23. 1/10/03 Sandy Point (Halfway Tree) Alvin XXX. M 78 POB L Ed 8th grade Occ: laborer plumber/customs worker YA: 0/short visits to Barbados, Virgin Islands/many trips to Nevis Ancestry P: Puerto Rico/M: Nevis. unmarried Interview: 10 January, 2003 Initial Transcript: 26 August, 2003 Halftree/Sandy Point, St. Kitts Lee XXX: (P: prompter) Alvin XXX (R: primary respondent) G(A): Grunt, affirmation G(N): Grunt, negation G(Q): Grunt, question, (Is that right?(; (You don(t say( G(V) Grunt, seeking verification. (Say what?( U(C): Utterance, cough U(F): Utterance, false start U(H): Utterance, hesitation U(I): Utterance, interruption U(L): Utterance, laughter U(M) Utterance muffled, inaudible. U(S) Utterance of surprise ( ) Deleted phoneme, word, or phrase P: First, tell me your name. R: Alvin XXX. P: And how do you spell your last name? R: A-L-V-I-N, P: Your last name. R: XXX. P: OK. And where were you born? R: G(Q)? P: Where were you born? R: Where born? P: Where were you born, yeah. R: Halfway Tree. P: Halfway Tree. OK. Let(s see. Turn it down a little more here. And how old are you? R: Seventy-eight. P: How old. R: Seventy-eight. P: Seventy-eight. R: Yeah. P: OK. What was your occupation. R: Was a plumber. P: G(A). All your life? R: Yes, but I(m a pensioner now. P: Sure. I wondered about the uniform. I wondered f you worked for U(I). R: Yes. I work there, Custom now. P: G(A). You work at Customs now? R: Yeah. P: Do you work with Merchie? R: G(Q)? P: Do you know Merchie? R: Merchie, working still? P: Merchie used to work in U(I). R: In the line. P: He(s the guy at Five Ways, you know. R:Yeah. P: Yeah. R Right. P: OK. U(F). Could you tell me about your schooling? R: Me going school. P: G(A). R: And reach for high school. P: U(F). Tell me about learning plumbing. R: Well, I didn(t went to learn it. I picked up. I went to work as a laborer. P: G(A). R: I pick it up. P: Sure. So how long did you, did you start that right after school? Or you started out as a laborer. R: Yes. P: G(A). R: I work for it, thirty-five years. P: G(A). R: Fifty to the first. P: I see. Do you know that man in the Water Department; worked up in the mountains. He lives in Sandy Point . R: He lives in U(I). P: No, I think he lives in Old Road. Old Road. R: Mr. XXX. P: Yeah. Right. R: We used to work together, P: Is that right. I interviewed him R: G(Q)? P: I interviewed him. I talked to him. R: To him. P: I talked to him last time I was here. R: Yeah. P: Merchie took me to him. We had an interview over there one evening. Yeah. Are you married? R: No. P: Do you have any children. R: Yes. Four. P: Tell me about them. Tell me about them. R: Four girls. P: G: (A). R: You like to know? P: Yeah. I(d like to know their names; I(d like to know how old they are; where they are; what they do. R: I think the first one thirty-six. Forty-six another one. P: G(A). R: Twenty-nine. P: G(A). R: And twenty-six. P: G(A). What kind of work do they do. R: One work up there Grass [?] University. P: G(A). R: And the other one work at the school full meet [?] P: I see. What doe she do at the university? R: I really don(t know. P: G(A). R: But she works there. P: I see. That(s U(I). R: Another one work as a cleaner. P: I see. I see. Tell me about the work you did as a laborer before you were a plumber. R: I work here, dig the road. P: G(A). Mainly U(I). R: Main Road. P: All right. R: Then we run pipes and stuff. P: G(A). R: As labor. P: So you were really working, doing labor for the Water Department and U(I). R: And Civil Service. P: Civil Service, G(Q)? R: Yeah, the Civil Service, till the first of August. P: Civil servant? What? R: Civil Service, I work for thirty-five years. P: I see. I see. So you really moved from a laborer to a plumber. R: G(A). P: I see. I see. That(s interesting. Tell me about your parents. Where was your father born? R: Well, I think he was a Puerto Rican. P: G(A). R: What? P: A what? R: From Puerto Rico. P: Puerto Rico, is that right? G(A). R: And my mother was from Nevis. P: G(A). Your mother was from Nevis. R: Not the baby. I was born later. P: Is that right. That(s interesting. Do you have any brothers or sisters? R: Yes. P: Tell me about them. R: Well, I can(t say about my brother because he is somewhere in Boston. P: G(A). R: But me eldest sister die; second sister die; G(M). And one to G(M). P: Yeah. R: And one in Anguila. P: What about her? R: I can(t tell you. P: Do know about her? Do you ever visit the people in Anguila? No? And as far as you know, all your father(s