Reading Notes: West African Folktales, Part A

 West African Folktales by various authors

How We Got the Name "Spider Tales"

- He thereupon explained to them that Nyankupon and he had had a great dispute. Nyankupon had said the bees could not fly into the jar—Anansi had said they could. The bees immediately declared that of course they could fly into the jar—which they at once did. 

*It might be an interesting plotline to have a character who tricks others into doing something by insulting/questioning their ego as Spider does with the bees.*

Anansi and Nothing

*I found it hilarious that they took a saying, "the child is crying for nothing" and gave it an actual backstory. It gives me some ideas for creating a backstory for a phrase in my own story.*

Thunder and Anansi

-  His eldest son, Kweku Tsin, had the power of changing himself into any shape he chose, so he took the form of a tiny fly and accompanied his father everywhere.

*I wonder what kind of story I could whip up from the perspective of a character who can transform into a fly at will. Hm.*

Tit for Tat

- Knowing his father's wicked ways, Kweku told him nothing of the matter.

*It's kind of strange to me that, in this story, Kweku Sin and his father Anansi do not trust each other. In fact, the whole family doesn't treat each other as actual family, but instead as strangers that they must keep secrets against. It's an odd dynamic for me, but also one that I want to give a shot at portraying. Like a family that knows how they are to one another, but they still come back together in the end.*

Why We See Ants Carrying Bundles As Big As Themselves

-  The King enchanted the box so that it could never be set down on the ground. The only way in which Anansi could ever get rid of it was by getting some other man to put it on his head.

*This reminds me of guilt. Maybe I could do something with a story where a man feels guilty but finds a way to supplant that guilt onto someone else.*

Finding a Spider Photo Made My Skin Crawl, Here's the Cutest One (Source: Me Pixels)

Bibliography: West African Folktales by various authors. Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook