Ghanima Atreides (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
atreideslioness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2024-09-24 02:37 pm
atreideslioness) wrote in fandomhigh2024-09-24 02:37 pm
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World Mythology, Tuesday, 2nd Period.
When students arrived today, they'd find Trebor happily playing with an assortment of brightly-colored wooden spiders by Ghanima's desk, her sitting beside him with a carved tiger, trying to chase the spiders.
As soon as the bell rang, she looked up at them, grinning, leaving the tiger with her son and standing up, dusting her hands off on her legs.
"Anansi is a fine fellow, and admittedly one of my favorite gods," Ghanima began, not missing a beat, "And I have known more than a few gods. He is easily -- in my opinion --one of the most important characters of West African lore, and mythology in general. He is often depicted as a spider, a human, or combinations thereof."
"The Anansi legends are believed to have originated in the Ashanti tribe of Ghana. 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. The word Anansi is Akan in origin, and literally means 'spider.' Anansi stories are known as Anansesem to the Ashanti and Anansi-Tori to the Suriname -- one of the few gods to have an entire category of literature named after himself."
"Anansi, the Spider, is one of the most popular animal tricksters from West African mythology. Tricksters are mischievous figures who often oppose the will of the gods, resulting in some kind of misfortune for humans. Like many trickster figures, the wily Anansi can change his appearance to look like whatever he chooses. This makes for some entertaining escapades, and gets him into and out of a world of trouble."
"West Africans originally considered Anansi to be the creator of the world. He often acted as a go-between for humans in their dealings with the sky god Nyame, and he supposedly persuaded Nyame to give both rain and the night to people. In most stories, however, Anansi is a crafty and cunning trickster who makes life more enjoyable for himself -- or more difficult for others -- by fooling humans, other animals, and even the gods themselves, often using his cleverness and knowledge of his victims' ways of thinking to trick them and achieve his purpose."
"Many Anansi stories deal with him attempting to trick people into allowing him to steal food or money, or something else that could turn a profit, but our 'hero' doesn't always win! It was not uncommon for a trick to backfire upon Anansi in some way or another."
"One of the very notable stories where Anansi himself was tricked, was when he tried to fight a tar baby after trying to steal food, but became stuck to it instead. The "tar-baby" tale appears in a variety of ethnic African folklore contexts. It is perhaps best known to Americans from the Brer Rabbit version, found in the Uncle Remus stories. These were derived from African-American folktales in the Southern United States. Ultimately this version was adapted and used in the 1946 live-action/animated Walt Disney movie Song of the South, which is an entire dissertation on mythology, sociology, and American racism in and of itself, to the point it is still being discussed in 2024. We will not get into that here, you can look it up on the internet if you are interested."
"Now, why is this figure so universal?" she asked, picking up the handouts that had been sitting on her desk and beginning to distribute them. "And why did so many African American folk tales recount his exploits, under one name or another? Anansi is the spirit of rebellion; he is able to overturn the social order; he can marry the King's daughter, create wealth out of thin air; baffle the Devil and cheat Death. Even if Anansi loses in one story, you know that he will overcome in the next. Anansi conveys a simple message --that freedom and dignity are worth fighting for, at any odds."
As soon as the bell rang, she looked up at them, grinning, leaving the tiger with her son and standing up, dusting her hands off on her legs.
"Anansi is a fine fellow, and admittedly one of my favorite gods," Ghanima began, not missing a beat, "And I have known more than a few gods. He is easily -- in my opinion --one of the most important characters of West African lore, and mythology in general. He is often depicted as a spider, a human, or combinations thereof."
"The Anansi legends are believed to have originated in the Ashanti tribe of Ghana. 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. The word Anansi is Akan in origin, and literally means 'spider.' Anansi stories are known as Anansesem to the Ashanti and Anansi-Tori to the Suriname -- one of the few gods to have an entire category of literature named after himself."
"Anansi, the Spider, is one of the most popular animal tricksters from West African mythology. Tricksters are mischievous figures who often oppose the will of the gods, resulting in some kind of misfortune for humans. Like many trickster figures, the wily Anansi can change his appearance to look like whatever he chooses. This makes for some entertaining escapades, and gets him into and out of a world of trouble."
"West Africans originally considered Anansi to be the creator of the world. He often acted as a go-between for humans in their dealings with the sky god Nyame, and he supposedly persuaded Nyame to give both rain and the night to people. In most stories, however, Anansi is a crafty and cunning trickster who makes life more enjoyable for himself -- or more difficult for others -- by fooling humans, other animals, and even the gods themselves, often using his cleverness and knowledge of his victims' ways of thinking to trick them and achieve his purpose."
"Many Anansi stories deal with him attempting to trick people into allowing him to steal food or money, or something else that could turn a profit, but our 'hero' doesn't always win! It was not uncommon for a trick to backfire upon Anansi in some way or another."
"One of the very notable stories where Anansi himself was tricked, was when he tried to fight a tar baby after trying to steal food, but became stuck to it instead. The "tar-baby" tale appears in a variety of ethnic African folklore contexts. It is perhaps best known to Americans from the Brer Rabbit version, found in the Uncle Remus stories. These were derived from African-American folktales in the Southern United States. Ultimately this version was adapted and used in the 1946 live-action/animated Walt Disney movie Song of the South, which is an entire dissertation on mythology, sociology, and American racism in and of itself, to the point it is still being discussed in 2024. We will not get into that here, you can look it up on the internet if you are interested."
"Now, why is this figure so universal?" she asked, picking up the handouts that had been sitting on her desk and beginning to distribute them. "And why did so many African American folk tales recount his exploits, under one name or another? Anansi is the spirit of rebellion; he is able to overturn the social order; he can marry the King's daughter, create wealth out of thin air; baffle the Devil and cheat Death. Even if Anansi loses in one story, you know that he will overcome in the next. Anansi conveys a simple message --that freedom and dignity are worth fighting for, at any odds."
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During the Lecture
Discussions -- Anansi
Class Discussions -- God of Stories
"Do you have to take responsibility for what happens in other stories, or are you just the Gatekeeper? How would you prevent stories from being misused?
Class Discussions -- To Be A Trickster
Talk to Ghanima & Trebor
ooc