people were from Puerto Rico. R: Yes. P: And all your mother(s people were from Nevis. R: Yes. P: Do you know where your father met your mother? R: No. P: U(L). That(s interesting. OK. Have you been off the island much? R: Me? P: Yeah. R: Yeah. Went to St, Thoms; Went to St. Croix; P: G(A). You just made one trip to the Virgin Islands. R: Yes. P: But you do go to Nevis a lot? R: Yes. P: Yeah, that(s just like across the street. U(L). R: Yes, sure is. U(L). P: U(L). Yeah, I se, well, that(s good. You didn(t enjoy traveling that much? R: Yes. P: Or did you? R: Yes. P: Tell me what you liked about it. R: Well, I prefer sailing. P: G(A). R: Whenever I can, I do that. I like sailing. P: G(A). R: I enjoy sailing, went to Barbados in March. P: G(A). R: Twice, twice I been there. P: G(A). Did you sail to St. Thomas or a cruise? R: Plane. P: Plane. You never went anyplace U(I). Did you see that beautiful ship out here today, this morning, the (Peloponnesian(? That great big yacht. R: Yeah. P: Beautiful thing. R: Yeah. Windjammer. P: Windjammer, yeah. R: It(s out there. P: Yeah. Do you know how much they charge on those things? R: G(N). P: How much money they charge. I was asking, I thought I(d like to go on one of thse. R: You(d like to go? P: I think I would. R: Yeah, you go to St. Martin to pick her up. P: Oh, I see. You have to get it at St. Martin Can you fly directly from Puerto Rico to St. Martins? R: Yes. P: I think so. On American Eagle. Yeah. R: Yeah, that was it. [pointing up to plane in the sky] P: Yeah, that(s what I come in on. R: Yeah. P: Yeah. That was it. R: Yeah. P: That looked big. R: Yeah, she bring stuff, big stuff.. P: Yeah, big plane. OK. U(F). Now I(d like you to tell me, if you remember, any of the games you played when you were a child. R: Well, I just used to, I didn(t like cricket up to now. P: G(A). R: Because when I was a boy, when the boy hit it, struck me [points to leg], and I didn(t like it. P: You hurt your leg. R: Yeah. P: G(A). R: But football, I didn(t like it. P: G(A). R: But up to now. P: Do you like cricket now or still don(t like it? R: On this thing, I watch it on. P: I mean, you watch it on TV? R: Yes. P:: G(A). U(F). Tell me about that, they have that tournament every year, don(t they? The thing on the islands for the championship. R: On St. Kitts? P: It(s the whole West Indies. R: Well, I don;t follow that much. P: G(A). You just follow the St. Kits. R: Yeah. P: Does St. Kitts have a pretty good team? R: Yes. P: Pretty good? R: They were, but lots of them gone away. P: G(A). Gone to play for other people, G(Q)? R: yes. P: I see. Did you play any other games. R: No. P: No. If you father was from Puerto Rico and your mother was from Nevis, how did they get over here? When did they come here? R: I don(t know. P: After they were married, they must have come. R: Whenever he leave, she came here. P: G(A). R: (Be)cause most of her family here. P: G(A). R: She stay here. P: Oh, I see; her family was already in this part of St. Kitts. This part of the island.. R: Yes, a lot. P: I got you. OK. That makes sense. I was going to ask you if you remembered when you were a small child, they talked about jumbies. R: Up to now they speak about it. P: OK. What did they say? R: That don(t go there because jumbie. P: G(A). R: They live in the wood; they die.. P: G(A). R: And they say they(ll have jumbie on you. P: Did you ever see a jumbie? R: No. P: Do you believe in them? Do you think there are jumbies? R: No. P: How about jack-o-lantern? R: Jack-o-lantern when I was small. P: Yeah. R: We used to see a light up in the mountain. P: Yeah. R: And people used to say, wen you look, I do believe on my own experience U(I). P: Yeah. R: Like when you go down in the ghut and U(I). P: G(A). R: It come up, you know? P: Sure. R: And when you look it just the same thing. P: G(A). R: My eyes because you ain(t see maybe you want to., but al the time. P: G(A). R:You right up to them. P: You don(t see them at all. R: I saw. P: All right. Others have said that maybe because there(s so much light, so much electricty. R: G(A). P: Everything(s lit up. R: And people talk more jumbie. P: G(A). Talk about jumbie now. Did you ever hear of a jumbie fire? R: Yes. P: Tell me what it is. R: Well, I don(t remember the year. P: G(A). R: A fellow that came from St..Thomas. P: G(A). R: A friend brought him up to stay with him. P: G(A). R: He come from St. Thomas, he tell me he spend time here. P: G(A) R: I think he came up to work for someone and pay