it is said that Ananse is the one who brought writ-
ing, agriculture, and hunting to the Earth, teach-
ing humans in the process how to take care of
themselves in a world surrounded by bountiful
fields and forests. So smart was Ananse, according
to one narrative, that he collected all of the wis-
dom of the world in a calabash to hold for himself
because he did not trust humans with such potent
knowledge and information. However, wisdom
kept spilling out of the calabash, and he soon saw
how futile it was for one person to try to know
everything and to hold it for himself. In fact, it is
far better, as Ananse understood, for knowledge
and wisdom to be distributed among all people,
and so that is exactly what he did. Consequently,
now no people are any smarter than any other
people because Ananse distributed wisdom from
his calabash bowl.
Of course, Ananse is really the King of All
Wisdom Narratives. Nothing escapes Ananse; he
knows everything, and the Asante people tell the
story of how Nyame made Ananse the King of All
Wisdom Narratives. One day, Ananse, in his form
as a spider, approached Nyame, the Sky God, and
asked him to appoint him as the King of All
Wisdom Narratives. Nyame was amazed at the
audacity of the spider Ananse and thought that if
he had the courage to approach the Sky God in
such a direct fashion, then he must be given a
chance to prove himself. Nyame said to Ananse,
“If you can catch and capture the Jaguar Who has
Dagger-like Teeth, the Hornets Who Sting Like
Wild Fire, the Invisible Fairy of the Forest, you
will be King of the Wisdom Narratives.”
Nyame thought he had given Ananse a chal-
lenge that he would refuse because the likelihood
of anyone achieving success with such challenges
was slight. However, Ananse agreed to the chal-
lenge. Ananse went to the jaguar and asked him to
play a game that would allow Ananse to tie him
up with a rope. So the jaguar agreed, and Ananse
got the rope and tied him up. He tricked the hor-
nets by telling them that it was raining; indeed,
Ananse could make it rain, and he told the hornets
that they could hide themselves in a calabash that
he had prepared for them. Once they went into
the calabash, he put the lid on it. He told the invis-
ible fairy to fight a tar baby and, when he did,
he was stuck to the tar and could not escape.
Confidently, Ananse took all of his prey to Nyame
and showed him that he had succeeded in doing
everything that was asked of him, whereupon
Nyame named Ananse the King of All Wisdom
Narratives. No one has ever been able to exceed
the achievements of this wise personality since the
time he was made the King of All Wisdom
Narratives.
There are versions of Ananse stories that show
him being defeated or almost defeated. For exam-
ple, once when he was tricked into fighting a tar
baby after trying to take some food from the tar
baby, he got stuck.
The lessons of Ananse are social, ethical, and
moral and are at the core of most Akan cultural
responses to society.Molefi Kete AsanteSee alsoMaatFurther Readings
Asante, M. K., & Nwadiora, E. (2007).Spear Masters:
Introduction to African Religion. Lanham, MD:
Universities Press of America.
Mbiti, J. (1969).African Religions and Philosophy.
London: Heinemann.
Opoku, K. A. (1978).West African Traditional Religion.
London: FEP International.ANCESTORS
Ancestors are those who once lived in human soci-
ety and, having fulfilled certain conditions, are
now in the realm of the spirits. One becomes an
ancestor by living and dying in a particular way.
In African religion, to become an ancestor, one
must have lived an exemplary life, shown devo-
tion to one’s own ancestors, respected the elders,
and had children. Among various ethnic groups,
to become an ancestor, one must have died a good
death, that is, one’s death must not have been by
suicide, accident, or other forms of violence, with
the possible exception of heroic deaths on the
battlefield. In most societies, those dying of
epilepsy, leprosy, and lunacy cannot be considered
candidates for ancestorhood. This entry discusses
the general importance of ancestors in AfricanAncestors 45