Glossary

Ajoupa: little hut or tent

Akra: cake of flour and codfish, etc., fried in oil

Baccalaureat: examination sanctioning end of secondary studies, equivalent of “A” level. Familiarly called the bachot. (In U.S. terms it would be a “certificate” showing completion of two years of junior college.)

Bakoua: large, wide-brimmed straw hat

Bananes macang’va and bananes naines: types of bananas; the latter are green (unripe) and are cooked as regular vegetables

Béké: local white

Bel-air: type of dance

Brevet Elémentaire: elementary school teacher’s certificate

Caisse des Ecoles: school central office

Canalier: trench digger

Canari: earthenware cooking pot

Certificat d’Etudes Primaires: sanctions end of primary schooling

Choux caraibe: legume, called “tania” in anglophone West Indies; literally: Caribbean cabbage

Corrosol: soursop

Coui: calabash

Créole: the popular form of French or Spanish spoken in the Caribbean; increasingly accepted as the standard language of, for example, Haiti

Cric . . . crac: introductory calls prior to starting tales; widely used throughout the Caribbean; of African origin

Entonnoir: local game

Faire nika: to try a good-luck charm

Graisses: type of seasoning

Habitation: plantation

Laghia: type of dance, of African origin

Lelé: swizzle stick

Mabi: drink made from bark of a certain tree

Macata: species of tropical tree

Madras: gaily-colored head-tie

Manger-coulies: wild parasitic plant

Mansfenil: tropical bird

Messieurs-dames: Ladies ’n gentlemen

Migan: old plantation dish, usually made with breadfruit

Morne: hill (not used with this meaning in standard French)

Nègre, Nègrèsse: used by the blacks as terms of endearment

Palma Christi: type of plant

Pataclac: local game

Petite bande: team of young workers

Pois-doux: type of wild fruit

Pomme-liane: passion fruit

Quimboiseur: doer of evil, obeah-man

Rouge et noir: local game

Séanciere: person capable of predicting future and divining cause of troubles

Shasha: maracas or “shack shack”

Titim (Timtim): riddle, usually accompanying stories

Toloman: pap

Tonnerre!: literally “thunder” but used in swearing

Transat: popular name for Compagnie Transatlantique, operator of ocean liners taking passengers to and from France from Martinique, Guadeloupe

Violon d’Ingres: used to refer to something that is dearly loved; literally “Ingres’s violin”

Zombi: spirit, jumbie