free food and wash clothes and U(I). P: G(A). R: And his girl were living there. P: G(A). R: Sally. P: G(A). R: He left money; she steal it. P: G(A). R: And he ask for it and she said she no nothing about it. P: G(A). R: He ask her; she say no. Of the money, he tell her give it back, and she wouldn(t say. I understand he told her you going to regret it. Then he went came. And I could remember, she went and clothes burn P: G(A) R: And then her house. P: G(A). R: And the priest went up there in the morning. P: G(A). R: And the morning, when the priest came on the site, no fire. P Is that right. R: It would be. P: I see. R: No fire. Then the priest went on and fire again. G(A). Right. R: We call the fire truck. Fire truck went down the place. P: Oh, I see. R: You see, well, he sure no more fire. P: U(L). R: And the fire truck come. P: G(A). R: And they wet clothes again. P: Is that right. R: Anyway, some rice box [?]. P: G(A). R: The sort of boxes? P: Yeah. R: Some of the cells were empty, some had in bottles. P: G(A). R: And while they(re watching some rain, they aint see the fire. P: Is that right. R: And when the rain drizzle down, you see the fire coming up. P: G(A). Come right up. R: The bottle. P: Come right out of the bottles G(Q)? R: The rain aint stop it. P: Yeah. R: That(s the only thing. Then, when the fire coming back. P: Yeah. R: Smell like when you scrape a match. P: Sulphur, yeah. R: U(M). The fire leave. P: G(A). R: Went Old Road. P: Is that right? R: Because she take her clothes to aunt. P: G(A). R: The fire went down there. P: is that right. That(s what I heard about the fire. R: Yes. P: That it would burn up the stuff that was stolen. R: Everything. P: Is that right. R: And they had a baby. P: G(A). R: And a Bible. P: G(A). R: And they had the baby and the fire burn all around P: G(A). Is that right. And it didn(t burn the baby. R: G(A). P: Didn(t burn the baby. R: Didn(t burn the baby. Didn(t burn the Bible and didn(t burn where the baby was at. P: Is that right. U(F) I(d heard that. R: But you never get it so. P: No. Right. Now that(s really, that was really scary if U(I). R: Yes, but nobody could have saved it.. P: Yeah.. R: They couldn(t see the fire. And a fellow took her box. P: Yeah. R: With some burned clothes. P: Yeah. R: How was this, it going down. P: G(A). R: Funny, the fellow, he said the box don(t burn. P: G(A). R: And he say. P: G(A). R: He try to put water that, it out. P: Is that right. That(s something. R: I was around it. P: Well, there(s something funny going on. R: And he had a girl from Antigua. P: G(A). R:Came here, a young church[?] girl, [three syllables?,] for her father. P: Yeah.. R: And here was a young man at the time; I was watching.. P: Sure, did you work in a bar? R: No, scenery [sinnery?] store. P: G(A). R: And one day, we hear a scream. P: Yeah. R: When we run to her, (bat, bat, bat,( she say she receive some slaps. P: Yeah. P: But me didn(t see nothing. P: G(A). R: People say the take her to sombody, I don(t know. P: G(A). Yeah. R: And she got better. P: Yeah, tat(s something; that(s just what U(I). R: What really happen or who they take her to. P: A jumbie. R: U(L). P: It had to be a jumbie. R: I can(t U(I). P: I think it would have to be a jumbie. Have to be U(L). That(s exactly what I wanted. Something else I want to ask you. U(F). Where do you live around here. Do you live right here. R: No, up the road. P: But you live really close to the water though. R: From here [on the beach] to the hillside. P: G(A). Do you fish a lot? R: Used to.. P: Ok. Tell me about that. Tell me what U(F) kind of fishing you did. R: Well, I had a boat and motor and fish traps.. P: What(s that? R: Boat and the motor, engine. P: G(A) R: And fish traps. P: I see, traps. R: Yes. P: Was that for lobster or all kinds of fish? R: Anything that go in. P: How big are the traps? R: Well, some of them, roughly four feet. P: What keeps the fish from, the fish swim in but they can(t swim out. R: G(A). P: Is that it? R: Because. P: G(A). R: You put in a piece of wire like a door. P: G(A). R: They call it the funnel. P: G(A). R: And they throw it so it go right down. P: G(A) R: You can swim closer. P: G(A). R: But the reason for that is fish didn(t have no neck bone. P: Oh. R: They can(t look up. P: They can(t look up. U(L). R: They go in, but if they could have looked all here cut out. P: Yeah. R: So this wall is good and they G(M). P: G(A). R: If they could have looked up whatever they see the roll over and they don(t go. P: I see. That(s called the funnel? R: Yes, yes, yes. P: What other parts are there? Are there other parts on the trap? R: Yes. Yes the fish got in through funnel. P: G(A). R: Then a square, some like a box. P: G(A). Then they(re like slats. R: Some they call it the (s( faxy mixer [?] P: G(A) R: They make it like that. P: G(A). R: The funnel there. And this other corner. P: So the fish gets in and can(t get out. R: G(A). P: How often do you check those? Every day? R: No. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. P: G(A). And how many fish might you catch in a U(I). R: Well, some of the time you have roughly forty pound in there. P: Is that right? Forty pounds. R: Forty, yeah. P: Wow. And that(s U(I). Yeah, go ahead. R: But now they aint doing nothing much. P:G(A). R: I don(t have such a boat yet for such a plan [?]. P: G(A). R: And te steal the fish, but I don(t want to. P: People stealing the traps. R: Yes. P: Oh, that(s terrible. Now how about this kind of net these fellows are working on? What kind of net is that. R: Well, you go to sea and you carry some trash. P: G(A) R: You throw on the water. P: Yeah. R: And if the fish like some, then they [motions] P: U(L). I see. R: Round them up. P: U(F) Is there a name for that kind of net? R: Fish net. P: Just a fish net. R: Yeah. P: I wonder if it had a special name because U(I). R: Well, as regards to what fish you catch. P: Yeah. R: Fish net. Some say jacks net, but jacks net only catch jacks. P: Yeah. R: But you catch those, gars, you know. P: But the net, doesn(t on one side; aren(t the two sides of the net different? One has U(I). R: Well, these pull to the side. P: G(A). R: We have some nets call them purse nets. P: Yeah. R: You can look and see if the fish is in the net. P: Yeah. Right, OK. R: You pull the string. P: OK. I see. R: Call that purse net. P: Purse net, G(A). R: This thing. P: I see. U(F) Don(t they watch people to kee people from stealing one anotehr(s traps/ R: No, no. The nets, they can(t steal. P: Can(t steal. R: They don(t steal, but here you leave everything out there. P: And when they steal your traps they clean everything out? R: Yeah, they drug them. P: They steal the traps. R: Yeah. P: You couldn(t, isn(t there someway you could anchor the traps? R: They have them on a long rope, buoys, calls them buoys. P: G(A). Yeah. R: They(re going to pull them. You can(t stop them. P: You can(t stop them. R: Some go late in the evening; some go early at morning. P: Yeah. Tat(s terrible; that really is too bad. Do you remember when you were little, your mother used to make different kinds of tea from different kinds of bushes? R: Bushes, yeah. P: Tell me about the bushes you used to use, how much U(I). R: Used to call them basil. P: Yeah. R: Some sosa bush. P: G(A). R: Some they call Capricorn. P: G(A). R: They have some other ones collected down.. P: G(A). R: And piro bush. P: And how about horse rubdown? Do you know that? R: Yeah, I saw that. P: Yeah. R: We had some up in te field there. P: G(A). R: Excuse me, where did you hear horse rubdown? P: Somebody said it. I heard somebody say it. R: It(s good for cold.. P: Yeah, I heard of horse rubdown, and I also heard, somebody else called it, I think, called it mule, mule rubdown. R: Yeah, yeah. P: Yeah. R: I heard that only about mule. P: Is that the same thing. R: Because horse rubdown is what it is. P: Yeah, I heard of that. I just thought it was a very strange name, you know? R: Yeah. P: Horse rubdown. R: We have a gentleman here, he a doctor.. P: G(A). R: He have all the names. P: G(A). R: And if you look up the names and some [of] the bush. P: G(A). R: Right away it(s there. P: G(A). And what(s good for it. R: Dr. XXX. P: Is that right? Does he live up here? R: He lives in Fleur-e-see [?], just below. P: G(A). I se. And he(s a herbologist, I guess. R: Yes. P: Specialist, I guess. R: Yes. P: That(s interesting. R: Yeah. R: What kind of things would it cure? What kinds of things did at tea cure? R: Well, some people have asthma. P: G(A). R: You see, to the edge of these coconut trees, you look right down to the point.. P: G(A). R: That(s a lemon cherry bush. P: G(A). R: They pick ripe. P: Yeah. R: Then older heads say use odd leaves. P: G(A). R: Three, five, seven. P: Oh, is that right. Take the odd numbered leaves, G(Q)/ R: You boil the water. Put it down in there. P: I see, but you got to prepare odd numbers of leaves, like one through five, seven, nine. R: Yes. P: I see. That(s interesting. Yeah. R: That good for the asthma. P: G(A). R: [in aud.] P: Yeah, that(s grapefruit. What about other things like colds? R: Well. For cold, some people use lime. You know that? P: No. R: Lime. P: Well, I guess they(re U(I). R: Like orange, they(re common too. P: Yeah. Oh, I now what a lime is, sure. R: Yes. Some people use them. P: You make a Margarita with lime. U(L). R: For some. P: For different people, GQ)? R: Well, we have some who they use their own, they call it mutton plant. P: G(A). R: Some people a few of these trees. P: Mutton what? R: Lamb. P: Mutton lamb. R: So you(d take the young leaves. P: G(A). R: And you rub it up in your hand. P: G(A). R: Get a spoon. Just a tip of cooking salt. P: G(A). R: You stir it. P: It works though. R: Yes, it work. P: OK. That(s good. Now I want to ask you about, do you remember the sports they used to have at carnival time? R: Well, they don(t have that now. P: What do you remember though, how it used to be? R: The makojumbie, nigger business. P What(s that.? R: Nigger business? P: Yeah. R: They make a kind of rhyme on you. P: G(A). R: They say you did this. P: Yeah. R: So that(s the nigger business. P: Now this nigger business, these things they talk about, it(s like gossip, right? R: Gossip. P: Is it true? R: Some. P: U(L). Some is true; some isn(t.. R: They call it Christmas time, in the morning. P: OK. I see. R: And clown and spirit. P: G(A). R: Masquerade. P: G(A). R: And that. P: G(A). R: But they don(t have that now. P: No. David and Goliath. R: Goliath and mummies. P: The lion. They had the bull, didn(t they? R: The bull popular. P: Yeah R: And the kids do that now. P: Did you used to go? Did they come through Sandy Point? R: Yes. The island. You come, everybody cowboy and girls. P: OK. Yeah, but they still have something like that, don(t they? They do some things. R: Not much. P: No, mainly it(s a beauty pageant, isn(t it? R: Yeah, but from Nevis. P: G(A). R: They do it. P: The people from Nevis really like to party. R: Yes. P: They love the U(I). Well, I want to take a minute here and get something straight. Tell me the name of your town, where you wee born, where you live, R: Sand Point. P: Sandy Point. But what(s the neighborhood called? R: Fig Tree. P: You don(t live in Fig Tree though. No. R: Sandy Point. Everybody live in the neighborhood. P: So you call all of this around here. R: Sandy Point. P: OK. That(s good. R: They use it Fig Tree/Sandy Point. P: G(A). But you(re right close to Fig Tree, G(Q)? R: Yes, it(s Fig Tree down here. P: G(A) R:: And up there. P: The part going down there [along the bay]. Oh, down there. Are we in Fig Tree right now? R: No, Pump Bay.[on the coast, between Fig Tree and Sandy Point] P: Pump Bay, this is Pump Bay? R: Yes. P: And is that where you were born? R: No, Halfway Tree. P: Halfway Tree? R: Halfway Tree. P: Halfway Tree, OK. Is that a village? R: Yes. P: Halfway Tree, OK. That(s what I wanted to know. Halfway Tree, that(s terrific. Now, did you ever work in the cane? R: No. P: Never. Do you know anything about he cane. R: Just see people cut them.. P: Yeah. R: And cart them. P: Yeah. R: Up to the siding. P: Yeah. U(F). OK. Let me ask you, do you now what magasse is? R: Molasses. P: Magasse? R: Magasse, yeah. P: Do you know what that is? R: That is like stuff they take off. P: G(A). R: They used to bag it when wheel turn it . P: G(A). R: And they take it field and spread it. P: Right. R: And it rot and works in the cane. P: How about mud? R: The mud from the sugar factory. P: Yeah. R: They have to take it. P: Yeah. R: Take it or it burn you up. P: G(A). R: When you come out and you try it there. P: G(A). R: If you walk in it, you damage it. P: Is that right, R: It depends how long it(s there. P: Is that right? R: But some of the time, it go easy, and sometime you set your own self afire. P: Is that right? R: Yeah. P: They stuff(s so hot you can(t walk on it. R: That(s right. P: G(A). R: Mud. P: G(A). R: They used to send people to open it. P: G(A). You spread it out. R: Yeah, and you cool it. P: I see. That(s interesting. R: When you leave, forget about it, six, seven feet. P: U(L) You(ll have a jumbie fire. R: So. P: U(L). Is that right. Now I(d never heard that before. You tell me you don(t know anything about that. But you told me something I(d never heard before. That it(s so hot. R: This mud is. P: That(s interesting. R: Some people call it the filter press. P: Filter press. Yeah. R: They come from the factory. P: Yeah. R: There press. P: Yeah. R: And then they remove it and certain place they dump it. P: Yeah. Do you call that other stuff magasse or bagasse? R: Bagasse. P: Bagasse. R: Yeah. P: OK. That(s great. Now will you tell me some different kinds of grasses that grow around here. R: Right here. P: Yeah, tell me about those. R: Call it guinea grass. P: Guinea grass. R: Those there they call lemon grass. P: OK. R: Long grass. And the animals eat them up. P: G(A). R: See. Look at the goat. See what he eating? [goat in a small pasture nearly] P: G(A). R: Guinea grass. P: He(s eating guinea grass, G(Q).? R: G(A). P: Can he get loose from his tether? R: He(s tied. P: He(s still tied? R: Yeah, I think, maybe something else, some grass. P: G(A). R: A Russian rose or tea plant [?]. P: G(A). I see. They really take pretty good care of this grass around here. These animals, G(Q). R: Yes. P: Any different kinds of weeds other than the grasses R: Yes, maidenapple, corn weeds. P: Yeah. Good. R: And U(H). P: Yeah, go ahead. R: Cowitch. P: Cow-itch or co-eech? R: Cowitch . Something like peas that they cough them up. P: G(A). R: Bite you. P: Is that right? R: Yeah, bite you. P: No kidding. R: Yeah, they live in grass. P: Like thistles. R: When they(re green they don(t bother you. P: When they(re dry they bite. R: The wind blow them. P: Are there any kind of grasses or weed that kind of run close to the ground?. That stay flat on the ground?. R: Yes. P: Tell me about them. R: They have, they call them tomtegra grass. P: G(A). R: And when they get between the cane. P: G(A). R: They get down and kill grass; it(ll kill the cane. P: Yeah. R: (Ac) count of the fiber shoots. P: Yeah. R: That family. P: I see. Those are the ones that get into the cane. R: Cane. P: Yeah, parasites, G(Q)? How about trees? What kind of trees are there on St. Kitts? R: Well, right here? P: Yeah. R: You have what they call a marshmallow. P: G(A). R: They(re very soft, a tall one. P: G(A). R: Casts a seed. [tree name? or marshmallow feature?]. P: G(A). R: And other one they call the French bita caters. P: Yeah. R: And they have the al de bita caters P: G(A). R: I aint seen them around. P: And the palm trees, right. R: Not palm trees here. Coconut trees. P: Yeah, coconut tree. Do they only call coconuts jelly when they(re cut? Have you ever heard that term? R: Yes. You drunk the water out. P: Yes. R: And if it(s young, you take it out and you have the jelly. P: The jelly(s inside. R: But if you leave it for to come out. P: Yeah. R: Well, you have to grate it. P: Yeah, when it gets hard. R: Put it in flour to eat. P: Yeah R: You make sugar cake. P: Right. R: You know? P: Sure. R: And if you take all the grated, oil, castor, coconut oil, from the coconut P: You make castor oil of that? R: No, coconut oil. P: Coconut oil, yeah. R: That these. P: Yeah, but the jelly, you never call a coconut a jelly by itself, only when its opend.. R: G(A). P: And how do you get them, I see them up there in that tree. There(s a bout eight of them up there. Do you just wait until they fall or do. R: No. P: Guys climb up there.. R: Yeah. But when they dry, they drop with a small amount of water.. P: G(A). R: When they(re smaller. P: But those could be. R: No, they NB young. P: They(re too young. R: OK. P: G(A). How can you tell? What happens to them when they(re ripe? When they(re ready to be picked. R: Well, they got two different sizes. P: Oh, difference sizes. Oh, it(s the size, I see.. R: And then, you know. P: I see. And those things are really growing all year round? R: Yes, yes. P: Because every time, I see those guys selling them in Basseterre. R: Yeah, always grow. You know P: Yeah, there(s some up there. R: You know, when this one was ready to pick, she shorten it. She shorten the thing. P: G(A). I see. They have a U(I). Do people own these trees? R: Not now, only government. P: Oh, but you can go up and take the coconuts out. R: Yes. P: I see, but the government owns the trees. R: But you can go and do that. P: G(A). R: In the next place, you knows what(s happening. P: G(A). I see. U(F). What do you call those big things, between a bush and a tree, very red, and they have beautiful red flowers on them and they bloom twice a year. R: Some people call them jump-up-and-kiss-me.