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Ananse Tales

Ananse tales from books and pamphlets published in Ghana portray the spider as a culture hero or one who is responsible for the way certain things are, a cunning trickster; and a greedy person who must pay for his actions with shame and punishment. In the first tale below, Ananse's cunning contributes to his success as a culture hero. The second tale explains how Ananse spread wisdom throughout the world. The third is an example of how Ananse's greed caused him to make a foolish mistake.

1. "How the Sky-God Stories Became Ananse Stories" (Clifford, IV, 9-14) 

Long ago, all stories of the Akan people belonged to the sky god Nyankopong and were called "Nyankonsem," or sky-god stories. Nyankopong decided one day to sell his stories for a price: the buyer must bring to him a live python, a live lion, live bees, and a fairy (Mmoatia). He announced this to his chiefs and elders, but none of them even considered trying to meet the request because they assumed the sky-god had no real intent to sell his stories. 

Ananse learned about Nyankopong's announcement from a hunter and visited the sky-god, then began to think about what he could do. To get the python he took his son, Ntikuma, to the python's dwelling with a rope and a long bamboo pole. They began arguing about the length of the python in comparison to the stick, and when the python inquired about their problem, Ananse asked python to settle an argument by allowing them to tie him to the pole so they could compare his length stretched out. Python agreed, and Ananse carried him off to Nyankopong.

To get a lion, Ananse thought of another scheme. He and his son took a large sack to the place where lion was and began arguing about whether the lion would be too fat to fit into it. When the lion asked them not to disturb the animals in the area, Ananse requested that lion prove to Ntikuma that he wasn't too fat to fit into the sack, thereby shaming the young boy. The lion complied, and Ananse delivered him to the sky-god. 

For the bees, Ananse and his son took a pot and a sieve to the tree where the hive was. Ntikuma climbed the tree and poured a calabash of water on the hive. Then Ananse invited the bees, who do not like rain, to come and hide in his pot. He quickly trapped them with the sieve and took the pot full of bees to Nyankopong. Finally, Ananse had to catch Mmoatia. He prepared some mashed yam and boiled eggs, which he knew to be food that the Mmoatia loved. He placed the food in the hands of a gum statue that he placed on the path. When the Mmoatia came and ate the food, he ordered the statue out of his way, then attacked it and was stuck to the gum. Ananse and Ntikuma took the fairy still attached to the gum statue on palm branches to Nyankopong. The next day Nyankopong called all of the chiefs and elders together and announced that Ananse was wiser than any of them and could have the stories to keep forever. Since that time the stories are known as "Anansesem" or Ananse Stories.

A long time ago Kweku Ananse was respected as the wisest creature on earth. He was so wise that people came from all over to consult him. However, he grew tired of so much company, so he decided to put all of his wisdom into a pot and climb a tall tree to hide from everyone. He hung the pot around his neck and proceeded up the tree. However, the pot hanging over his belly kept getting in the way of climbing. His son Ntikuma saw what was happening and told Ananse to tie it on his back so his hands would be free. Ananse was furious that his son knew something he didn't, because it showed that he did not know everything. When Ananse smashed the pot to the ground, wisdom was scattered all over the world.

Kwaku Ananse and his wife Aso were invited to a party given by her father. Ananse decided to use the party as an occasion to show off his wealth to his in-laws, so he and his wife dressed in the finest church clothes and Ananse put on his nice-looking hat and put a pipe in his mouth. When they got to the party, the in-laws welcomed them and were impressed. Being very hungry, Ananse looked at the party table but did not find his favorite food there, which was hot beans. He thought to himself that his father-in-law must have hidden that dish, so he made a plan. He told his father-in-law that they would have to leave early and then, as he was leaving, sniffed the air for the smell of beans and detected the aroma coming from the kitchen. Ananse quickly asked to use the bathroom, but instead went into the kitchen, grabbed a plastic bag and filled it with some hot beans and hid the beans under his hat. Since the beans were a bit warm on his head, he tried to leave immediately. The father-in-law, being a good host, first congratulated Ananse on taking good care of his daughter and then chose to accompany the couple, talking all the while. Ananse tried desperately to take leave of his father-in-law but had to be polite. Soon he was in such pain that he could no longer tolerate the hot beans. When he tried to lift his hat, the beans spilled out over his fancy sandals and those of the father-in-law, who was shocked to discover that his son-in-law was a thief. Ananse disgraced his wife and had to run away in shame. His scalded head became bald as a result of such greed. 

Ghanaians have written at least three plays that feature Ananse as the main character and have been performed in Accra. In each the audience becomes an important part of the theatrical performance and responds to Ananse as a character. The playwrights were interested in preserving traditional oral culture with some of the features of storytelling, including the interaction between the storyteller and the audience. In Efua T. Sutherland's play, The Marriage of Anansewa (1986) and in Martin Owusu's play, The Story Ananse Told, the audience is given a role during the performance. Synopsis of The Story Ananse Told by Martin Owusu This is a play in which cunning and faithfulness are rewarded, and greed and disobedience are punished. Ananse as storyteller and character manipulates others to bring them to their demise if they are gullible or greedy. He teaches that one who is able to act wisely and keep promises may be fooled but will still remain unvanquished. 

