Rainstorm- an Arawak story
A nostalgic story of childhood in Guyana… for rainy days
By Dmitri Allicock for Guyanese Online
Outside the hut, the rain was beginning to fall. Inside, the old Arawak sat with his grandchildren.
“Ah! Said the old man, Rainstorm is weeping.”
“Who is Rainstorm?” asked the boy. “Why is Rainstorm weeping?” asked the girls.
This is the story that the old man told…
Long, long ago, before men lived on the earth, there was a great land among the clouds called Skyland.
No one had ever seen the earth.
People lived in Skyland just as they live on the earth today. The men and boys hunted and fished. The women and girls cooked and washed.
After a great hunt, there would be a great feast.
Then the Great Hunter would sing:
Ya-ho! Ya-ho!
Ya-ho! Ho-ho!
And all the mothers of girls and boys would join and sing:
Ya-ho! Ho-ho!
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PS.
The story of Rainstorm was taken from the Caribbean Reader book two : by A J Newman and Sir Philip Sherlock -1939 edition.
Thank you for printing this story. I first read it in Kindergarten in Guyana and had memorized some parts of it. Leaving Guyana as a small child, we could only take a “grip” with us, that left very little room for books. I am now 46 years old and can’t tell you how many times I remembered this story through the years. When Google became available, I searched for it, but never found it. I have a deep appreciation for literature now as an adult and also for indigenous cultures of the world and I am so grateful to you for giving me back a piece of my early childhood. Thanks!!!
Thank you Florence,
Most of us migrated to a new life with just the shirt on our back but a heart filled with rich memories and hope.
A relative on mine is a pack rat like myself who value the simple things which bonds us and really matters.
Stay in touch and god bless
Dmitri
A J Newman was my grandfather and though I never got to meet him (we moved to Canada in ’55) he sent me a complete set of the Caribbean Readers which my grandsons now have. It makes me very happy when I see articles/comments about him and the books he wrote so many years later . Thank you
Hi Judy how of The Caribbean Reader Introductory Book One and Three? Glad to know you are related to this great author.
I am deeply moved to hear from you Judy, the granddaughter of legendary A J Newman and would like you to know that his great work which fashioned and influenced the early childhood of so many is still remembered and deeply appreciated.
God bless you and all his family and thank you most kindly.
Dmitri
Wow!! Can’t believe I actually found it! I am from St. Kitts…our school just got the Caribbean Readers and We are starting the book tomorrow (monday)… Rainstorm is the first story and I was doing some research about the Tainos so that I can give the students some background info.
Awesome Tasanna! Let me know how it goes
My primary school days we used the West Indian Reader and Royal reader. I am an avid reader of children stories. I spend hours upon hours in the children’s section reading stories upon stories. If as adults you start reading children’s books you will discover how wonderful you were made and how great a love humanity was blessed with. They say seeing is believing and believing is seeing. But my gosh, we look up to the sky and we say “twinkle, twinkle little star how I wonder what you are.” Live a child in your adult live and you will find that second opportunity to discover your childhood innocence and angel infancy. And that is truth and beauty.
So beautiful and well said Charles.