[not poinciana] P: Jump up and kiss me, that(s good. R: From colors. P: Is that the same as a cock and hen? R: No, cock and hen is a flamboyant. P: Right. OK. R: But have a next tree. P: G(A). R: They call it cock and hen (be)cause when it bloom, P: G(A). R: It look like a cock. P: Oh, really. R: Yeah. P: I see. R: That(s why the name. P: What(s the jump up and kiss me. R: Those sam pretty flowers. P: G(A). R: They run. Oh, between grass U(I). P: Oh, they(re low to the ground. R: Yes, feed on the grass; if they get to a tree, they climb. P: Oh,, they(re like a vine. R: Yes. P: A vine. R: Just like the passion fruit. P: G(A). R: The passion fruit. P: G(A). R: If she gets in a tree. P: Is that right?. R: She climb and she climb and she climb. P: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. R: You know. P: Jump Up and Kiss Me, I(ve never heard of that R: We have a next kind of tree, they call them yellow dad. P: G(A). R: Only tree that can crawl and they don(t grow on these magic, you know them? P: No, tell me about them. R: Well, [inaud] but if your smell them. P: G(A). R: But if you smell them. P: Is magic a kind of bush or a tree? R: A tree. P: A magic tree. R: And they bear a fruit. P: G(A). OK.. R: It can poison you. P: G(A). R: If you break a stem. P: G(A). R: Milk come, you can(t touch it. P: G(A). R: Some people don(t know and they eat it; it(s very sweet but it(s poisonous. P: I see. R: You(re not supposed to eat. P: I see. R: Magic tree. P: OK. What kind of birds are here? R: Mourning dove, pigeon. P: G(A). R: Eagle, boobies, white birds, et cetera. P: Yeah. Can you think of any other land birds, the little birds? R: Some call sparrow hawk. P: Yeah. R: They(re little, tiny. P: OK. R: Almost hard to see them. P: OK. U(F) Are there little birds that people hunt for? R: Well, in the mountain the bush pigeon, they call it. P: G(A). R: They hunt them and shoot them and take them for food. P: G(A). Is there a ground pigeon too? R: Ground pigeon, no. P: G(A). R: Ground pigeon, yes, I seen on. P: Oh, I see, the ones that walk around the park. R: Yeah. P: Well, how about animals? R: Bull and goat, sheep P: Yeah. R: Cows, donkeys. P: Yeah.. R. Horses. P: Yeah. R: Mule. P: Yeah. R: We have some deer over at Frigate Bay.. P: How abut wild animals? R: Here? P: Yeah. R: All that we have call wild, is nice pig in the mountain, that away. Come to mountainside. P: How about mongoose? R: Mongoose? P: Yeah. R: How come you aint seen none today. P: You don(t see them. R: They eat crab, rat, lizard. P: Yeah. You don(t usually see them? R: Yes, across here. P: G(A). R: You see them fighting and everything. P: All right. U(L). What about monkeys? R: In the bush. P: G(A). R: Round the bank. P: Right up here then? R:Yeah, some of them saw them. P: Did you ever eat monkey? R: Eat? P: Yes, you. R: Yes. P: Do you like them? R: Yes. P: What do they taste like? R: Like mutton. P: Mutton. R: Yes. P: Like mutton, but sweet. R: Yes. P: What part of the monkey do you eat? R: All over except in the head. P: Everything but the head? You eat the tail? R: And you don(t eat the hand. P: You eat the tail. R: Yeah. P: G(A). R: Take the whole tail and cut it up like. P: G(A). OK. How about fish? R: Well we have a lot of fishes. Jacks, ballyhoo, gars. sprat, fries, bonita, dolphin, tuna fishes. P: G(A). Do you know, do you see a lot of grouper? R: Well, yes, I saw them, but only when people go in the deep sea. P: G(A). You wouldn(t catch them in your traps. R: No, no. P: What kind of fish are usually in the traps? R: Well, like hind, thumb, doctor fish, Welshman, goat fish, [inaud syll[ eye. P: G(A). Yeah. R: All them. P: Smaller fish. R: Yeah. P: Like U(I). R: A grouper would go where he forward then. P: G(A). R: He go where he want, by himself, he diving.. P: Is that right. R: He can go in, but he can(t come out. P: G(A). Yeah. R: You know, forward.. P: They get pretty big, don(t they? Groupers and red snappers. R: Yeah. P: What? R: A hundred and a half pounds. P: Is that right? A hundred pounds, G(Q)? R: Yeah, some of them P: Wow, that would be pretty hard. The only way you could cath those was with a net? R: Oh, you go deep-sea fishing. P: Yeah, deep-sea. Let me ask you something. We talked about goats and sheep. Now these are goats. Which are the ones that have the ars that hang down? Are those goats or sre they sheep? R: Both of them. P: Both have ears that hang down. How about the tail? R: Each tail are different. P: Right. R: Sheep tail always hang down. P: Sheep tail hang down. R: Yes. P: And goat(s up, G(Q). R: Yeah, he(s a goat. Some sheep down there. P: Yeah. OK. That(s great. Now I want to ask you about the hurricanes. About storms. When(s the hurricane season? R: Well, sometime January. P: Yeah. R: Sometime it starts in March. P: G(A). R: Take right here. P: G(A). And what(s the worst hurricane you remember? R: Well, the only one I remember is Hugo. P: Yeah. R: Take me money, take me house. P: Is that right? Lose your house, G(Q). R: Yeah. Because me house went. Yes, he was the worst. P: Yeah. Came over the mountain, G(Q). R: Yeah, and he clear trees. P: Yeah. R: It can kill everything. Before we put the bricks on the ground. It come up here with the water.