Motif
Dead duppy revealed through inability to blow fire and missing teeth
dead_duppy_revealed_through_inability_to_blow_fire_and_missing_teeth
A motif of the Restless Dead, Haunting, and Vengeance family, within the sub-family Ghostly Signs, Warnings, and Revelations. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
afro caribbean
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Jamaica Anansi Stories INDEX TO RIDDLES. / ABBREVIATIONS OF TITLES. / NOTES. / WITTICISMS.; lines 14196-14274 confidence: high
A man finds a roadside boy and asks him to blow the fire; the duppy replies, “Me kyant blow de fire, for me dead long time an’ dirt eat out all me teet’,” then runs away after being beaten.
The roadside boy, identified as a duppy, says he cannot blow the fire because he has long been dead and dirt has eaten out his teeth.
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