Jack and Jill Went Up A Hill

African - The Communal Nature of African Culture is Celebrated

This African version of Jack and Jill is dramatically different from the others. The text and illustration are different in some important ways:

Jaha and Jamil
Jaha an Jamil went down the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
They met Atu and Siwatu
And Asha with her daughter.

First of all, the names change and the characters go down the hill instead of up, which implies that they have reached their goal of fetching water. The illustration confirms this, as the characters carry tin pails on their heads, in the style of African people. If the buckets were empty, they wouldn’t have to carry them on their heads.

The next important difference is that no one has fallen. This is a rhyme about a successful journey to do work, and depicts the social aspect of African life and community, since Jaha and Jamil meet others along the way who are also fetching water. In the illustration, the three other figures in the background also carry pails, presumably filled with water. Jaha is smiling at the reader—these characters are just going about their daily lives, with no mishap.

The clothing is traditional African clothing, with some bright patterns and colors. Women wear headclothes, or wraps, around their heads, which are also brightly colored and patterned, The background is a sandy golden color, like the color of the sandy soil of Africa. There is no distinction between high and low ground, no hill. The characters are just walking through space. On the right side of the illustration is a narrow rectangular frame that says Tanzania (you need to turn the page sideways to read it across). This helps to clarify the context of the tale as well.