The Schoolboys and the Rastafarian Men (With original Patois quotations)

The adventures of two schoolboys.

      Two schoolboys, Dan and Josh, attended the Independent City All Age School in St. Catherine. In the evenings, they used to walk through a cane field near the school when they were going home. Many tall coconut trees bordered the cane field. Dan and Josh would cut sugar cane and pick coconuts to eat. In addition to that, they would carry some sugar cane and coconuts home.

      The boys had a big problem. They had to pass a construction site on the way home, and some men who worked there would beg them sugar cane and coconuts. If the boys refused to give the men what they asked for, they would take away the sugar cane and coconuts from them. Sometimes they had to run past the construction site to avoid losing their sugar cane and coconuts.

      One evening Dan and Josh were passing the construction site with some sugar cane in their hands. Two Rastafarian men were standing at the gateway. Each one had a bundle of broomsticks on his head. One of the Rastafarian men said, “Ay yute, gi di I wan a dem kien deh.” Dan replied, “No, sah, mi naw gi yuh none a mi kien.” The Rastafarian man said, “Well, if yuh noh gimmi wan, mia goh tek weh di wolla di kien dem frahn yuh.”

      Dan and Josh decide not to give the Rastafarian men any sugar cane, and they ran along the main road. The Rastafarian men chased the boys to take away their sugar cane, but they could not run fast because each one was carrying a heavy bundle of broomsticks on his head. They cursed the boys and threatened to harm them. Dan and Josh turned off the main road and went on a vacant land. The Rastafarian men followed them.

      There was a narrow canal on the vacant land. It was full of stagnant water. Someone made a makeshift bridge for the canal with a long, thick piece of board. The board rested on both walls of the canal. When the boys reached the canal, Josh came up with a plan. “Mek wi crass di kenel quick an tampa wid di buod fi teach di hugly Rasta man dem a lesson,” he said. Both boys quickly went across the canal, and then they carefully pulled the board towards them so that the other end barely rested on the edge of wall.

      The Rastafarian men were a distance away, so they could not clearly see what the boys were doing. Dan and Josh felt safe, and they waited for them on the other side of the canal. When the Rastafarian men came near the canal, the boys hurled insults and expletives at them. Furthermore, they threw stones at the men. This made them very angry, and they desperately wanted to catch the boys.

      None of the Rastafarian men noticed any strange thing, and the one who was walking in front stepped on the board to cross the canal. The board immediately slid off the edge of wall, and he and the bundle of broomsticks fell into the canal of stagnant water. He thought the water was deep, but it was shallow. “Help! Mi cyaan swim,” he shouted. His friend laughed at him loudly, and then he said, “Bongo, di I drap inna di dutty wata, man.” Dan and Josh did not stick around to see the rest of the event. They left the scene quickly, and they were laughing while they were running away.

 

The End

Author's Note

For those who understand Patois.