States, the trickster variant that resulted from slavery was Brer Rabbit, a character that was not only a figure of black slave folklore, but one that found its way into the folklore of the nation as a whole- at least until the 1960s. My thesis in this article is to compare the story of Brer Rabbit- and his demise- with that of Papiamentu’s Kompa Nanzi. In comparing the two figures, I would like to contrast the reasons why one figure disappeared (Brer Rabbit) whereas the other figure (Kompa Nanzi), while gradually losing his importance, has maintained his position as a part of local folklore.

Joel Chandler Harris, Brer Rabbit and Uncle Remus

Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908) was a white journalist who was born in the southern state of Georgia in 1848. Growing up on a plantation, Harris, as a child, had become familiar with the trickster stories told by the black plantation workers, which revolved around the central figure, Brer Rabbit. Aside from Brer Rabbit, the other figures were other animals, such as Brer Fox, Brer Bear, Brer Possum and others. Much like Kompa Nanzi, the spider of the Papiamentu tales, Brer Rabbit was a free-wheeling character who had few admirable traits. As a result, Brer Rabbit had his share of enemies, such as Brer Fox and Brer Bear, who wanted to kill him and/or eat him. Through his cunning, Brer Rabbit was always able to escape with his life. One of the most memorable stories of Brer Rabbit was the story of the Tar Baby, a contraption made of tar by Brer Fox to look like a black baby. When Brer Rabbit encountered the Tar Baby while walking along a path, he attempted to strike up a conversation. When the Tar Baby refused to answer, Brer Rabbit became angry and, in attempting to strike him, became entangled in the tar- and thus, a captive of Brer Foz and Brer Bear. This “Tar baby” story was not unique to the United States, but existed in Africa and found its way in similar form to other New World places such as Jamaica.
In adulthood, Harris entered the profession of journalism and became a writer for the Atlanta Constitution newspaper. Harris appreciated the trickster tales he had learned from the black workers on the plantation and recognized them for what they were- an important part of American folklore. In the years after the Civil War, he feared that the stories were in the process of being lost. Thus, he sought a way to preserve them. To do so, Harris created the fictional figure of Uncle Remus, a kindly old slave who delighted the plantation’s children (both black and white) with his stories of the trickster, Brer Rabbit. As stated above, like Kompa Nanzi and the other Caribbean tricksters, Brer Rabbit had a penchant for always getting into trouble- usually due to his own questionable character. In addition, like Kompa Nanzi, Brer Rabbit did not bear the traces of a certain Godly component that had characterized the original Ananse figure that had originated in Africa. In short, neither character could truly be called a role model for children.

In 1880 Harris published “Uncle Remus- His Songs and Sayings- The Folklore of the Old Plantation”, which included “The Wonderful Story of the Tar Baby”. In 1883, he published “Nights with Uncle Remus”. In addition to the stories themselves, Harris used the language of the characters in quotes- which were in the vernacular of the slaves themselves who told the stories. For example:

“ ‘ Howdy Brer Rabbit,’ sez Brer Fox, sezee. ‘You look sorter stuck up dis mawnin’, sezee, en den he rolled on de groun’ en laft en laft twel he couldn’t laff no mo’. ‘speck you’ll take dinner wid me dis time, Brer Rabbit. I done laid in some calumus root en I ain’t guineter take no scuse,’ sez Brer Fox, sezee.”
Here Uncle Remus paused and drew a two-pound yam out of the ashes.
“Did the fox eat the rabbit?’ asked the little boy to whom the story had been told.
“Dat’s all de fur de tale goes,” replied the old man. “he mout, en den agin he moutent. Some say Jedge “B’ar come ‘long en loosed ‘im-some say he didn’t. I hear Miss Sally callin’. You better run ‘long.”

From “The Wonderful Story of the Tar Baby“. (Harris, p 25)

The question of the vernacular used in the stories would prove to be controversial, especially in the 1960s. Yet, as early as the 1880s, Harris recognized that language was an important issue. Aside from the tales themselves, he recognized that the actual language as used by the slaves was central to his purpose of preserving a cultural feature that he saw as disappearing. In his introduction to “Uncle Remus-His Songs and Sayings. The Folklore of the Old Plantation", Harris wrote:

“I am advised by my publishers that this book is to be included in their catalogue of humorous publications, and this friendly warning gives me an opportunity to say that however humorous it may be in effect, its intention is perfectly serious; and even if it were otherwise, it seems to me that a volume written wholly in dialect must have its solemn, not to say melancholy features. With respect to the folklore series, my purpose has been to preserve the legends themselves in their original simplicity and to wed them permanently to the quaint dialect- if indeed, it can be called a dialect-through the medium of which they have become a part of the domestic history of every Southern family; and I have endeavored to give to the whole a genuine flavor of the old plantation.” (Harris, p 3)

With the appearance of Harris’ stories, Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit became wildly popular to white audiences, becoming part of the folklore of a wider part of the population. In 1946, with the advent of television, the stories of Uncle Remus were put to film in the popular Walt Disney production, “Song of the South”. The film described life on a southern plantation, in which the white son of the plantation owners is enchanted by the stories of Brer Rabbit as told by Uncle Remus. The stories themselves were portrayed in the form of cartoons which included the black vernacular similar to that used in written form by Harris.

