This entertaining Ashanti story about the trickster spider Anansi reveals the threads between story, imagination, and possibility.
Who controls the stories that we tell, and why is it important to reach beyond our personal experience to hear the stories of those who are different from ourselves?
Transcript of A world without stories and the trickster Anansi
Hello, and welcome to Myth Matters, storytelling and conversation about mythology and why myth matters to your life today. I’m your host and personal mythologist Dr. Catherine Svehla. Wherever you may be in this wide, beautiful, crazy world of ours, you are part of this story circle.
Today I have a story about stories that involves a trickster spider called Anansi. This story comes from the Ashanti people of Ghana in West Africa, and the name Anansi is the Akan word for “spider.” Tricksters are very important and common figures in mythologies around the world. They are frequently personified as animals of various types, coyote, for example, or rabbit, and there are other cultures that employ the figure of the spider. The Lakota here in North America, for example, have a spider called Iktomi.
Now, tricksters are called “tricksters,” and that is a Western word of course for it, because they play tricks. Their stories typically involve them engaged in some form of deceit, often lying. Their actions in any given story are either constructive or destructive, depending on your perspective. A trickster might be a hero, or a fool. The cumulative impact of listening to trickster stories is to remind us of how thin the lines are that separate these different categories, and the importance then of point of view. Tricksters are part of a dynamic cosmos, they remind us that the world and our reality is inherently fluid, and shape shifting, and in process.
In many of their stories, they are closely connected to the origins of human culture. They bring fire to the people, for example. And they are connected to language, to the first language, and stories. And so then, of course, to lies and deceit, as I mentioned. Their tricks, the actions of the trickster than, remind us that truth like meaning is made. And their example can remind us of what happens when you forget that. So, in this context of a language and story, I especially enjoy this particular personification of the spider, the spider as the spinner, the spider as the weaver, the spider as the one who inhabits and creates the web. As I mentioned in the last podcast, when I told the story of “Fatima the Spinner,” these actions are very powerful metaphors for our relationship to fate, and time, and life, and destiny…how we experience those things and what we make of them. One of my favorite books about the trickster, written by Lewis Hyde, is titled Trickster Makes the World: Myth, Mischief and Art, which I think sums it up pretty well.
February is Black History Month here in the United States. This is a particularly good time to reflect on the relationship between truth and lies, on the need for diverse stories, for freedom to tell stories, and to the relationship between dominance and the power to control stories, to control the stories that are told and how they’re told.
Let’s turn now to Anansi’s story, the story of “How the Sky God’s stories came to be known as Spider Stories.” There are quite a few variations of this tale. The version that I’m going to share with you is following one that was collected and translated by Captain Rattray. It appears in a collection that you can find online called Akan-Ashanti Folktales. Rattray was a white man and part of the colonizing forces, so we acknowledge the limitations there, in terms of collection and also translating this story into English. I chose his version because he was much more sensitive to the problems involved in his task than many others who were trying to understand the peoples they encountered in Africa at the time.
I invite you to sit back and relax and let the story take you where you need to go right now. Note the moment in the story that particularly grabs your attention, as you can use it as a portal for your own reflection into the place the themes of this story occupy in your life right now.
Stories, Anansi, and the Sky God
At that time, back when the world was young, there were no stories in the world. All of the stories belonged to the sky god Nyame, who kept them in a box by his throne. One day Anansi the spider went to see Nyame to ask if he could buy the stories from the god. Nyame looked at this little spider and frankly, he was amused. “Anansi” he said, “very powerful chiefs from very wealthy cities have been here asking to buy the stories and they couldn’t meet my price. What makes you think that one such as you, could have any kind of success?” “Be that as it may” said, Anansi, “I would like to know your price.” Well, the Sky God was impressed by the fact that this little spider was not intimidated. And he set a very high price. “Anansi” he said, “if you want my box of stories, you will have to capture four of the most dangerous creatures in the world. You will need to bring me Onini the Python, Mmoboro the Hornets, Osebo the Leopard, and the Fairy Mmoatia. If you can bring me these four, you can have the box of stories.” “Okay” said Anansi, “I will do this. I will bring you these four and I will even add in my mother Ya Nsia for extra measure.” Nyame accepted this offer and advised Anansi to begin right away.
Anansi went back home and told his family, including his mother who agreed that she would join the sky god when he succeeded. And then he asked his wife Aso for advice. “I would like to capture Onini the Python first” he told her. His wife advised him to cut a branch from a palm tree and gather up some string creeper vines, and then to go near the place where the Python lived and pretend to be arguing with her about the size of the snake. Anansi agreed that this was a very good plan. He collected the branch and the vines and went to find the Python. As he got close to Onini’s home, he began debating with himself. “You know that it is? Oh no, it’s not. Well it most certainly is. Well, he most certainly is. You know that he is, I don’t know why you would say that,” he said. Anansi went on and on.
