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Category: Bahamas Jack Tales

Head and shoulders portrait of a man

Jack Rescues the Princess from the Tiger: A Bahamas Jack Tale

Posted by: Stephen Winick

We continue our exploration of Jack tales with a fascinating story recorded in the Bahamas in 1935: "Jack Rescues the Princess from the Tiger." The story was told to Alan Lomax and Mary Elizabeth Barnicle by Alexander Finderson and a group of his neighbors in Andros Island. The tale involves a princess who is abducted by a tiger and forced to marry him, until Jack comes along to rescue her. In addition to presenting audio and a transcription of the tale, we'll look at some of this story's connections to other folktales. Interestingly, it seems to have roots in a story that is widespread in India, but also has connections to Bre'r Rabbit tales from South Carolina. The post also presents striking photos of a man we believe might be the storyteller.

Posted in: Bahamas Jack Tales, Jack Tale History, Jack Tale Texts, Jack Tales

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Bunday! Old-Story Jack Tales from the Bahamas

Posted by: Stephen Winick

This post presents several folktales from the Bahamas focusing on the adventures of the tricky, resourceful folktale hero Jack. We’ll see Jack escaping from the giants by charming them with his musical instrument and witness his courtship with the Devil’s daughter, Greenleaf. Like most Bahamian folktales, these stories contain complex wordplay and have songs embedded in the tales. The two tales here are very distinctively part of the Jack tale tradition, which must have been brought to the Bahamas with English settlers, but they also have African and other elements springing from their complex Caribbean roots. They were recorded by Alan Lomax and Mary Elizabeth Barnicle in 1935.

Posted in: African American History, Bahamas Jack Tales, Caribbean Americans, Jack Tale History, Jack Tale Texts, Jack Tales, Narratives, Storytelling