Times were about to change in the United States, however. With the advent of the Civil Rights era in the 1960s, America took a second look at its perceptions of black people, their vernacular and their status in American society. Harris and Uncle Remus were deemed to be an unacceptable reminder of slavery and the subservient position of black people-particularly in the American South in the post-Civil War era. The representation of black plantation vernacular was judged to be offensive.Disney’s film was also condemned as painting an idyllic portrayal of the plantation life of the South. Consequently, the film was “retired” by the Disney company. Today, it is still not possible to purchase it through regular commercial channels in the United States. As for Harris’ books, they began disappearing from school and university libraries- a victim of what today is called “political correctness”. Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit virtually disappeared from the American scene. Harris himself was dismissed by contemporary scholars as a typical product of his southern upbringing; someone who was condescending to black people and their vernacular- notwithstanding the introduction to his book (see above). Today, an entire generation of North Americans have never heard of Harris and his characters.

Kompa Nanzi

Due to the stronger African influence on Curaçao, Kompa Nanzi stories were more prevalent on that island than on Aruba or Bonaire though they did make it to the latter two islands as well. Like Brer Rabbit, the Kompa Nanzi stories did not die with the end of slavery (1863), yet only in the 1950s was there much attempt to put them into writing, most notably by Nilda M. Geerdink-Jesarun Pinto, more commonly known as Nilda Pinto.

Today on the islands, the Kompa Nanzi stories are not what they once were. Although they have not been deemed “politically incorrect” or racist as have the Uncle Remus stories in the United States, modern-day Antillean and Aruban children have more varied choices to compete with Nanzi, largely due to the influence of television and mass communication. Cartoon characters are readily available from a variety of sources.In addition, some local observers, such as the Curaçaon writer Frank Martinus, see Nanzi, with his devious character, as a negative role model for children. (Martinus-interview) There are those that believe that Nanzi is best left to naturally fade into irrelevance, which may indeed be the case. Other Antilleans, especially older Antilleans who grew up being told the stories, view the decline of Nanzi with sadness.

However, to fade into irrelevance is different from being swept under the rug. A comparison of Nanzi and Brer Rabbit yields interesting contrasts. Antillean objections to Kompa Nanzi have been largely based on his suitability (or lack thereof) as a role model for children. Objections to Brer Rabbit and Uncle Remus were based, not on the deviousness of the former, but on the use of black English vernacular which some latter-day observers decried as an object of ridicule, as well as the characterization of Uncle Remus as a jovial, subservient plantation black man living an idyllic existence in the slavery/post-slavery era in the American South. What passed without notice in Chandler’s time came under critical scrutiny beginning in the 1960s. Of course, it is obvious to point out that the language of the Nanzi stories was not an issue on Curaçao as was the non-standard black English vernacular of the Uncle Remus stories in the United States. But what about the relationship between the two characters and slavery? As Aart Broek has pointed out, it is interesting to note that explicit references to slavery are not found in the Nanzi stories. (Broek, p 2) After all, the characters are animals. Similarly, the Brer Rabbit characters are also animals. Only Uncle Remus as the fictional story teller exists in human form. Yet, is there an element of protest to be found in the trickster stories after they were brought from Africa to the Americas by those that had been thrust into slavery- an element of protest that had not existed in Africa where the people were free? Was there an element of satire that was secretly being directed at the slave owners? If the trickster Nanzi’s victories over his stronger adversaries represent the triumph of slave over master, did the stories of Brer Rabbit, that Harris learned from black farmhands in Georgia, carry the same undercurrent of meaning?

Preserving Folklore

While some Antillean writers and poets have been trying to preserve Nanzi as part of an important part of Antillean oral tradition, Brer Rabbit remains a figure that remains forgotten. There is clearly a racial component to the Uncle Remus tales in the United States that does not exist with Kompa Nanzi in largely black Curaçao. Whereas, Nanzi belonged to the Antilleans, many North Americans regard the Joel Chandler Harris stories as something adopted by a white writer to entertain a white audience at the expense of black people, their language and their subservient status in that era. Another component that perhaps worked against the Uncle Remus stories was the fact that Harris was white; thus, his motives for writing the stories were called into question by critics long after he had died - in spite of his statements at the time of publication.

If Kompa Nanzi should, in fact, fade into oblivion over time, it appears that it will be due to a lack of interest on the part of succeeding generations of Antillean youth who have found other interests. It will also be in spite of the efforts of those in the Antilles who see the worth of preserving a native folklore that traces its roots back to Africa. On the other hand, in the United States, there are precious few voices wishing to preserve/bring back Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit. Even if Uncle Remus is deemed to be an offensive creation of a white writer, Brer Rabbit and his fellow animal characters were not. They represent a folklore that not only goes back to slavery, but to Africa itself. Is that not worth preserving?

Bibliography

1 - Chaudenson, Robert, Creolization of Language and Culture. London and New York: Routledge, 2001.
2- Harris, Joel Chandler, Uncle Remus- His Songs and Sayings. The Folklore of the Old Plantation. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1883.
3- Interview with Frank Martinus on March 27, 2001 at Willemstad.
4- Broek, Aart, Nanzi: de spin en de uitdaging van het leven. Unpublished paper.

Content © Gary C. Fouse 2003 - All Rights Reserved

You may bookmark this web page, print it or e-mail it to a friend in accordance with the fair-use provisions of copyright laws. The text is intended solely for the use of the individual user. Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the express written permission of the author or publication and the notification of the editors of CaribSeek Kaleidoscope.