The class can discuss the poem with the teacher’s help. What is it about? Are there any words that students do not know? What words are in Virgin Islands dialect? What do they mean? Have students heard the word “jumbi” before? Do they know what it means? Have they heard stories about jumbis from their parents or relatives?
The teacher can introduce the concept of storytelling to students.
Background on Storytelling: Before there were written story books, there was storytelling. Storytelling is used to entertain and to pass along a culture’s traditions. The stories may not all be true. They can include poems, legends, special songs, and more. There are storytelling traditions in all cultures. In the US Virgin Islands many traditional stories have their roots in West African stories – like those about the spider Anansi.
Have students form small groups. Have each group spend 5-10 minutes looking up one or two of the following terms: storytelling, fables, myths, legends, tall tales, fairy tales, folklore, and folktales. Assign the word(s) to each group, so that students know which word(s) they are looking up and so that all words are researched and defined. Students will then share what they found out with the whole class and have a discussion on the types of stories.
Does the Virgin Islands jumbi fall into any of the types of stories the students researched? Explain. Can students think of any other characters from stories told in the Virgin Islands, the Caribbean, the United States, or other places in the world? Write the answers the students give on the smart board. The teacher can give prompts as needed, such as Cow-foot Woman, Goat-foot Woman, El Chupacabra, Zombi/Zonbi, Soucouyant, Big Foot, Yeti, and Lock Ness Monster. Do students know where these stories originated? The class can research those they are unfamiliar with.