This imaginary debate got the attention of Onini, who came out and asked him what he was talking about. “Oh, it’s my wife” Anansi told him, “she insists that this palm branch is bigger than you are and I’m quite sure that she’s wrong.” “Oh, well, this is something that we must prove right away” said the Python. “I have an idea” said Anansi, “why don’t you lay down next to the branch and stretch yourself out. And then we’ll see once and for all, that you are indeed longer than the palm branch.” Well, Onini stretched himself out alongside the palm branch. But he was a little bit curvy, and he kept turning his head to see how close he was, and, and finally Anansi said, “Look, if we really want to do this right, I think I’m going to need to tie you to the branch. Then we can be sure that we are 100% accurate.”
Onini agreed. Anansi tightly tied the Python to the palm branch. When he was done, he laughed and said, “Oh, now you’re caught. I have fooled you. You are going to go see Nyame the Sky God. He took Onini up to the Sky God, who accepted the Python graciously and reminded Anansi that he had several more tasks to complete.
Anansi went back home and reported to his wife that he had succeeded. “I think that I would like to capture Mmoboro the Hornets next,” he said. “Can you help me do this?” Well, his wife gave him a plan. Aso told him to get a gourd and fill it with water, and take the gourd full of water along with him to see the Hornets. Anansi followed her advice. He headed into the bush where the Hornets roamed around, and soon he found a swarm of them lazily circling some of the bushes. he crept close and sprinkled some of his water on them. Then he doused himself with the rest of the water, and he cut a leaf from a nearby banana tree and sprinkled the remaining water on that and put it over his head.
Well, the Hornets flew over to him in a fit. They do not like getting wet. Anansi said “Wait, wait, look at me. I am wet. I am covering my head. It has been raining. It has been raining. Quick if you would like to protect yourself from the rain, why don’t you take shelter in my gourd.” The Hornets swarmed into the opening in Anansi’s gourd, which he quickly plugged shut. Once again, he laughed and taunted the Hornets for being so foolish. “I am taking you to go see Nyame the Sky God,” he told them. Nyame once again graciously accepted the payment and reminded the spider that he had two more tasks to complete.
Anansi went back home and told his wife of his success. “Now” he said. “I think it’s time to catch the Leopard Osebo. Aso his wife said “I think you should dig a hole and cover it.” Before she went any further, Anansi caught on to her plan. “I know what you think I should do” he told her, and he went back down to the place where Osebo normally could be found. He looked for the Leopard’s tracks and when he found them, he dug a deep pit in the ground and covered it over with brush wood and leaves. And then he went back home.
Very early the next morning, Anansi went back to the pit, and just as he had expected, Osebo had come by and fallen in. “Osebo” he called down into the pit, “my friend. What are you doing down there?” “Oh, Anansi” said the Leopard, “I’ve fallen into this hole and I don’t know how I’m going to get out.” “Oh, I’m so sorry” said Anansi, “that must be terrible for you. Now tell me my friend, you haven’t been drinking again have you?” “Oh, no, no. Oh, no, no, no, I haven’t” said the Leopard. “Well” said Anansi, “I would really like to help you. But I think we both know that if I help you get out of that hole, you will not only try to eat me, you will also try to eat my children.” “Oh” said Osebo, “if you help me Anansi, I swear I will not harm you or your family.”
“Okay” said Anansi. He went and cut two sticks and put them down into the hole. “Grab onto each one of these sticks and use them like a ladder,” he told the Leopard. As soon as Osebo started to climb up the sticks, Anansi used this opportunity to throw his knife at Osebo’s head. He struck the Leopard, and the Leopard fell back down to the bottom of the hole and was unconscious. Anansi climbed into the hole and wrapped the Leopard tightly in his web. Once again, he congratulated himself and carried Osebo up to the Sky God.
Anansi went home one more time. Now it was time to capture Mmoatia, the Fairy. He gave this some thought and decided on a plan. First, he made a doll. Then he covered it with a sap from a gum tree. Next he took some yams collected by his wife and pounded them into a fine mash, and put it in a brass basin. Then he took the doll and the basin of yams and placed them by an odom tree, a place where the fairies like to dance.
He sat the doll down next to the basin and then he tied a silken string around the waist of the doll. He went to hide behind some bushes, with the other end of the string in his hand. Not long after this, Mmoatia the Fairy came dancing by. She saw the doll. She saw the bowl of yams. Mmoatia loved pounded yams. “Hello, gum baby” she said, “may I have some of your yams?” Anansi tagged on the string to make the doll nod “yes.” Well, Mmoatia was very excited by this. She ran back home to tell her sisters and they agreed that she should eat some of the yams.
Mmoatia went back to the tree and devoured the yams. When she was finished, she said “Thank you gum baby. The gum baby didn’t say a word. The gum baby didn’t even move. Well, the gum baby was not acknowledging her gratitude. Mmoatia to went back home to her sisters and reported this offense. They agreed that there should be some recompense.” We think you should slap that gum baby in the face” they told her. Mmoatia to went back to the doll. “I said thank you for the yams” she tried again. But still the gum baby was silent. “Well” said Mmoatia and she hauled off and BOOM—her hand was stuck fast in the tar of the cheek of the gum baby. Now she was really angry. Mmoatia hauled off and BOOM, slapped the gum baby again. “Why why why” she said.
