CARIBBEAN TRADITIONS:Ring
"Now when I was a little boy my favorite ring game was
this... winey, winey /winey , winey..." /
~Peeny Peeny by Shabba Ranking
As a youth in primary school* I had a rough time
concentrating on defending my wicket, or bending a cross from the corner,
whenever the girls formed a circle in the school compound and started chanting
and, ahhhm , dancing. I can't count the amount of wickets we boys left stranded,
or footballs rolling lonely on a sudden-emptied field, as we rushed to join the
girls in the ring. Full of mannishness, we sang
There's a brown girl in the ring
,
Tra
There's a brown girl in the ring
,
Whether she black or brown or surnamed Singh never mattered
to me. The girl in the ring would prance 'round the circle of boys and girls while
eyeing up a partner. Whenever we got to the part
she'd stop her 'lil false-shy self in front of whosoever she
liked and pose up with her hands on her hips... anticipating ... and as we sang
Now, let me see your motion,
Tra -la-la-la-la
Show me your motion, tra-la-la-la-la-la...
she'd buss a wine.** Bare Precociousness. Listen, nuh man! I
was a force-ripe pickney *** myself; so, I had no problem wining back. Worse yet
if it was Miss-what-she-name, or Miss-you-know-who.
My favorite ring game went like this
Gypsy in the moonlight, Gypsy in the zoo/ Gypsy never come home till half-past two/So walk in Gypsy walk in, walk in thru my door/And turn to your partner and show them what you do...
By the time we got to this part, Miss Gypsy in the ring
would done find a partner and with that last command, she would show how she
could get on bad; indeed, rolling she hips and singing in response
I do not love no-bo-
When you check it out in truth, future dancehall queens
learned to bubble right there in them ring games. Notice ladies! In protecting
the not-so-innocent and bare precocious, I never called no names. I just fling
stone in a pen. Whichever goat bawl out, is she get lick.
Small days, still on my mind....
* Primary school is grade one to six (elementary school in
the US)
**wine- also, wind. As in winding the hips and waistline
***force-ripe pickney is a child who acts "fresh",
too grown for his/her age
