"Gombo Zhèbes." Little Dictionary of Creole Proverbs. Lafcadio Hearn

and Chinese words)—the true article is either suppressed or transformed into a prefix or affix of the noun, as in femme-la “the woman,” or yon lagrimace, a grimace;—there is no true gender, no true singular and plural; verbs have rarely more than six tenses—sometimes less—and the tense is not indicated by the termination of the verb; there is a remarkable paucity of auxiliaries, and in some dialects none whatever; participles are unknown, and prepositions few. A very fair knowledge of comparative Creole grammar and pronunciation may be acquired, by any one familiar with French, from the authors cited at the beginning of this volume. I would also recommend those interested in such folklore to peruse the Creole novel of Dr. Alfred Mercier—Les Saint-Ybars, which contains excellent examples of the Louisiana dialect; and Baissac’s beautiful little stories, “Recits Créoles,” rich in pictures of the old French colonial life. The foreign philological reviews and periodicals, especially those of Paris, have published quite a variety of animal fables, proverbs, stories in various Creole dialects; and among the recent contributions of French ethnologists to science will be also discovered some remarkable observations upon the actual formation of various patois—strongly resembling our own Creole—in the French African colonies.

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      Needless to say this collection is far from perfect;—the most I can hope for is that it may constitute the nucleus of a more exhaustive publication to appear in course of time. No one person could hope to make a really complete collection of Creole proverbs—even with all the advantages of linguistic knowledge, leisure, wealth, and travel. Only a society of folklorists might bring such an undertaking to a successful issue; but as no systematic effort is being made in this direction, I have had no hesitation in attempting—not indeed to fill a want—but to set an example. Gouïe passé, difil sivré:—let the needle but pass, the thread will follow.

      L. H.

CREOLE BIBLIOGRAPHY.

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      ☞ The selection of Haytian proverbs in this collection was made by kindly permission of Messrs. Harper Bros., from the four articles contributed by Hon. John Bigelow, to Harper’s Magazine, 1875. The following list includes only those works consulted or quoted from in the preparation of this dictionary, and comprises but a small portion of all the curious books, essays, poems, etc., written upon, or in the Creole patois of the Antilles and of Louisiana.—L. H.

      Bruyère (Loys)—“Proverbes Créoles de la Guyane Française.” (In l’Almanach des Traditions Populaires, 1883. Paris: Maisonneuve et Cie.)

      Baissac (M. C.)—“Étude sur le Patois Créole Mauricien.” Nancy: Imprimerie Berger-Levrault & Cie., 1880.

      Marbot—“Les Bambous.” Fables de La Fontaine travesties en Patois Créole par un Vieux Commandeur. Fort-de-France, Martinique: Librairie de Frederic Thomas, 1869. (Second Edition. Both editions of this admirable work are now unfortunately out of print.)

      Thomas (J. J.)—“The Theory and Practice of Creole Grammar.” Port of Spain, Trinidad: The Chronicle Publishing Office, 1869.

      Turiault (J.)—“Étude sur le Langage Créole de la Martinique.” (Extrait du Bulletin de la Société Académique.) Brest: Lefournier, 1869.

      De St.-Quentin (Auguste)—Introduction à l’Histoire de Cayenne, suivie d’un Recueil de Contes, Fables, et Chansons en Créole. Notes et Commentaires par Alfred de St.-Quentin. Étude sur la Grammaire Créole par Auguste de St.-Quentin. Antibes: J. Marchand, 1872.

      Bigelow (Hon. John)—“The Wit and Wisdom of the Haytians.” Being four articles upon the Creole Proverbs of Hayti, respectively published in the June, July, August and September numbers of Harper’s Magazine, 1875.

Little Dictionary of Creole Proverbs.

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      [Most of the proverbs quoted in Martinique are current also in Guadeloupe, only 90 miles distant. All proverbs recognized in Louisiana are marked by an asterisk (*). The indications, Mauritius, Guyana, Martinique, Hayti, etc., do not necessarily imply origin; they refer only to the dialects in which the proverbs are written, and to the works from which they are selected.]

      1. Acoma tombé toutt mounn di: C’est bois pourri. (Quand l’Acoma est tombé, tout le monde dit: C’est du bois pourri.)

“When the Acoma has fallen everybody says: ‘It’s only rotten wood.’ ”[1]—[Mart.]

[1] The Acoma, says Turiault, is one of the grandest trees in the forests of the Antilles. The meaning of the proverb appears to be, that a powerful or wealthy person who meets with misfortune is at once treated with contempt by those who formerly sought his favor or affected to admire his qualities.

      2. A fòce macaque caressé yche li ka touffé li. (À force de caresser son petit le macaque l’étouffe.)

      “The monkey smothers its young one by hugging it too much.”—[Mart.]

3. Aspère[2] iéve dans marmite avant causé. (Attendez que le lièvre soit dans la marmite avant de parler.)

      “Wait till the hare’s in the pot before you talk.”—Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.—[Mauritius.]

[2] Evidently a creolization of the Spanish esperar.

4. Avant bois[3] d’Inde té pòté graine, macaque té nouri yche yo. (Avant que l’arbre d’Inde portâit des graines, les macaques nourissaient leurs petits.)

      “Before the Indian tree (?) bore seed the monkeys were able to nourish their young.”—[Martinique.]

[3] The word bois (wood) is frequently used in Creole for the tree itself; and pié-bois (“foot of the wood”) for the trunk or stump. “Yon gouòs pié-bois plis facile déraciné qu’mauvais l’habitude” (A big stump is easier to uproot than a bad habit), is a Martinique Creole dictum, evidently borrowed from the language of the white masters. I am sorry that I do not know which of the various trees to which the name bois d’Inde has been given by the Creoles, is referred to in the proverb—whether the mango, or China-berry. No tree is generally recognized by that name in Louisiana.

      5. Avant zabocat macaque ka nouri yche li. (Avant qu’il y eût des avocados, les macaques nourissaient leurs petits.)

“The monkey could nourish its young, before there were any avocadoes.”[4]—[Martinique.]

[4] The Avocado was the name given by the Spanish conquistadores to the Persea gratissima, whose fruit is the “alligator pear.” But M. Turiault again traces the Spanish word back to the Carib