ANANSE AND HIS FISHING FRIENDS

admirable that the chief always cited their hard working attitude as an example. The four friends, headed by the Monkey, formed a community development group in the town, comprising most of the youth of the town who engaged in general cleaning of the town on weekends. The Monkey and his friends made sure that this group was supplied with fish every weekend. This served as a motivation for the youth; that every weekend after. the general cleaning of the town, the Monkey and his group would supply free fish to them.

At one time during a festival in the town, the chief honoured the Monkey, the Rabbit, the Grasscutter and Ananse as people who had helped the town greatly. The chief, said the men had farm: and were also in fishing. While the celebration was going on, all the fish-mongers in .he town who had formed a queue, marched round the festival grounds and displayed many different types of smoked fish that they sold. The women sang, praising the four fishermen. The youth of the town also carrying rakes, hoes, shovels and cutlasses marched round, praising the Monkey and his three friends for encouraging the youth of the town in undertaking the weekend cleaning of the town. At he end of the festival, the fishmongers served the people with different kinds of food and soup prepared with smoked and fresh fish.

One weekend, when the Monkey, the Grasscutter, the Rabbit and Ananse had gathered to start the general cleaning as they had been doing, the chief and some elders came and talked to them. The chief told them that they should try and weed the bush along the path that led to the town to prevent snakes from hiding in them. Chief Deer said, they should try and fill all the small pot holes in the town. When he was leaving with his elders, he patted the shoulders of some of the young men and told them that he had ordered some ‘Kenkey’ and fried fish to be brought to them. They all cheered loudly for what the Deer had said. Some young boys who regularly drummed and sang for the people while