Nanni The Spider

This story is part of a tradition around Anansi stories and dates back to

1760 from Reliable Account of the Coast of New Guinea by Ludewig

Romer.

This is the story of the spider Nanni, who was involved in helping God to

create human beings. Now, this might seem strange to us, but this is

how it happened. Nanni would weave webs, and these would be used by

God to contrast the human shape. When anyone puts as much work into

creating something as Nanni did when humans were created, it is

normal to expect that they would be acknowledged in some way, but this

was not the case.

Instead of recognising Nanni for what she did, they worshiped other

things, and no one paid any mind to Nanni and the work she did in their

creation. As Nanni had some web left over, she created a being that was

just like her and called him her son. Her son learnt all about trickery from

his mother.

The people who worshiped different Oracles would leave live sacrifices

for them in the form of chickens, but Nanni taught her son that he could

eat the meat from the chickens and leave behind the feathers and the

bones to resemble a live chicken. This is an example of the trickster

ways that the young Nanni learnt from his mother.

Unlike his mother, Nanni lived amongst the normal people, and he met a

woman who he married and had children with. They had a large number

of wives and children, and they all needed to be fed. Unfortunately,

around that time, a great famine came across the land and the people

began to suffer. Nanni realised that he had not been wise, and he had

not stored enough food to feed his wives and children during the famine

and he needed to find a plan so they would all survive.

Now, Nanni had been created to be a trickster and so it was in his nature

to try and find the easy solution to his problems and not to work hard if

he could help it. Nanni had a neighbour who was a really successful

hunter, who was much more prepared than Nanni ever was. He spent

his time in the woods hunting and then he would sell the meat at market

and use the money to buy beans to have in store for the hard winters.

Nanni knew this and so he decided that he would find a way to get the

beans for his family.

Nanni waited for the hunter to leave and there would only be the hunter’s

children protecting the bean stores. The hunter’s children knew Nanni

and his reputation for being a trickster and so when he appeared at their

house, they were suspicious that he was there to steal the beans. Nanni

looked offended and said he was only there to play a new game with the

children and show them a new dance that he had learnt.

The children relaxed a little, but they were still wary. What they did not

know was that Nanni had covered his entire body in sticky gum and his

plan was to roll in the beans so he could take them with him without

anyone knowing. He danced his silly dance and rolled around on the

floor and the hunter’s children did not realise how many beans were

sticking to his body. When he was finished, he showed the children his

hands and said to them.

“Look, I told you I would not take any beans!”

Nanni returned to his house and showed his family what he had

managed to do. He had managed to collect enough beans on his body

to feed his family for quite a while.

When the hunter returned to his home, he looked into the stores and

realised that there were fewer beans than there had been when he left

and when his children said that Nanni had been to visit, the hunter

immediately suspected that he was the reason why there were fewer

beans. He decided to set a trap for Nanni and pretend to go hunting but

not actually leave. The hunter hid and watched as Nanni came to his

house and danced for the children. The hunter saw that as Nanni rolled

on the ground the beans were sticking to Nanni’s body. Furious, the

hunter waited until Nanni set off for home and he jumped out of his

hiding space and grabbed hold of him.

The hunter was so angry that he took out the knife he used to prepare

the meat for market and cut off Nanni’s hands before brushing all the

beans from his body and sending him home to his family. Nanni could

not let his family know that he had lost his hands and so he went to his

hut and announced that as he had not been able to get many beans, he

would only be feeding the children who should be sent to his hut. Once

the children arrived in his hut, Nanni threatened them that if they told

their mothers that he had not fed them he would punish them severely.

However, the children were so hungry that they told their mothers that

they were not being fed.

The mothers were angry and decided that as their husband could not

provide for them and their children they would leave and find another

husband who could. Nanni could not let that happen and so he ran

ahead of them and pretended to be a number of people who convinced

the wives that they would not find another man who could provide for

them, and they should immediately return to their husband.

The wives were not convinced until the performed a divination at a local

fetish, but Nanni had already reached the fetish before them and was

ready for his wives. He pretended to be the voice that answered their

question and convinced them that if they left their husband, they would

face nothing, but bad times and they would be destroyed. In fear, the

wives returned to their home to beg Nanni to take them back.

Nanni was expecting them, and he barred the doors shut and would not

let them back in until all his wives promised that they would work hard to

look after him and they would never rebel against his wishes again. The

wives agreed and Nanni was able to hold his family together and make

they work hard to look after him from that day on.