Act I. Ananse introduces himself as a trickster and begins the story. A bachelor hunter named Osugyani lives alone. On his wall is a magic antelope's head that once belonged to an antelope he shot. Before dying, the animal begged the hunter to hang its head on a wall, promising that that one day it would "do something" for him. Indeed, while the hunter is in the forest, the head drops to the floor and becomes a beautiful woman who cleans and cooks, then turns into the head again before the hunter returns. This routine continues for a long time (400 years in Ananse's supernatural world), until the hunter hides under the bed one day and discovers the source of his good fortune. The beautiful woman tells the hunter that if he agrees never to reveal her origin as an antelope's head, she will become his wife. He agrees. She explains that she was the princess of Kidu who refused to marry the river god Pra and was punished. She has magical powers and transforms the hunter into a great king with a city and subjects after he makes two other promises: 1) that he will never touch a drum hanging on the wall and 2) that he will never be tempted by any other woman in the kingdom. The King is named Nana daasebre Kuntunkuni Atrimoden the First and soon begins his reign by exercising authority over his subjects. He threatens execution if they are not obedient and also treats his wife the Queen with disrespect. 

Act II. The all-knowing Ananse enters and tempts the King to break one of his promises to the Queen. He implies that the immortality of the Queen is available to the King if he will play the forbidden drum. The King believes Ananse and plays the drum, with the result that its owner Subruku, a man-eating Monster King of the forest, appears and takes the King away. Ananse visits the King's Councillor and Okyeame (linguist), pretending to know nothing of the King's disappearance. However, in exchange for a golden crow, he informs the Queen that Subruku has seized her husband, who dared to play the monster's drum that was hanging on the wall. The Queen blames the guards but suspects that Ananse may be responsible for the King's fate. Ananse lies, claiming that he did not encourage the King to play the drum. The Queen then searches for her magic tail to remedy the situation, but she finds it only after she has sent the Okyeame to look for it. Ananse offers to retrieve the linguist and goes off to find him. With the magic tail the Queen restores the King to his palace and learns that Ananse indeed deceived him. She asks her "weak-minded" husband to repeat his promises to her and discovers he has actually forgotten them. This time, in place of the agreement about the drum, she substitutes the stipulation that the King must never cough. The King readily agrees, exclaiming that he does remember that promise. 

Act III. While Okyeame is in the forest looking for the Queen's magic tail, he comes across Ananse, who tells him that it is at the house of the royal monsters. Okyeame doesn't trust Ananse at first, but the trickster convinces him to go find the tail. At the monsters' house the Okyeame is the prey of a hungry family that fights over which of them will get the meal. The parents postpone the eating, however, when they realize the linguist can lead them to the magic tail. On the pretext of wanting their drum back, they promise not to hurt Okyeame but instead to make him king and give him gold if he will help them. When Okyeame reveals that he once overheard the King's promise never to love another woman, the monsters (who are also tricksters) quickly change into human beings and ask the linguist to take them to the palace. 

Act IV. Meanwhile at the palace, the King puts his Councillor in the position of Okyeame and arranges a sacrificial execution of his palm-wine tapper, Koo Kra. Just after the execution has taken place, the original Okyeame returns with human looking monster guests that are welcomed by the King. The Monster King sings the praises of the returning Okyeame, who is reinstalled and otherwise would have been executed like the palm-wine tapper. The King quiets the Councillor and Executioner by having them arrested. While the King is at rest, the beautiful Monster Princess appears and sings a song to attract his attention. The gullible King is not only attracted but asks her to marry him, explaining that having more than one wife is not a problem. However, the Queen overhears as she enters carrying the magic tail. Seeing the Queen, the King coughs as if nothing has happened, but he has been caught breaking two promises. When the Queen's announces that she will turn him back into the lonely hunter, Nana daasebre Kuntunkuni Atrimoden the First angrily reveals the Queen's origin to his citizens. The play ends with Okyeame telling the hunter that greed is the cause of the former King's misfortune and that he will no longer be a faithful assistant. Suddenly the monsters appear and drag both men away to their deaths. Ananse the storyteller concludes, "Thus my old story ends, /Keep it with you my friends/ until you decay." 

Ananse Tales: Clifford, Greg. The Legendary Kweku Ananse Stories, Vol. I-IV. Pupils' Supplementary Reader Series. Mamprobi-Accra, Ghana: Golden Wings Publications, 1995. 

Hutchison, Kwesi. Folktales from Ashanti. Ananse Series, Vol. 1. Kumasi, Ghana, 1994. Kuenyefu, Nikki P. Kwaku Ananse and His Mouthless Wife. Accra: 2nd Image Publishing, 1998.

________. Kwaku Ananse and the Capful of Hot Beans. Accra: 2nd Image Publishing, 1998. 

Toprah, Samuel Kwasi. The New Adventures of Ananse. 2nd ed. Academia Basic Education Certificate Examination Series. Accra: Academia Magazines, 1998. 

Abdallah, Mohammed ben. Ananse and the Golden Drum: A Play for Children. Accra New Town, Ghana: Woeli Publishing Services, 1994. 

Owusu, Martin. The Story Ananse Told. In The Legend of Aku Sika and The Story Ananse Told: Plays for the African Theatre. Legon: Soundstage Production, 1999. 

Sutherland, Efua T. The Marriage of Anansewa. Accra: Sedco Publishing Ltd. (under license from Longman, 1986), 1999.

Opoku, Kofi Asare. Hearing and Keeping: Akan Proverbs. African Proverbs Series, Vol. 2. Accra, Ghana: Asempa Publishers, and New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1997. 

Opoku-Agyemang, Naana Jane. AGender-Role Perceptions in the Akan Folktale." Research in African Literatures 30.1 (1999): 116-139. 

Vecsey, Christopher. AThe Exception Who Proves the Rule: Ananse the Akan Trickster.@ Mythical Trickster Figures: Contours, Contexts, and Criticisms. Ed.William J. Hynes and William G. Doty. Tuscaloosa: U. of Alabama P, 1993. 107-121.