Mrs. K.
Maharaj CSEC English B
SOCIAL RELEVANCE OF
ANANSI
-Anansi stories were part of an
exclusively oral tradition.
-Oral tradition refers to a form
of human communication
where knowledge, art, ideas
and cultural material is
received, preserved and
transmitted from one
generation to the next. For
example, through stories,
speech, tales, lessons, songs, chants etc.
-Anansi himself was seen as synonymous with skill and wisdom in speech.
-The tales of Anansi were traditionally called Anansesem which means “spider tales”.
-Oral tradition is what introduced Anansi tales to the rest of the world, especially the Caribbean via
the enslaved.
Anansi is largely represented as half man, half spider with a cunning smile to suit his disposition.
He is normally presented in a forest setting and his language is filled with poetry and song as part of
his charisma and façade of trickery.
Based on African myth, it is said that Anansi was once a man and his father, a great sky God, changed
him into a spider due to his bad ways. Resultantly, the stories that centre on Anansi all delve into his
sly and manipulative ways.
Anansi was often celebrated as a symbol of slave resistance and survival because he can turn the
tables on his powerful oppressors by using his cunning and trickery to outsmart powerful people and
creatures.
Similarly, the enslaved used this model to gain the upper hand on the plantation and the power that
others had over them.
Not only did Anansi give the enslaved hope but he inspired resistance and allowed the enslaved a way
to continue their culture of the African past to transform and establish their identity whilst in
captivity.
The Jamaican version of Anansi stories/tales entertain as much as they instruct. They highlight his
avarice(extreme greed for wealth or material things) and other flaws alongside his cleverness.
Mrs. K. Maharaj CSEC English B
Anansi becomes both something to aspire to and the selfish desires that can cause our undoing.
Anansi is often depicted in popular tales interacting with the Supreme Being and other deities who
frequently bestow him with temporary supernatural powers, such as the ability to bring rain or to
have duties performed for him.
In some stories of Anansi, he is credited with creating the Sun and the Moon, the stars and planets.
Another story is that he collected all the wisdom of the world in a calabash to hold/secure for himself
because he did not trust humans with such powerful knowledge and information.
However, wisdom kept falling out of the calabash and he realised that no one person has the capacity
or ability to hold all knowledge. The moral of the story or the lesson learned is that knowledge is
power and wisdom should be distributed among all people.
THE TRIANGULAR TRADE
The Triangular Trade is so named because of the shape created by the sailing route taken by British
slave traders.
The ships went from: Europe Africa
Africa Americas/Caribbean
Americas/Caribbean Europe
It was a journey of THREE stages:
1. A British ship carrying goods set sail from Britain, bound for West Africa.
Mrs. K. Maharaj CSEC English B
2. The slave ship then sailed across the Atlantic ocean to the West Indies (Called The
Middle Passage)
3. Some ships then loaded with sugar and rum to sell in Britain, before making the voyage
back home to Britain.
