Week 9: Reading Notes Part A, WEst African Folktales

West African Folktales

bibliography: West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair (1917)

olden days men told stories of Nyankupon, the chief of gods
the spider was very conceited
spider went to Nyankupon and asked for all stories to be Anansi stories
Nyankupon agreed on one condition that spider bring him three things
jar full of lives bees
a boa-constrictor
and a tiger
spider/Anansi set out for the items
he knew where to find the bees but contemplated if they would fill the far full
anansi tricked the bees into all of them flying into the jar, then sealing it and took off to Nyankupon
next day with a long stick Anansi searched for a boa-constrictor
tricked the boa-constrictor into laying against the stick and tying him to it, then took off to Nyankupon
the third day Anansi sewed his eye together and went to where he knew where a tiger lived
started singing about the wonderful things he could see since his eye was sewn together
the tiger asked Anansi to sew his eye together also so he could see the wonderful things as well.
this made the tiger helpless and Anansi led the tiger to Nyankupon fulfilling the three conditions

a town not far from Anansi's home lived a king with 3 daughters, no one knew their names
bought a jar of honey, dipped fruit from a tree in it, then dropped fruit on the ground for the princesses. eventually learning their names
Anansi hurried to town and summoned all the great men and summoned them to a meeting att the King's palace
visited his friend the lizard to act as Herald
the next day the king and his court met as usual
everyone appeared as requested by Anansi
ing promised his three daughters who found out their names
Mr. Lizard won the three princesses cause he said all the names
Anansi begged for at least one princess