Introduction
There are many stories in Africa and the Caribbean about
the original
spider-man, Anansi. His stories, from the extraordinarily far
fetched to the more believable, continue to captivate audiences around
the world much as they have for centuries. For
Anansi is no ordinary spider-man. He is
both greedy and generous, bad and good, reclusive and social,
but most of all he is a trickster and a fool. He epitomizes this
final concept and as such
acts as
a lesson for young and old alike, so that they do not have
to learn such lessons the hard way. In that respect
he is one of the most valuable people in all the world. But for
the people unlucky enough to meet him, let's just say they are never
the same. My storybook is about this sort of life-changing
encounter with Anansi. An elderly Jamaican
woman, remembering the story of when her brother went to Africa and met
Anansi, tells her grandchildren about
the spider-man Anansi and how this great trickster was fooled.
She does this with two stories. The first story is a reproduction
of the story of Fire and Anansi as told by Fire's son, Ash. The
second story, House in the Air, is a combination of two classic stories
(House of Air & Monkey and Anasi).
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The elderly Jamaican woman had just flown into New York City from her
home in southern
Mississippi to watch her grandchildren for a week. As she stepped
off the plane, three children ran up to her, screaming "Nana!" As
she clutched them all together and then one at a time, she smiled and
thought of just how lucky she was to have such a beautiful
family. As her daughter-in-law walked over to greet her, "Nana"
lost her smile and gave her daughter-in-law a tight hug. After a
moment's embrace, they let each other go.
"I'm so sorry that we lost him,
Christine."
At that, her daughter-in-law began to
cry. You see, this was no ordinary visit. The elderly woman
had come to New York so that her daughter-in-law could leave for her
husband's
funeral in Somalia. She couldn't take the children to such a
dangerous place and thus, called her mother-in-law.
As they watched the plane depart, "Nana"
called her grandchildren over, promising them pizza if they hurried up
and hailed a cab.
After the long cab ride home, and the
pizza that followed, "Nana" was tired and ready for bed. Her
grandchildren, on the other hand, had a different idea.
"Stories!" they shouted as one.
And, taking a deep sigh, she pulled on a blanket and sat in her old
rocking chair.
"Gatha round me, childr'n, and let me
tell a story 'bout An'nsi!"
As her three grandchildren began
to gather around her for the stories of Anansi, the elderly Jamaican
grandmother could not help but remember her brother and his own
adventures with Anansi. Tonight, she would begin teaching her
grandchildren the hard lessons of tricksters and fools. As the
children settled down with their
blankets and drinks, the woman looked over them all one by one.
Greg, her son's youngest and the brightest of all her
grandchildren; Tom, her son's eldest and the most outgoing; and
Sarah, her son's only girl and the shyest of them all.
Sighing, the woman cleared her throat and began the promised story.
"Today, childr'n, Ima gonna speak to
you 'bout that devi'us tricksta An'nsi. Anyone 'memba who be
An'nsi?"
Only Greg spoke up, "Isn't that the
spider guy?"
"No! That's Spiderman, dweeb,"
chimed Tom.
"Boiz, stop your misbehavin! You
are
right, Greg, An'nsi be a spida man. More dan dat, An'nsi be a
tricksta and a fool. Fa as long as I can 'member, our p'ple told
the stories of An'nsi; and now Ima gon tell you 'bout An'nsi and how ma
broda met him."
At this, the children all looked at
each other and giggled, knowing the great stories they would soon be
enjoying. But little Sarah had a confused look on her face.
"I thought Anansi was make
believe. How could Uncle Patrick have met him?"
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