Anthony Dillett

Anansi: That Tricky Spider (Volume 1) Anthony Dillett

Anansi the Spiderman or rather spider and man originated with the Ashanti people of present day Ghana. Anansi?s father, the Sky God Nyame, got so tired of his son?s pranks that he turned him into a spider. The stories of Anansi were brought to the Caribbean by slaves, some of whom kept up the oral tradition of their people by recounting some event in the life of their village. The stories also included some folklore such as the life and times of Anansi, the trickster. Accordingly Anansi is described as a creature who was always trying to best anyone with whom he came in contact. The general idea for him was that although small he could outsmart creatures much bigger than himself. This is actually a lesson for us that we should depend on brain power rather than the physical. Anansi took pride in this and sometimes came out on top but sometime things went badly for him. When he was victorious he was ?The Man? but during the bad times he became the spider and retreated to his web to hide and wait for more opportunities to outsmart his friends. My granddaughter, Mikailah, is so enamored with Anansi, ?The Man? that she only wants to hear stories in which he is victorious in tricking other creatures. She calls him ?Nancy?. Her favorite story is about Anansi and Brer Tiger in which Anansi was ?sick? and got Brer Tiger to take him to the doctor?