21756: vilaire: Regarding Balls Up the Ass (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Vilaire@aol.com

Using "to have balls" to imply guts, courage, audacity and strength is
obviously not uniquely Haitian. North-Americans say it all the time, as in "Arnold
Swartznegger got balls." Latin-Americans say they have "cojones", as in "El
comandante Fidel tiene cojones."

I suppose in Haitian context, the aspect that troubles folks is the "nan
bounda" part. (Arthur, I think "balls up the the ass" might be a more apt
translation than "balls in the buttocks.") It's very simple. Whenever Haitians talk
about something they possess they say they have it "up their ass":
-Neg sa chaje ak fanm nan bounda li (literally: this guy has plenty of women
up his ass; simply put: this guy has plenty of women).
-Apaid chaje ak lajan nan bounda l (literally: Apaid has lots of money up his
ass; simply put: Apaid has lots of money)
- Fanm sa gen yon bel pe tete nan bounda (literally: this woman has a nice
pair of breasts up her ass; simply put: this woman has a nice pair of breasts)
-Neg yo gen grenn nan bounda yo si yo ka defye lapolis (literally: these guys
have balls up their ass if they can defy the police...  You get the picture)

I'd pay anything to know and understrand where that ubiquitous, colorful and
elastic "nan bounda" expression came from. Because until I know, "mwen chaje
ak pwoblem nan bounda m"

Peace,
Marx-Vilaire