One of the things that Caribbean children shared with those in West African is Anansi stories. Long ago growing up, Guyanese children eagerly gathered around elders at dusk to listen to ‘Nancy’ story. These stories all tell us of how the West African trickster outsmarted rivals. In these stories, you will find Brer Rabbit and Brer Tiger among others competing with Anansi or in some sort of trouble caused by him. Anansi’s stories are based on moral, ethical and social values that are related to the younger generations. Read on and reminisce about childhood memories.
Who is Anansi?
The eight-legged form of Anansi – Photo by https://mythology.wikia.org/wiki/Anansi
Anansi is a West African trickster god. He is also known as the King of Stories. Most stories Anansi projects in the form of a spider and in some he is a spider with the head of a human. In others, he is a human with characteristics of a spider such as eight legs. Anansi’s looks vary according to the different folklore. The word Anansi is from the Akan people, which means spider in the same language. There are several variations of the name such as Kwaku Ananse, Anancy, Ba Anansi, and Kompa Nanzi. His personality is very cunning and mischievous to the point of deception in some stories.
Interesting Tip: Akan are a meta-ethnicity living in the southern regions of present-day Ghana, formerly known as the Gold Coast. While most Akans settled in Ghana, they also make up a majority of the ethnic population in the Ivory Coast.
Origins
Anansi folklore originated from the Ashanti tribe in Ghana.
Another of Anansi’s forms – Photo by https://www.deviantart.com/xalalax/art/Anansi-Spider-God-Of-Tales-685711747
The folktales of Anansi was brought into the Caribbean during the slavery days and passed on from one generation to another. It has become part of the Caribbean culture, not just for the African Caribbean. Due to this, some details of the stories have changed but they always end with Anansi outwitting his enemies.
Family
Anansi’s parents are Asaase Yaa, Nyame both gods themselves. Asaase Yaa is the goddess of Earth and Nyame, the god of the sky. Anansi is married to Aso. They have many children such as Tikelenkelen, Ntikuma, and Nankonhwea.
Some popular Anansi Stories:
- Anansi brought wisdom to the World
- Anansi in Monkey Country
- Fire and Anansi
- Goat and Anansi
- Rabbit and Anansi
Anansi & The Dispersal of Wisdom
This story is reproduced from (https://sites.psu.edu/tetirclblog/2015/04/15/anansi-and-the-dispersal-of-wisdom/)
The most important story, perhaps, is Anansi’s dispersal of wisdom. While Anansi was already very clever, he had the idea to hoard all the world’s wisdom in a large pot and keep it in a safe place. Even though the pot had been sealed, Anansi still worried that it wasn’t secure enough. So one day he took the pot in secret to a thorny tree with the intention of hiding the pot among the tallest branches. The pot was too big for Anansi to carry in his arms, so he tied it in front of him and proceeded to climb. Like this, the pot was in the way and Anansi kept sliding down the tree, growing more and more frustrated with each failed attempt.
Now on that particular day, Anansi’s young son Ntikuma had followed the spider god to the tree, unbeknownst to his father. He watched as Anansi struggled to climb the tree and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Why don’t you tie the pot to your back?” Ntikuma suggested, “Then you’d be able to grip the tree!”
Anansi was so annoyed by his own failure and the realization that his child was right that he accidently dropped the pot, spilling the wisdom everywhere. At that very moment a storm picked up and washed the wisdom into a river. The river took the wisdom out to sea, where it was spread all over the world, so that there is now a little for everyone.
While Anansi chased his son home in the rain, he was reconciled to the loss of wisdom, saying “What is the use of all that wisdom if a young child still needs to put you to right?”
Watch This: Anansi and the Pot of Beans (Animated Stories for Kids)
Superstition:
In the Caribbean, Anansi can be called forth with offerings of treats, liquor, and smoke. If you don’t have an interesting story, he’ll be gone in the blink of an eye. As the patron god of stories, Anansi loves a good tale.
Anansi is a popular figure in Ghana and has woven his way into the heart of the Caribbean. His tales teach us moral values and give us insight on being creative to escape trouble. Though the oral tradition of telling ‘Nancy stories is fast fading, some of the stories are preserved in the print of various books. To be a part of this age-old tradition, read or listen to a ‘Nancy story today and share it with someone.
Be sure to our favourite ‘Nancy story in the comments below so we all can enjoy.
Article References:
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ananse
- https://mythology.net/mythical-creatures/anansi/
- https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-africa/anansi-0010612
- https://www.wilderutopia.com/traditions/myth/ashanti-of-ghana-how-spider-obtained-the-sky-gods-stories/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anansi#Origin
1 Comment