Holiday in Coconut Village

     Jody watched Nate scoot up the tall coconut palm tree. His agility was unbelievable.

     “Bet you can’t do this, Jody,” Nate shouted from about 20 feet up.

     Jody did not answer, but he made up his mind that be­fore the Summer was over, he too would be able to climb a coconut tree.

     “Don’t worry, Man. Me will teach you’ to climb,” Nate was still shouting as he descended.

     Jody followed the movement of Nate’s lithe body sliding down the sweeping curve of the long coconut stem. 

     “Okay”, was all he said. Jody had problems understanding the way that Nate and most of the island people talked. He was also very self-conscious about the way he sounded ‘different’.

     “Do you have coconut trees in Canada, Man?”

     “Not as many as you have here,” Jody replied. “The palm trees we have are much shorter and are mainly for decoration.”

     “Well, Man, here on the islands we use the coconut for many things. But we kids have lots of fun with it, especially during the holidays. We climb the trees, we slide on the branches and make boats from the nuts. Me will teach you lots of coconut fun before the holidays are over.”

     Jody liked his Caribbean cousin the moment they met, even if Nate insisted on calling him, ‘Man’. He reminded Jody of a wind-up toy acrobat he had back home, in Western Canada, always jumping about, turning somersaults and darting to and fro. Nate’s comical antics did much to alleviate the apprehension Jody felt about being so far away from home and his parents for the first time.

The Look-Out Point

     Jody glanced down grinning at Nate. He was proud that at last he had managed to climb a coconut tree. From the top of the coconut palm, Jody could view the world around him. It was invigorating to be up so high. He held on tenaciously to a cluster of young coconuts beneath the crown of the majestic palm, his trembling legs lapped around the trunk of the tree giving him major support.

     Jody stared across the vast expanse of sea. Little fishing boats bobbed up and down with the waves towards the horizon where the sky seemed to dip into the ocean. When the wind be­came chilly, it was time to climb down. Slowly Jody started his descent. He felt more fear com­ing down than he did climbing up the tree.

     “Take it easy, Jody, mind you drop!” He could hear the concern in Nate’s voice. Like a koala bear, his legs and arms clinging to the trunk of the tree, Jody slid down lit­tle by little until his feet touched the ground.

Fireflies and Duppies

     Night time in Coconut Village was quiet and relaxing. Supper was served early, so that all the cleaning up could be done before dark.

     Uncle Joe, Nate’s dad, had one very bright lamp he called Tilly Lamp. It worked with a mantle. That is a kind of wick that glows when it is lit with matches. Kerosene oil was used as fuel for all the lamps. Each bedroom had a regular kerosene lamp with a shade. One of Nate’s chores was to wash all the lamp shades. Uncle Joe trimmed the wicks. They had to be trimmed evenly or else they would blacken up the shades. Nate would not let Jody help with washing the lamp shades, because ‘city boys’ did not know anything about lamps.

     After supper, the family would sit on the small verandah. Sometimes Aunt Minnie told Anancy Stories. These fascinated Jody, even though he did not understand when Aunt Minnie spoke in the dialect. Nate said that he knew all the Anancy Stories already. He wanted to hear ‘Duppy’ Stories, that is ghost stories. Uncle Joe knew a lot of Duppy Stories, but Aunt Minnie did not want him to tell them. “Full up the children’s heads with nonsense,” was what she said. Then she would go inside the house mumbling. Uncle Joe would tell the Duppy Stories anyway.

     Nate said that there was a real ghost on their property. “He comes out on moonlight nights,” he told Jody. Jody did not believe in ghosts, but he did not argue with Nate.

     One moonlight night Nate and Jody went for a walk on the beach. It was a beautiful night. The moon was full. It sent beams of multicolored lights across the ocean. The sand looked golden and a soft glow of purple blanketed the mountains. Jody thought about heaven. “Do you think heaven is like this?” he asked Nate.

     “Don’t be silly,” Nate said. “This is too spooky to be like heaven.”

     When Nate suggested that they catch fireflies, Jody knew that the subject was over. Nate found a little bottle. “We will put the fireflies in here,” he said, “then we will have a firefly jar.”

     Jody had a hard time catching the fireflies, but to Nate it was easy. After about 15 minutes, Nate had caught 12 fireflies. Jody had caught only five, but it had been fun. Jody was surprised at how bright the light was that came from the jar.

     It was getting late, and Nate said they better hurry home. “When the moon gets high in the sky, that is when the ghost comes out,” he told Jody. On their way back to the house, the boys heard a scraping sound. “It may be the duppy,” Nate said. He sounded scared. “We have to hurry.”

     “There is no such thing as ghosts,” Jody began, but his heart did a flip when a long black shadow crossed their path.

     Nate dropped the jar of fireflies and shouted, “Jody, run, Man. Don’t let the duppy catch you.” Jody’s commonsense told him that the shadow came from the tall coconut tree that grew by the path, but he had no intention of stopping to check it out.

