Cover for film by Akosua Adoma Owusu titled Kwaku Anansi
How did wisdom spread to other heads?
Kweku Anansi or Ananse, is the famous spider in the trickster tales of many West African cultures. He is cunning, very wise, mostly greedy with a new trick always up his sleeve. In Akan mythology, it was believed that Anansi wanted to hoard knowledge in order to have it all to himself. When he succeeded in gathering all of knowledge into a pot, he attempted to hide it on the tallest tree in the forest. He tied the pot in front of him and started climbing the tree. When his son saw him, he enquired what Ananse was doing. After Ananse explained to his son what he wanted to do, his son advised him to tie the pot on his back, because if the pot was tied in front, it could break while he climbed. Ananse heeded his son’s advice. Upon reaching the top, he realized his son’s advice was wise. Knowing he could not possibly have all the wisdom in the world because of his son’s counsel, he dropped the pot and so everyone could have a piece.
