Editor’s Note: The following selection is from Natty Mark Samuels’ collection of stories entitled “The Soursop Shrine, Tales of Papa Boula”.
He came in fuming, cussing, ‘Cinnamon Bay this, Cinnamon Bay’ that.’ One of those days when life comes in a little ragged. Seeing the wreckage on his face, Papa Boula gave him a cup of soursop juice, asked him to sit, so they could speak of dissatisfaction.
You see, Michael’s uncle has a cafe/bar in the Cinnamon Bay area, on St. John, where he lives. That day, a tourist, possibly a little inebriated, had made a condescending remark. Not wanting to create a scene in his uncle’s place, he’d held in his reaction: lava deferred. Usually, he enjoys his time on St. John, but that day, the stranger had soured the sweetness, those words echoing in his head.
I imagined Michael, returning on the ferry, head down, not talking to anyone. Back on St. Thomas, he headed straight to the Soursop Shrine. Where else? After the explanation from him, Papa Boula spoke of cinnamon and the sea.
For the discourse on the spice and a body of water, we accompanied him to Nigeria, where he often took us. Through him, we spent time amongst the Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Edo, Urhobo and Ijo. On the evening of Michael’s anger, we spent time with the Yoruba.
He told us of Yemoja, their deity of motherhood and the seas. There are a range of vegetal offerings that can be presented to her, such as watermelon, coconut, plantain and yes, cinnamon. He asked us to close our eyes, while he conjured a day in Brazil, in a region called Bahia, when devotees of Yemoja, many dressed in white, carry sticks of cinnamon and other blessings from the soil, to the beach, floating the gifts across the Atlantic. They come chanting: drumming and dancing. Hundreds of people, going in the same direction, towards the San Salvador beach, like an entourage of gratitude. Smiling, laughing, on their way to give thanks.
Picking up his drum, Papa Boula played a little. Heads nodded, bodies swayed and children jumped around. You could have called it the Easing Out Rhythm, as you could see that with the words and now the music, Michael’s face had begun to relax, as the sweetness of solace permeated. Papa Boula could do that. In moments and times when anger and anxiety competed, some will go to a therapeutic clinic or a retreat; many of the residents of St. Thomas, will go to the Soursop Shrine.
As a smile appeared on his face, Michael spooned a little cinnamon, into his cup of soursop juice.
— Due to the dearth of provision in Oxford, England, in 2009, Natty Mark Samuels set up African School, offering African Studies to the general public. Teaching has taken place in a wide range of settings; schools, community projects, museums, colleges, youth clubs, universities, libraries, carnivals and botanical gardens. It has a specialism in African and Caribbean folklore. He is the founder of Rootical Folklore and Birago Day: African and Caribbean Folklore Day. He wrote the Encyclopedia of Rootical Folklore and The Birago Diop Trilogy.
Samuels is also raising funds to attend the Caribbean Studies Association Conference scheduled for St. Martin on June 1-7, where he has been invited to deliver The Jackfruit Monologue. Learn more here.
