Dramascripts Anansi

Chained to the hold of a slave ship bound for the Caribbean, a terrified young girl's only comfort is the voice of a woman she can't see. She is told 'Anansi stories', tales of the crafty spider whose cunning and humorous tricks give the girl the resilience and wit she needs to survive.

Four short plays dealing with struggle, flight, co-operation and making choices. Contains: Orpheus and Eurydice; Anansi and the Moon; Mr Mukherjee, Ghostcatcher; The Casket of Huemac.

"Anansi wants everyone to listen to his stories and admire him, but he will have to complete three challenges before he is worthy."--Page 4 of cover

Two Jamaican folk tales in which Anansi the spider practices his trickery on others. Includes an audio cassette featuring narration and music.

Illustrations of Nanny of the Maroons [p.45]; Sam Sharpe [p.51]; Paul Bogle[p.59];George William Gordon [p.67];Marcus Garvey [p.69]; Alexander Bustamante [p.81]; Norman Manley [p.88].

The 13 Anansi stories in this short volume were originally, and unusually, an appendix to Popular Tales from the Norse by Sir George Webbe Dasent. Why he chose to include folklore from Africa and the Caribbean within a volume of Norse folklore has been forgotten in the mists of time. Abela Publishing has elected to re-publish these as a volume in their own right as an aide to Edgbarrow School’s fundraising campaign supporting the SOS Children’s Village in Asiakwa, Ghana. ANANSI or Ahnansi (Ah-nahn-see) “the trickster” is a cunning and intelligent spider and is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. The Anansi tales are believed to have originated in the Ashanti tribe in Ghana. (The word Anansi is Akan and means, simply, spider.) They later spread to other Akan groups and then to the West Indies, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles. On Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire he is known as Nanzi, and his wife as Shi Maria. He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy; and in the Southern United States he has evolved into Aunt Nancy. He is a spider, but often acts and appears as a man. The story of Anansi is akin to the Coyote or Raven the trickster found in many Native American cultures.

Anansi And The Box Of Stories