Jamaica Anansi stories comes alive in Regent Park
What a day of fun and activities, as Jamaican born storyteller Joan "Bumpyhead" Hutchinson came to Regent Park at to bring alive the spirit of ANANSI.
Anansi is a cultural hero in West African folklore; a very important god and infamous trickster. Anansi stories have become a part of many cultures, which include African, Jamaican and the American South. You have probably heard an Anansi tale sometime in your life.
In addition to telling Anansi tales, Joan Hutchinson taught the audience a little bit about Jamaican patois. Patois is a French term that originated to describe the local dialect of the French language. Quebec has a lot of Patois, and Africa too. Caribbean patois and that of the American South, when it's a French dialect is more recognizably referred to as creole.. Jamaican patois refers to the English Jamaican dialect, and Hutchinson discussed common Jamaican idioms and sayings, explaining how Jamaican patois served as a strategy to speak in front of slave owners without being understood.
Overall, the event was a wicked Spring kickoff evening... stories.... singin-- a bunch of people came out (about 40). The event was sponsored by Regent Park Focus, The Regent Park Neighbourhood Initiative as well as Toronto Community Housing. Bumpyhead Hutchinson's great, so here's her photo:
-Leo
Anansi is a cultural hero in West African folklore; a very important god and infamous trickster. Anansi stories have become a part of many cultures, which include African, Jamaican and the American South. You have probably heard an Anansi tale sometime in your life.
In addition to telling Anansi tales, Joan Hutchinson taught the audience a little bit about Jamaican patois. Patois is a French term that originated to describe the local dialect of the French language. Quebec has a lot of Patois, and Africa too. Caribbean patois and that of the American South, when it's a French dialect is more recognizably referred to as creole.. Jamaican patois refers to the English Jamaican dialect, and Hutchinson discussed common Jamaican idioms and sayings, explaining how Jamaican patois served as a strategy to speak in front of slave owners without being understood.
Overall, the event was a wicked Spring kickoff evening... stories.... singin-- a bunch of people came out (about 40). The event was sponsored by Regent Park Focus, The Regent Park Neighbourhood Initiative as well as Toronto Community Housing. Bumpyhead Hutchinson's great, so here's her photo:
-Leo
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