Anansi
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Anansi is one of the most important gods of west African lore. He is a trickster and a culture hero, who acts on behalf of Nyame (his father, the sky god) and brings rain to stop fires and performing other duties for him. His mother is Asase Ya. There are several mentions of Anansi's children. According to some myths his wife is known as Miss Anansi or Mistress Anansi but most commonly as 'Aso'. Eventually, Anansi was replaced by a chameleon.
He is depicted in numerous forms: a spider, a human or combinations thereof.
The Anansi legends are believed to have originated in the Ashanti tribe. They later spread to other Akan groups and then to Jamaica, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles. On Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire he is known as Nanzi, and his wife as Shi Maria.
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Myths
Anansi stories are known as Anansasem to the Ashanti and Anansi-Tori in Suriname.
In some beliefs, Anansi created the sun, stars and the moon, as well as teaching mankind the skills involved in agriculture. Another story tells of how Anansi tried to hoard all of the world's wisdom in a calabash. In the end he realizes the futility of trying to keep all the wisdom to himself, and released it.
Most cultures that have Anansi folktales also have the story of how Anansi became King of all Stories, not just his own. In the original Ashanti version of this story, Anansi approaches Nyame, the Sky God, with the request that he be named King of all Stories. Nyame then tells Anansi that if he can catch The Jaguar With Teeth Like Daggers, The Hornets Who Sting Like Fire, and The Fairy Whom Men Never See, he will be King of Stories. Anansi agrees, despite Nyame's doubt that he can do it. Anansi then tricks the jaguar, who intends to eat him, into playing a game that allows Anansi to tie him up. He tricks the hornets by pretending that it's raining, and telling them to hide in a calabash. He tricks the fairy with the gum/tar baby trick told below. He then takes them to Nyame and becomes King of Story. Other versions of this story involve Anansi getting Snake for Lion/Tiger.
The only time Anansi himself was tricked when he tried to fight a tar baby after trying to steal food, but became stuck to it instead. The "tar-baby" tale appears in a variety of ethnic African folklore contexts. It is best known from the Brer Rabbit version, found in the Uncle Remus stories. These were derived from African-American folktales in the Southern United States. Ultimately this version was adapted and used in the 1946 animated Walt Disney movie Song of the South.
Other names
- Anancy (Jamaica)
- Anancyi
- Ananse
- Aunt Nancy
- Hanansi
- Compé Anansi
- Kwaku Anansi (Akan)
- Nansi
- Mr. Nancy
- Mr. Jones
In modern fiction
- Anansi ("Mr. Nancy") appears in two Neil Gaiman novels, American Gods and Anansi Boys.
- Anansi the Spider is a superhero in the Static Shock animated series.
- Anansi appears in two episodes of Disney animated series, Gargoyles.
- Aunt Nancy, based on Anansi, is a character in the Charles de Lint novel, Forests of the Heart.
- Anansi appears as King of the Spiders in the China Mieville Novel King Rat.
- Anansi appears in a painting by Myrea Pettit Anansi and Sweep.
- Anansi is a superhero in the Astro City comic series by Kurt Busiek.
- A race of were-spiders known as the Anansi inhabit the world of Werewolf: The Apocalypse; they worship Anansi as an ancestor-deity.
- Stories about Anansi have been mentioned in Spider-Man story arcs by J. Michael Straczynski. Anansi seems to have had a hand in Spider-Man's rebirth and the creation of The Other.
External links
In Music
The children's singer, Raffi, sings a song called "Anansi" which is found on The Singable Songs Collection on C.D.ca:Anansi de:Anansi sv:Anansi