ANANSI, THE ORIGINAL SPIDERMAN

Hand made by the artists of Puppet's Elora: Annerose Schmidt, Bev Matheson and Connie Smith.
Oh Anansi, is this so?























Yesterday, I heard two Anansi stories at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Bayview Avenue Toronto , where Fule led a drum workshop. I met two women from Jamaica and Eunice from Barbados. One of the ladies told me two stories she had heard as a child.

Anansi had three kids at a certain time by his beloved wife. One day, he brought home four fingers of plantain for supper- perhaps it was all he could afford. So he called his family together and shared them out, one finger for his wife Aso, and one for each child.

Then he returned empty-handed to his room. "How about you Anansi?" Aso asked. "Aren't you hungry?"
Anansi made a sad face and said he was happy to sacrifice for the good of his family. Having thus stirred the heart of his wife, she immediately broke her plantain into two and gave him half, which he ate quickly.

The others each in their turn offered him half, and each time, he graciously received.
Who had the most food in the end?

In the second story, Anansi said he was cured from gossiping. The other animals decided to test him so the bareheaded vulture announced that he was going for a hair cut. Try as hard as he did, Anansi could not prevent himself from asking his neighbours, " Pray tell, and where is the hair that vulture's going to have trimmed? It can't be on top of his head, he-he!"

" Gossip!" his neighbours cried.
They say it was the only time the trickster was tricked.
I say, be careful what you say when you hear wonderful things!