Not all trickster tales involve animals. With American and African born slaves a language called Afro-English was created. With this language they told trickster tales of small sly animals such as Brer Rabbit who was able to outwit stronger foes such as Brer Fox and Brer Bear. But they also told the tales of the human trickster, John, who was also called High John, or John the Conqueror. John was able rise above his master using intelligence and deceit.

Some stories were brought from African culture. Others expressed the slaves' own experiences, but all helped the slaves use language as a means for resistance. John developed in reaction to the cruelty and harshness of their masters. Slaves worked 15-hour days with only a midday break for lunch, and only the Sabbath and Christmas off. Punishments included withholding privileges, which were few. The biggest privilege was the passes to visit family off their plantation. Misbehavior resulted in less food, in addition to being whipped and/or beaten. At night they created a culture of their own. To compensate for the rough days when spirits were at their lowest, the slaves made instruments, sang, danced to African style rhythms, made pottery, quilts and food with the taste of West African seasoning. John stories brought hope and a will to dream to the ones who had no hope or limited joy in their lives.

The Adventures of High John the Conqueror (1989) collected by Steve Sanfield New York: Orchard Books ISBN 0531058077 In this Anthology we learn about the variety of John tales that have been collected. Sanfield also shows the complexities of John. John was a slave who loved to live and he tried to live as much as possible and slave as little as possible. Sometimes John would go to the tool shed, and it'd accidentally burn down, or the mules he was driving would tromp down 4 rows of cotton. Other times he'd do the work of four or five men. Old master could never quite figure out whether John was working with him or against him.

The Black Cloth: A Collection of African Folktales (1987) Bernard Binlin Dadié Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts ISBN 0-87023-557-5 The Black Cloth is a collection of 16 African folktales collected by Bernard Binlin Dadié who is from the Ivory Coast. 10 of the 16 center on Kacou Ananzé, the trickster spider that is common in West African folklore. Another of the tales stars tortoise an unusual trickster from Africa. The stories are grouped into tales of dilemma, orphan and trickster, all concerned with daily life and universal experience. Dadié speaks the voice of ordinary African villagers. He showcases these tales for an international audience, showing all the beauty of oral tradition. My favorite tale is a pourquoi called L'Enfant Terrible. All the animals live in one town and the humans live near them in their own village. A man and a woman had a baby who was able to walk and talk from his first day of birth. He marched through the animal village and beat up on one animal after another. The only one who could outwit the baby was tortoise. All the animals were embarassed that tortoise was the only one smart enough to best the child. From that time on, they didn't trust each other, never to live together again.

Black Folktales (1969) Julius Lester New York Baron ISBN 0802132421 Lester has gathered the stories in this volume that gave to the Black people. These stories are told in the cities and villages of Africa as well as America. There are stories that will make you laugh as well as stories that make you think. There are other tales who teach you how to get along in the world and tales to take your mind off your troubles. This volume contains the famous tales "The Girl with the large Eyes" and "The People Could Fly" that Virginia Hamilton included in her anthology. There are also pourquoi tales "How God made the Butterflies" and "How the Snake got his Rattles". This books is NOT for youngsters. This volume is for middle school and up with the raw feelings of a people who were oppressed. There is frank language in this book that may offend some people, but these are the stories as they are recorded.

Every Tongue Got to Confess (2001) Zora Neale Hurston New York: Harper Collins ISBN 0-06-018893-6 This collection was developed in the 1920's. This extensive volume contains John Tales, as well as God Tales, Preacher Tales and Devil Tales. They give us insight into attitudes about slavery, faith, race relations, family and romance that have been handed down from generation to generation. The collection is given in short anecdotal snatches most barely more than 1 page long. It gives us a bittersweet look at the wit and wisdom of John tales.

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