Folklore 102: Call and Response Traditions

Before a folktale begins, a storyteller often opens with a call — and the audience answers back. This call-and-response tradition signals that everyone is present, listening, and ready to enter the story together.

These traditions trace their roots to West and Central African oral storytelling practices. In Haiti, these structures survived colonization and became central to Haitian oral culture, especially during evening gatherings, lakou storytelling, and community ceremonies.

In this section, we explore two of Haiti’s most well-known storytelling structures:

Krik? Krak! — the classic call-and-response used to begin a folktale. The formalization of Haitian Creole has largely standardized the spelling as Krik? Krak! today, though many variations exist across the Caribbean and wider Francophone and Creole-speaking world. Spellings and forms such as Cric? Crac!, Et cric! Et crac!, and even Mistikrik? Mistikrak! can be found in other islands and oral traditions.

Timtim? Bwa Chèch! — a call-and-response structure used to introduce devinèt (riddles and puzzles), signaling that listeners are ready to think, respond, and participate.