by Paloma Mohamed with introduction by Al Creighton

Majority Press Wisdom for Children Series, No.2

The book looks at such issues as HIV/AIDS, violence, gender issues, race, religion and the environment through the prism of ancient wisdom of the mythological characters of the Caribbean region. In this book young readers and dramatists can not only work through their own issues using the drama as a vehicle of expression, introspection, discussion and discovery. They can also learn about a particular mythology that is not very well known and on the verge of disappearing.The plays in "Caribbean Mythology: are: Chupacabra: An exploration on HIV/AIDS by several different bloodsucking (vampiric) characters of the Caribbean and the rest of the world.Anansi's Way: Students overcome violence in their school using non-violent methods as exemplified by Anansi. In doing so they avert their own destruction and that of their school by a gang.Masscauraman: A mythical beast returns to the present in protest of assaults against the environment.Sukanti: recently orphaned siblings of Hindu descent confront issues of gender, tradition, race and religion.A Fair Maid's Tale: A young Amerindian girl asserts her independence and challenges the male dominated society in which she was born.

This publication is among the relatively few published collections of recent Caribbean drama, joining the Calypso Trilogy (2000) by Rawle Gibbons of Trinidad. They stand alone as collections rooted in the oral tradition and popular culture, but Mohamed's publication is unique because it was designed for a school audience. Its deliberate didactic intentions might tend to make it a more difficult task to accomplish, but the significant element is its return to the fable and the folk tale tradition. A major function of this tradition is education.