Anansi stories

Anansesem, the spider stories of the Akan people of Ghana, follow Anansi, a small trickster who wins against bigger and stronger animals by wit, and sometimes loses to his own greed.

How it is played

A storyteller performs the tales at evening gatherings, with call-and-response, songs and voices for each animal. Listeners already know the characters, so the pleasure is in the telling and in the lesson each trick carries. The stories crossed the Atlantic and live on in Caribbean and American folklore.

Heritage note

Part of the living heritage of Ghana.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of Africa: Sahel, West and Central.