[interview conducted at least 100 yards from the water]. P: This far, G(A). R: Yes. P: The water was up there far. R: Yes. P: You means the waves were coming, breaking up. R: Yes. P: How about Georges? Wasn(t that a pretty bad storm? R: The hurricane? P: Yeah, the Hurricane Georges. R: And Lenny. P: Lenny, yeah. R: I remember. P: How was Lenny? R: She was U(I). P: That was just a couple years ago, Lenny. R: Yeah. P: Lenny came in this way, didn(t it? R: Yes, she come from St. Martin. P: G(A). But it didn(t hit too much on St. Kitts. R: No. Up to now houses roof off in Sandy Point. P: G(A). R: Didn(t do anything. P: G)A). R: You saw them. P: G(A). Were any people killed in Hugo? R: No. P: But in Georges there were. R: None of them. P: Georges, a couple people were killed. Remember those people. R: In St. Kitts? P: Yes, they were killed in a ghut. Remember, they drowned. R: I remember. I remember, yes. P: Yeah. R: I remember, yes. . P: Yeah. R: He came up in the morning. P: Yeah. R: And the water. P: Right. R: And they were in the car. P: Right. R: And it swept down. P: And they never found them. R: Not out. P: That(s what they said. That(s what a lady told me this morning. R: Yes, some people were tied up, and they said they didn(t want to go shelter. P: G(A). R: So the wave come and U(I). P: G(A). R: Took them and they lose their life both. P: Yeah, isn(t that something. R: I remember this. P: It(s not just the wind coming, it(s the aftermath, the rain and the water, and all that water. When you look at the size of those ghuts, it(s amazing. R: Yeah. P: To think those things are full of water. R: You see because the water.now P: G(A). R: That is when the ghut run. P: G(A). R: Come one would sink. P: G(A). R: It go over them. P: All right. R: And the water brown. P: G(A). R: When she. P: Yeah. R: When she wash him off. P: G(A). R: You see all them there. P: Yes, you see two differnt colors of water there. [looking out on Sandy Point Bay] So this is the Caribbean, right. R: Yes P: It(s more peaceful that the Atlantic. R: Yes. P: We(ve been working on the Atlantic side. R: Yes. it(s much. P: Yeah. We(ve been working on the Atlantic side all week. R: Yes. P: OK. The last thing I(d like you to do for me, and this is just for pronunciation. I like you if you can speak a little louder, loud, when you do it. First I want you to count from one to fourteen. R: To say one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen. P :Good. The number after nineteen. R: Twenty. P: The number after twenty-nine. R: Thirty. P: The number after thirty-nine. R: Forty. P: The number after sixty-nine. R: Seventy. P: The number after ninety-nine. R: Hundred. P: And rthe number after nine hundred and ninety-nine. R: A thousand. P: Great. Now there(s another way of counting, like today we(d say is the tenth of January. R: Yes. P: The tenth, so counting that way you start out with first and go up to ten. R: I say. P: No, first second, third. R: Oh, the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, the ninth, tenth. P: Great. Now I(d like you to name the days of the week. R: Sunday, Monday Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. P: OK. And the moths of the year. R: Twelve. P: Yeah. R: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. P: Great. That(s it. Now the only thing I want to do here is, if you would give me your name again, and help me. Make sure I get the spelling right. OK. What(s your name again? R:Alvin. P: Alvin. R: A-L-V-I-N. P: And the last a name. R: XXX P: XX P: XXX R: XX P: XX. Hey, do you have a relative who(s in a string band, and Elvette? R: Where. P: In St. Kitts. He was born in Nevis. He(s Elvette XXX. Do you know him. R: Yeah. P: I interviewed him last time. R: He(s a singer. He(s a Christian now. P: He was a singer. He(s really good. R: Yeah, the family, somebody find out the family. P: OK. And the community is called Halftree. R: Yeah. P: And what parish is it? Do you know the parish? R: No. P: OK. Halftree, Sandy Point. Thanks a lot Mr. XXX, I appreciate it. This is great. 2