She called out to her sisters, “Now what?” “Use your feet and kick that that gum baby” they told her, and Mmoatia tried to kick and kick and now she was completely stuck to the gum baby. Now Anansi came out from his hiding place, chuckling and gloating. He used the rest of the string to tie Mmoatia more securely to the gum baby doll and carried her up to the Sky God. Then Anansi went back home to collect his mother who was willing to go and join Nyame in the sky.
Now he said to the god, “I have met your price. I have held up my end of the bargain.” The Sky God agreed that Anansi, against all odds and all expectations, had paid the price for the stories. He called to the assembly of elders. “Anansi has paid my price for the stories” he told them, “and now they belong to him. I am giving him the stories with my blessings.” All of the elders rejoiced along with Nyame about Anansi’s success. “From now on” said the Sky God, “these stories will belong to you Anansi, and they will be known as spider stories.”
Anansi took the box of stories and went back home. He opened the box and let the stories out. Now they could be shared freely by the people.
Who has the right to our stories? Who has the right to own them, if they can be owned, and who has the right to tell them? These are pressing questions for our times, and as always, when I encounter an old story like this one, I am reassured by the fact that people have been grappling with this issue for some time. The role of stories in our lives, and how they shape our world, isn’t something that we can resolve, once and for all. And while there may be certain advantages to living in a time when there’s more harmony about the nature and content of stories, there is something very creative in the conversation and the debate itself.
Now there’s one other thing that I’d like to draw out of this story before I leave you today. It concerns Anansi’s ability to so successfully trick his opponents. He has very powerful, strong, dangerous creatures to capture. And yet he manages to do it because they are so predictable. He knows them very well, and their way of living– their likes and dislikes, the way they move around in the world, the parts of the world they occupy. Everything is so habitual. He knows that the Hornets don’t like to get wet, he knows that the Fairy loves yams. And one of the things about the trickster, that trickster form, is that they, in contrast, are shapeshifters. They’re very fluid. This is the source of their creativity. And it’s also what makes them a good vehicle for reflection on the value of being fixed versus dynamic, and when that’s useful and when it isn’t.
At the beginning of this podcast, I made the comment that the trickster reminds us that truth and meaning are continually reinvented. If our stories are an essential component of our world, and our identity, then you can see how you can be captured by Anansi, by the trickster and the chaos that he brings, if you forget that you’ve got to be able to change.
Now, continuing in the same vein, this story comes to us at a particular time, a time when there are no stories in the world. The fixed nature of Anansi’s opponents and their gullibility is connected to this absence of story. You might have thought to yourself at various points that his tricks were really obvious, that these great powerful, dangerous creatures must be kind of dumb. I mean, who gets one hand stuck on a gum baby, right, and then goes and gets the other– not only the other hand, but both feet stuck?!
Well, there’s a message here I think, about the value of having story. Because you see, if you’re in a world where there are no stories, then you have never heard of such a thing. And if you have never heard of such a thing, then you are limited to what you have directly experienced. To put it in the terms of the story, it was never going to occur to Mmoatia and her sisters that she could be stuck to a gum baby like that because they’d never heard of such a trick ever being played on anyone. That possibility didn’t exist in their world. It didn’t exist in their imagination.
Stories expand our sense of what’s possible. This is one of the things that we learn from stories, my friend. Certainly, we learn lessons. And certainly, we learn content. But beyond that, stories are what enables us to develop our imagination. It is through story that we are presented with a world that is larger than our own direct and personal experience, a world of possibilities beyond the events of our own life. This is how we expand our view, isn’t it? How we expand our sense of what is possible for us as individuals, what is also possible for our communities, and for the world. Finally, imagination, imagination, which is one of the gifts of story, is the way that we develop empathy and compassion.
Today, we live in a world where there are plenty of people who would like to be sky gods and lock the stories up in a box. But it’s too late for that. They’re free out in the world. And so, our task then, is to listen to them right? To tell them, to share them, to search out stories that are different from the ones that we already know. It’s through sharing stories and expanding the universe of stories that we expand our shared world of possibility.
And that is it for me, Catherine Svehla, and Myth Matters for this week. Thank you so much for listening. If you’re new to this podcast, then I hope you’ll go over to my website, mythimojo.com and take a look around at some of the other things that I offer. I’d like to give a shout out to Jaime in the Chicago area, who recently joined the patrons on Patreon. Thank you so much, Jaime. If you are finding value in Myth Matters and you have the means, I hope you will consider supporting this podcast on Patreon as well.
Take good care of yourself my friend. Until next time, happy mythmaking and keep the mystery in your life alive.
Useful Links
Read Anansi Tales from Jamaica collected by Martha Warren Beckwith on google
Check out Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott
Link to a pdf of Rattray’s collection, Akan-Ashanti Folktales