     The boys were breathless when they arrived at the house. Uncle Joe and Aunt Minnie were sitting on the verandah. “You look like you saw a ghost,” Uncle Joe said.

     Nate was so frightened he could not talk.

     “Nate thought he heard a ghost,” Jody said. “We heard a sound and saw a tall dark shadow on the path. Nate said it was a duppy.”

     Aunt Minnie looked at Uncle Joe. “I told you not to pack up the children’s head with nonsense,” she said.

     Uncle Joe said, “In a coconut grove, you may hear strange sounds at nights. Sometimes it is a donkey scratching its back on a tree, or the night wind blowing its whistle through the leaves. Sometimes big branches break under the strain of their own weight, giving a crackling sound. As they fall to the ground, they may a sound like thumping and bumping. In the dark of night sounds are exaggerated. Small things seem huge. And shadows stretch and turn on moonlit nights. Young lads’ imaginations take them to places that don’t exist, and show them images that are not real. Now go to bed. And when you wake tomorrow, go down the path and see what there is that is different in the grove.”

     When they went to bed that night, Nate slept with his head under his pillow. “Nate is really afraid of ‘duppies’,” Jody thought. “Well, I am not. I guess we city boys are much braver.”

     Jody drifted off to sleep, the sound of the ocean making a lullaby. Moonbeams winked at him through the window erasing all thoughts of ghosts.

Belly-Full

     “Bring me one of dem coconuts, Son,” Uncle Joe called out to Nate. Nate did as he was told. Uncle Joe took his machete and sliced off a piece of the smooth outer rind of the young green coconut. He cut through the fibrous husk until a small portion of the hard nut inside was exposed. Then, with his pocket knife, he made a small hole in the exposed section.

     Jody watched his uncle expertly dissect the coconut.

     “Here, Jody, drink. This will quench your thirst.”         

     Jody put the coconut to his lips, leaned his head back and began to drink. The cool sweet water trickled down his throat. While he drank, his cousin, Nate, jumped up and down singing:

     “Coconut watah....ah.....ah.....is good for yo’ daughtah..ah....ah....”

     This little ditty made Jody laugh. He did not realize that one coconut could hold so much liquid, and he began to choke. Uncle Joe took the coconut from him until he regained his composure.

     “Never laugh while you drink coconut water from the nut.” Uncle Joe’s advice made sense. 

     When Jody finished drinking, Uncle Joe chopped the coconut in two. He gave half to Jody and the other half to Nate. Jody was surprised to see that the meat inside was not hard and white as he has expected. It was soft and jelly-like, almost opaque. Uncle Joe handed each boy a piece of the rind, cut to size and shaped like a flat spoon. Jody did exactly as Nate did, scooping out the soft substance with the improvised spoon and eating it. It was delicious.

     “Well, your belly full now,” remarked Nate, poking Jody in the stomach. Nate always referred to his stomach as his belly.

     “Yes, my belly full,” replied Jody with a smile.

The Agricultural Fair

     “Hurry up, Man.” Nate was impatient with his Canadian cousin, as Jody slowly and laboriously helped load the coconuts unto the donkey cart.

     “I’m doing the best I can,” Jody spoke in a monotone. He would rather have died than admit he was tired ... ex­hausted was more of an apt description. Sometimes, Nate irrit­ated him with his un-ending vigor and energy. He threw two more coconuts on the wagon.

     “That’s enough now,” Uncle Joe said as he climbed up to take his place at the front of the wagon. “You boys get up on the cart. It is time to go.”

     Jody, secretly relieved, was happy to climb up in the back of the wagon amidst clusters of coconuts still encased in their green, smooth outer rind.

     “You will like the Agricultural Fair, Jody,” Uncle Joe said from up front where he maneuvered the donkeys through the coconut grove, up the hill to the narrow road.

     “Yea, Man, we going to have ‘bans a’ fun,” Nate chimed in.

     “What kind of fun?” Jody was doubtful. He had really been enjoying his vacation up to this point, but now he was feeling uncomfortable in the intense heat. His sweaty T-shirt clung to his skin making him feel itchy and miser­able.

     “Tek off yuh shirt, Man. When we reach and finish un­load the cart we will change into our ‘good’ clothes.” Nate patted the small bag by his side. 

     Jody, shirt removed, felt a lot better. His mounting interest in the Agricultural Fair was enhanced by Nate’s im­pressive account of what usually took place.

     “Man, yuh eye going to ‘pop out’ when yuh see the fine cattle and pigs and other farm animals that competing for prize. And yuh w see plenty fruits and vegetables, and cakes too. Last year my Aunt Mabel won a First Prize for her Coconut Drops.”

     “Coconut Drops?” Jody raised his eyebrows. He had not yet tasted this treat.

     “Yea, Man, Aunt Mabel makes the best Coconut Drops in this part of the island.”

     Later that day, Jody discovered that Coconut Drops were really candies made from grated coconut meat and sugar.

     Nate talked non-stop for the entire journey. Jody en­joyed listening to the strange island accent and savoring the unique expressions used in the local dialect. After a bumpy but enjoyable ride over three miles of dirt road, they finally arrived at the fairgrounds.

