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Glite Dictionary
🕷️ A folklore character 🕷️ A trickster spider
Anansi

Anansi

2 9.9
A spider trickster from West African and Caribbean tales who tells clever stories
  • proper noun
  • Literature
: Anansi
  • My grandmother used to tell me folk tales from Ghana about Kwaku Anansi, a spirit who could take the form of man or arachnid.
  • House of Anansi
  • Anansi Press
  • Anansi books

And Anansi in West African myth was also responsible for convincing the gods to give humankind stories.

Examples

  • We read books such as Anansi the Spider (McDermott, 1993), the wonderful Ashanti tale, or Aaaarrgghh! Spider!

    Academic text (2012)

  • In West African and Caribbean folklore, Anansi is celebrated as a clever trickster who tells amazing stories.

  • But who here is familiar with the Anansi's version of the story?

  • And Anansi in West African myth was also responsible for convincing the gods to give humankind stories.

    Film Courage

  • Anansi was a storyteller and a trickster.

    Why Hide? (2018)

  • My grandmother often shared tales of Anansi, the spider who outsmarted his friends with his cunning schemes.

  • The children gathered around as the storyteller brought Anansi to life, weaving tales of adventure and wit.

Surface Forms

Anansi main

Etymology

Anansi comes from the Akan name Ananse, meaning 'spider'. He is a clever, storytelling spider in West African and Caribbean folktales, so the name is used for that famous trickster storyteller.