When The Sky-God Gave Anansi His Stories

Nyankopon was the Sky God, and he own the stories of the world. On

day Anansi approached Nyankopon and asked to but his stories.

Nyankopon ask Anansi why he would assume that Nyankopon would

sell any of his stories to him? Anansi replied, “Because I can afford to

pay for them.”

Nyankopon scoffed at Anansi’s claim saying that if men who had

approached from well-to-do clans could not afford to buy his stories, how

would a lowly spider like Anansi afford to buy them?

Anansi could not be discouraged and asked Nyankopon to name his

price and Anansi would prove that he could pay it. Nyankopon thought

about it and gave Anansi the following list –

The python

The leopard

The bush spirit

The hornets

If Anansi could bring everything on the list, then and only then would

Nyankopon hand over his stories.

Anansi considered the list and then said, “I will bring you all the things

you have requested, and I will also give you my mother as part of the

price.”

The deal was made, and Anansi headed home to tell his wife and

mother about the deal. He then asked his wife to help him to think up

ideas to allow him to capture the animals on the list. First then decided

to find and capture the Python. Anansi’s wife told him to go and get a

length of bamboo and some vines and head down to the stream to

capture the Python.

Anansi did as he was told and walked down to the stream, all the time

he was muttering to himself. The Python was sunning himself by the

stream and Anansi pretended that he did not know he was there. The

Python heard Anansi arguing with himself and his curiosity was raised,

and he needed to find out what Anansi was struggling with. The Python

called out to Anansi asking what he was saying. Pretending that he had

just noticed the Python, Anansi told him that he was going over an

argument he had been having with his wife earlier. His wife, Anansi said,

had been arguing that the bamboo was longer than the Python, but

Anansi had been arguing that she was wrong, and the Python was

longer than the bamboo.

The Python listened, and did not question why they would have been

arguing about that but instead said that Anansi should measure him

against the bamboo to end the argument once and for all. Anansi told

the Python he should stretch himself out next to the bamboo and they

would see which was longer. Anansi laid the bamboo on the ground and

the Python uncoiled himself next to it. Anansi pretended to be frustrated

with his efforts and said that he could still not tell whether the Python

was longer or now as every time Python stretched out, he moved away

from the bamboo pole.

The Python thought about it and then came up with an idea. He said that

Anansi could tie him to the pole with the vines and that way they would

be able to tell whether Python was longer than the bamboo. Anansi

agreed that this was a great idea and began to tie Python to the

bamboo, wrapping the vines around the full length of Python until he was

tightly secured.

Anansi laughed and told Python that he had fallen for his scheme and

now Anansi would be taking him to the Sky God as part of the price he

had requested for his stories. Anansi was pleased with his trickery.

The next part of the list that Anansi decided to fulfil was the Hornets, so

again he asked his wife for advice. His wife thought about it for a while

and said that Anansi should go and get a gourd and fill it with water.

Anansi listened to his wife, and he took the gourd filled with water into

the forest to look for the nest of Hornets. His plan was to use the water

to trick the Hornets into thinking it was raining and that their nest was at

risk from the water. To make it look more convincing, Anansi found a

huge leaf on the forest floor and held it over his head to protect him from

the rain. Anansi began to splash the water around, especially on the

nest and the Hornets began to get worried. As they came out, Anansi

caught their attention and showed them the gourd he was carrying

saying they should take shelter from the rain inside it. The Hornets were

very grateful and said, “Thank you, Kwaku Anansi”. Kwaku is used as a

term of respect when speaking to someone and it became attached as

part of Anansi’s name. The Hornets rushed into the gourd to find

protection and Anansi laughed as now they were trapped, and he was

able to take the Hornets to the Sky God to pay another part of the fee for

his stories. Again, Anansi was happy with his trickery.

Anansi now needed to try and capture the Leopard and once again, his

wife advised him on how to make a trap for the creature. Anansi followed

her advice and went to dig a hole in the forest before covering it over. He

knew that it would need to be a very deep hole to prevent Leopard from

being able to climb out again. Once he had dug the hole and was happy

that he had disguised it as well as possible, he went back home to wait.

Next morning, he returned to the hole and found that Leopard had fallen

into the hole and was stuck. Anansi looked down at Leopard and

pretending to have no knowledge of why the pit had appeared laughed

and said that Leopard must have fallen into the pit after drinking too

much and that Anansi would be worried about helping him out from the

pit as he knew that Leopard would just cause harm to him and his

children if he did so.

Leopard looked up and Anansi and swore he would never hurt him or his

family if he would just help him out of the hole. Anansi pretended to think

about whether he could trust Leopard, and in the end, he got two sticks

and put them down into the hole so that Leopard could dig in his claws

and climb up out of the pit. Anansi was waiting for Leopard and as soon

as his head came above the rim of the pit, he hit him hard with his knife

and Leopard fell back into the hole unconscious. Anansi had a ladder

ready, and he climbed down into the pit and carried the unconscious

Leopard up to the Sky God.

Now all that was left was to capture a Bush Spirit for the Sky God. After

thinking about his plan, Anansi carved a wooden doll and covered it with

the stickiest sap he could find. Once he had done that, he prepared food

that he knew the Bush Spirits would enjoy and put the food into a bowl

which he put into the doll’s hands. He then carried the doll to the place

where the Bush Spirit lived.

The Bush Spirit smelt the food and approached asking the doll if it could

eat some of the food. Anansi was hiding and he made the doll nod, so

the spirit thought it was agreeing. The Spirit ate its fill and then said

thank you to the doll, but the doll did not reply, and the spirit was angry. It

slapped the doll on the face, but its hand became stuck due to the sap

that Anansi had smeared all over the doll. The Spirt was even more

angry and continued to hit and kick the doll until it was completely stuck.

Anansi revealed himself and laughing told the Spirit that it was now

going to be taken to the Sky God as payment for his stories. On the way

to take the Spirit to the Sky God, Anansi went home to get his mother as

he had also said that he would give her to the Sky God as payment.

Now that Anansi had brought everything that the Sky God had

requested, the Sky God called together his council to ask them whether

they thought that Anansi had done enough to earn his stories. All of the

council were amazed that someone as lowly as Anansi could do

something that not even powerful men could do. They sand his praises,

and the Sky God made his decision.

The Sky God announced that from that day and forever more all his

stories would belong to Kwaku Anansi.