Story: Tying Tiger: The Fish-basket
Book: Jamaica Anansi Stories
Author(s): Martha Warren Beckwith
Storyteller: George Parkes (Mandeville, Jamaica)
Published: 1924
Internet Archive link.

Notes: I have removed the eye-dialect while leaving the story in Jamaican English, along with editing for punctuation and paragraphing. “Tiger” is a word used in varieties of both African and Caribbean forms of English to refer to any big wild cat; in Africa, Anansi regularly tangles with Leopard, who some African storytellers called “Tiger,” and the name “Tiger” persists in the African stories told in Jamaica and elsewhere in the Americas. In the Jamaican version recorded by Milne-Holmes, the story features “Lion” (who does have a mane that lends itself to being tied!), and Beckwith notes that “Tiger-Lion” is also a name used in Jamaican tradition to refer to this folkloric character. Beckwith provides numerous African parallels for the different motifs in this episodic story.

Anansi’s Basket of Fish

One great hungry time. Anansi couldn’t get anything to eat, so he take up his hand-basket and a big pot and went down to the sea-side to catch fish. When he reach there, he make up a large fire and put the pot on the fire, and say, “Come, big fish!” He catch some big fish put them aside. He said, “Big fish go, make little fish come!” He then catch the little fish. He say, “Little fish go, make big fish come!” and say, “Big fish go, make little fish come!” He then catch the pot full and his hand-basket. He boil the pot full and sit down and eat it off.

Then Anansi started home back with the pot on his head and the basket. Reaching a little way, he hide the pot away in the bush an take the basket along with him now.

While going along, he meet up Tiger. Now Tiger is a very rough man and Anansi afraid of him.

Tiger said to him, “What you have in that basket, sir?” — speak to him very rough.

Anansi speak in a very feeble voice, say, “Nothing, sir! Nothing, sir!”

So both of them pass each other, and when they went on a little way, Tiger hide in the bush watching Anansi.

Anansi then sit down underneath a tree, open his basket, take out the fishes one one, and say, “Pretty little yellow-tail this!” and put it aside. He take out a snapper and say, “Pretty little snapper this!” and put it one side. He take out a jack-fish and say, “Pretty little jack-fish!” and put it one side.

Tiger then run up and say, “Think you haven’t nothing in that basket, sir!”

Anansi say, “I just going down to the sea have a bathe, sir, and I catch them few little fishes.”

Tiger say, “Give it to me here, sir!” — talk in a very rough manner. And Tiger take it and eat them all and spit up the bones.

Anansi then take up the bones and eat them, and while eating he grumble and say, “But look me boy labor do!”

Tiger say, “What you say?”

Anansi say brushing his face, “Fly humbug me face, sir!”

So both of them start to go home now with the empty basket, but this time Anansi was studying for Tiger. When he reach part of the way, Anansi see a fruit-tree. Anansi say looking up in the tree, “What a pretty fruit-tree!”

Tiger say in a rough manner, “Climb it, sir!”

So when Anansi go up and pull some of the fruit, at that time Tiger was standing underneath the tree. Anansi look down on Tiger head and said, “Look lice in-a Brer Tiger head!”

Tiger said, “Come down and catch it, sir!”

Anansi come down and said to Tiger he can’t catch it without he lean on the tree. He said, “Lean on the tree, sir!”

The hair on Tiger head is very long. So while Anansi catching the lice, Tiger fell asleep. Anansi now take the hair and lash it round the tree tie up Tiger on the tree. After he done that he wake up Tiger and say that he can’t catch any more.

Tiger in a rough manner say, “Come and catch it, sir!”

Anansi say, “I won’t!”

So Anansi run off, Tiger spring after him, and find out that his hair is tied on the tree. So Tiger say, “Come and loose me, sir!”

Anansi say. “I won’t!” and Anansi sing now,
See how Anansi tie Tiger,
See how Anansi tie Tiger,
Tie him like a hog, Tiger,
See how Anansi tie Tiger,
Tie him like a hog, Tiger!

And Anansi leave him go home, and a hunter-man come and see Tiger tie on the tree, make kill him.

Photo from World Fish at Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/theworldfishcenter/17624832232