     The boys helped Uncle Joe set up his coconut booth be­fore going off to enjoy themselves.

     There was much to see and do at the fair, but Jody spent so much time at each stall examining every unique item that Nate became irritable with him.

     “Come on, Man, yuh taking too long,” Nate would call impatiently. “Let’s go play some games.” That was what Nate liked best, the games - tossing the rings, shooting at targets and such ... and of course, the rides.

     Together they rode the Merry-go-round and the Ferris Wheel. Jody was disappointed at the limited number of rides, but he did not say so. He did not want to seem like a ‘show-off’ by mentioning the many and varied types of rides available at the Amusement Parks back home in Canada.

     After a while, the boys got hungry and made their way to the food stalls. There was certainly a lot to choose from. Most of the local dishes were unfamiliar to Jody and he had a hard time deciding what to eat. He looked at the Ackee and Salt Fish; he looked at the Coconut Run-down; he looked at the Curried Goat and he looked at the Fried Chicken.

     “Try the Curry Goat with rice and peas,” Nate suggested.

     Jody felt a bit squeamish at the thought of eating goat meat, but he decided to try it. What he wasn’t expecting was the amount of pepper that was in the food.

     “Whew! Whew! Whew!” Jody gasped, his tongue hanging out of his mouth like a dog panting.

     “What happen, Man, yuh mouth on fire?” Nate doubled up with laughter. To Nate it was funny. To Jody, it was not. His mouth felt like it was really on fire. A mug of cool coco­nut water soon soothed his burning tongue.

     “No more Curry Goat for me, Nate. I’ll stick to Fried Chicken from now on.”

     Later, as the boys recounted the day’s events, they had a good laugh over the incident of the ‘hot stuff’ as Jody called it.

     It was really a fun day for all, but to Jody, it was more than a fun day, it was an enlightening experience.

Church Picnic

     The family left early for the annual Church picnic. Aunt Minnie packed a picnic basket. Jody noticed that the basket was made from coconut leaves. He had seen some of the church girls plaiting leaves and weaving them into baskets and mats. He had been intrigued at their versatility.

     “Come on, Jody,” Nate was impatient. “Deacon is waiting for us to ‘tun the ice-cream bucket’.”  Jody did not understand what Nate meant by ‘tun the ice-cream bucket’. He would find out soon enough.

     The church picnic was held in the school yard. It was about a ten minute walk from where Uncle Joe and family lived.

     Uncle Joe carried a large kerosene pail on his head. He did not hold it with his hand but he balanced it really well. Nate also balanced a basket on his head with all kinds of goodies that Aunt Minnie had packed to share with ‘other folk’. Nate had made a kind of head piece from the fibrous husk of a dried coconut and placed on top of his head. He called it his “cotta”. It protected his head from the weight of the basket. Aunt Minnie carried her coconut basket in her hand. She wore a wide brimmed hat made from coconut leaves to protect her from ‘the elements’.

     Jody had nothing to carry and he felt out of place.

     “Don’t worry, Man,” Nate said. “You have to save your strength to ‘tun the ice-cream bucket’.”

     Jody did not want to admit that he had no idea what that meant so he kept quiet.

     When they arrived at the picnic site, quite a few people had already gathered. Little booths were set up all around the school yard. They were made with bamboo posts and dried coconut fronds for the roofs.

     Deacon was waiting for them in one of the larger booths. He was standing over a large ice-cream bucket. It was made of wood and had a large aluminum canister sitting inside. He was putting ice and rock salt between the canister and the outer tub. Jody wondered where he was going to plug in the ice-cream maker for there was no electricity. A large ice box stood nearby with a large chunk of ice. Deacon chipped ice from the chunk to put in the tub.

     Uncle Joe set down the pail that he had carried on his head. It contained the ice-cream mixture that Aunt Minnie had prepared with coconut milk, eggs and condensed milk. Deacon filled the ice-cream canister with some of the mixture and put the lid on. Then he called Nate. “I am ready for you boys now.”

     The ice-cream maker had a paddle which fit inside the canister. It also had a crank handle to turn. Nate began to turn the handle. When he was tired it was my turn. So this is what he meant by ‘tun the ice-cream bucket’. We cranked the bucket until the mixture inside the canister began to harden. When the ice cream was ready, Deacon put some in a cone for us, and then he told us we could go have fun. He would get two other boys to do the next batch.

     There was a lot to see and do at the festival. We played games and had races. My favorite race was the Egg and Spoon Race. Nate enjoyed the Three-Legged Race. Inside some of the booths were stalls where people sold their handmade crafts. I bought gifts made from the coconut shell to take back to Canada.         We had a great deal of fun at the Church Festival, but when night began to fall and the sand flies started to bite, we were more than happy to pack up and leave.

     My vacation was coming to an end. In many ways I had grown. I had certainly become more aware of another way of life, and another culture out there.

by Elisient Maeve Vernon

751 NW 187 Drive, Miami Gardens

Fl 33169