Moruga Tales – Folklore of Trinidad and Tobago
Moruga Tales is a compilation of short stories first published in 2011, followed by a second edition in 2017. In the second edition of Moruga Tales, two new tales have been added. The stories are printed in the order in which they were written so the reader may notice a change in narration style as the stories progress. The first two stories are written in the Trini dialect of the 1940’s and are not too complicated. The later stories are basically in third person format with the dialect appearing when the characters speak. The last two were written after the publication of the original book and the author hopes that these will continue to grip your imagination. They are in a slightly different vein from the others and do not take place in Grand Chemin and environs (neither does Tale #9 where the setting is anywhere in Trinidad). Their locations, however, are still in the large area called Moruga.
About The Author
June Lee-Sing Khan spent her early years in the village of Grand Chemin in the district of Moruga. Grand Chemin is a seaside village on the south coast of Trinidad and to this day it is still very rural in nature, forgotten by Time and the Government.
She grew up hearing the stories of the strange and supernatural creatures that haunted the area and filled the inhabitants with dread and wonder. It was with hair-raising excitement and anticipation that she listened to these stories told by school friends and others, and her imagination ran wild as she experienced vicariously the exploits of the heroes who lived to tell the tale.
Explore The Tales
The “doorstep group” in the tales is composed of young people and children. Some of the names of the people in this group are of actual people she knew in the village and she uses these people to tell the stories. However the stories they tell are pure fiction and they never really experienced whatever befell the characters in them. For example, June (the author) told a story of douens but, in reality, she never saw one and Cecil surely never met a real diablesse. As well, the characters in the stories that the group tells are all fictitious and bear no resemblance to anyone extant. The stories come from the author’s imagination while using the folklore of Moruga as a framework upon which to flesh out the characters and the plots. As for the tale about the mermaid, that is the author’s own story. Indeed, the only mermaid she had ever heard anything about was the one from Hans Christian Andersen.
Available for Purchase at: Lee-Sing and Son Limited
2311 Moruga Road
Grand Chemin, Moruga, 870272
Trinidad and Tobago
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