Anansi, the Spider

Anansi, the Spider

Anansi, the Spider is a very cunning character from the Ashanti tribe of West Africa. In the Zande tribe, she is known as Ture. One of the best-known myths is the one in which Anansi asks the sky god Onyankopn (or Nyame) to sell him the stories for which he is so famous. “What makes you think you can accompany my stories?” the god wonders. “I have denied them to the powerful, and you are insignificant.” But Anansi insists that he name a price. Onyankopon then tells him to bring Onini the python, Osebo the leopard, Mmoboro the swarm of wasps, and Mmoatia the spirit—creatures he believes are impossible to catch. But Anansi, with the help of his wife, manages to catch them all, throwing in his own mother as a bonus! The sky god is so impressed that he gives Anansi his stories and his blessing. From that time on, they are called spider stories.