ANANSEMASTER OF STORIES
Nyame owned all the stories in the world. Ananse
wanted to buy the stories from him, and as payment,
Nyame asked Ananse to bring him some hornets, a
python, and a leopard. Ananse tricked the hornets into
a calabash. He then went to the python carrying a long
staf and declared that he was unclear about which was
longer, the snake or the staf. The python lay by the
staf, and Ananse quickly tied it to the staf, thus trapping
it. Next the spider dug a pit for the leopard and covered
it with branches. The unsuspecting leopard fell into
it and was caught. Ananse delivered the animals to
Nyame and, for fulfilling all
the conditions, won the
stories of the world.
TRICKING THE ELEPHANT
One day, an elephant was bored and challenged the
other animals to a headbutting competition. Fearing
the elephant’s strength, none of the animals rose to
the challenge, except for Ananse. It was decided that
the contest would take place over 14 nights, with the
elephant having the first seven butts over the first seven
nights. Ananse tricked an antelope into coming to
Ananse’s house at night to receive some food. Since it
was a time of famine, the antelope agreed. That night,
the elephant butted the antelope in the dark and killed
it. Over the next six days, Ananse
tricked more animals in the
same way. When it was his
turn to butt the elephant,
the spider took a hammer
and wedge, and aimed
with great care at the
creature’s head. He
killed the elephant
with a single
blow, outsmarting
it in this uneven contest.THE ORIGINS OF ARGUMENT
Once, there was a man who argued with everyone, and killed
several animals because they disagreed with him. Ananse
decided to meet the man. When the man began to tell Ananse
fantastic stories, Ananse invited him to his house. On his
arrival, the man could not find the spider, but Ananse’s
children fed him the hottest of chillies, which burned his
mouth. He asked for water, but Ananse’s children explained
that the water at the top of a pot belonged to their father and they were
afraid of mixing it with the water below when pouring from the pot.
The man argued with this preposterous story, and when Ananse
returned, the spider declared that the man must die since he continued
to argue. So the spiders killed the man, tore his body to pieces, and threw
the bits everywhere. In this way, argument spread around the world.
Leopard
Renowned for its speed and
hunting prowess, the leopard
should have posed an impossible
challenge for the spider.Elephant
In one version of the story, after the first
attack with the hammer, the elephant
merely complained of a headache, but
on the second night, Ananse refined
his aim and killed the elephant.Popular folklore ingredient
Although American in origin, chillies became such a
popular ingredient for flavouring in West African food
that they found their way into the region’s folklore,
such as the myth about Ananse and the man.African
cooking pot
Metal cooking pots
are widely used to boil
food over an open fire.
Such a vessel can also be
used to store water, as in
this story of Ananse.Python
The python generally kills its prey
by constriction, so Ananse tricked
the snake into being tied up
so that it could not attack.125