Reading Diary A: West African Folktales

West African Folktales

How We Got the Name “Spider Tales”

o   Stories were told about Nyankuupon (Chief of the gods)

o   Spider wanted the stories about him

o   Spider asked him to make all the stories about him (Anansi)

o   Agreed but only if he brought him a jar of living bees, boa-constrictor, and a tiger

o   Spider went to a place with a lot of bees

o   Bees flew into the jar and Anansi went back to Nyankupon

o   Contemplated with himself about the snake until snake came out to ask him what was wrong

o   Measures snake with the stick and took him back

o   Spider sewed up him eyes and went to the den with tiger

o   Sang and shouted till tiger came out to ask what was wrong

o   Spider took tiger back

o   Nyankupon was so amazed.  All the rest of the takes were called Anansi tales

How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race

o   Fanti-land had a man named Father Anansi

o   Had all the wisdom and people came for advise

o   Men in the country made him mad and he punished them by hiding his wisdom from them

o   Hid his wisdom in a pot where no one could find it

o   His son, Kweky Tsin was suspicious of his father so he followed

o   The precious pot hung on his neck

o   Father in the forest far away to the biggest hardest climbing tree and climbed it

o   Tried to hang it on the highest point on the tree

o   “Wisdom would indeed be beyond the reach of every one but himself” but unable

o   Kewku watched and told his father to hang the pot on his back to climb better

o   Father thought he had all the wisdom in the pot but realized his son had it too and could tell him what to do

o   Father got mad and threw the pot full of wisdom. It hit a rock, broke, and the wisdom spread to the whole world

Anansi and Nothing

o   Next to Anansi’s sad hut, a big palace with a rich man named Nothing lived there

o   They both went to the next town to find wives

o   Nothing wore fine velvet, Anansi wore ragged clothes

o   Anansi wanted to change clothes with Nothing just for the trip but delayed it

o   Arriving in town, Anansi could find a wive very easily.  Nothing couldn’t

o   Couldn’t get one wife until a woman took pity on him and gave him her daughter

o   They took them back to their houses and Anansi’s was a dark little path and Nothing’s was a grand and well made entrance

o   Nothing’s wife was queen over the whole district and had everything

o   Anansi’s wives couldn’t even get proper food.  They ate bananas and peppers

o   Nothing’s wife invited the other wives over to the palace and they never went back

o   Anansi was angry and wanted to kill Nothing, but no success

o   Dug a deep tunnel in front of nothing’s door and lined with knives and broken bottles

o   Made the steps slippery to he could slip into it

o   Anansi tried ot get him out there at night and finally he did

o   Slipped on steps and fell in the hole and died

o   Nothing’s wife was so sad she made food to bring to the village and told all the kids she gave it to to cry for her husband

o   Many of them actually are because they are “crying for nothing”

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