[#2 of the spider series] ARTIST STATEMENT: Queen Spider Ananasa is Ananasi Grandmother AKA Grandmother Spider.This portrait illustration reveals one of their many human faces. Anansi the Spider(African mythology) Anansi is one of the most important gods of West African lore.He is a trickster and a culture hero, who acts on behalf of Nyame (his father, the sky god) and brings rain to stop fires and performs other duties for him. His mother is Asase Ya. There are several mentions of Anansi's children. According to some myths his wife is known as Miss Anansi or Mistress Anansi but most commonly as Aso.He is depicted in numerous forms: a spider, a human, or combinations thereof.The Anansi legends are believed to have originated in the Ashanti tribe. 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. Anansi stories originated in Ghana, in Africa. The word Anansi is Akan and means spider. Myths: Anansi stories are known as Anansesem to the Ashanti and Anansi-Tori in Suriname. In some beliefs, Anansi created the sun, stars and the moon, as well as teaching mankind the skills involved in agriculture. Another story tells of how Anansi tried to hoard all of the world's wisdom in a calabash. In the end he realizes the futility of trying to keep all the wisdom to himself, and released it. Most cultures that have Anansi folktales also have the story of how Anansi became King of All Stories, not just his own. In the original Ashanti version of this story, Anansi approaches Nyame, the Sky God, with the request that he be named King of All Stories. Nyame then tells Anansi that if he can catch The Jaguar With Teeth Like Daggers, The Hornets Who Sting Like Fire, and The Fairy Whom Men Never See, he will be King of Stories. Anansi agrees, despite Nyame's doubt that he can do it. Anansi then tricks the jaguar, who intends to eat him, into playing a game that allows Anansi to tie him up. He tricks the hornets by pretending that it is raining, and telling them to hide in a calabash. He tricks the fairy with the gum/tar baby trick told below. He then takes them to Nyame and becomes King of All Stories. Other versions, notably Carribean variations, of this story involve Anansi getting Snake for Lion/Tiger. Other names Anancy (Jamaica, Grenada) Anancyi Ananse Aunt Nancy (In South Carolina, Aunt Nancy is sometimes used as folk name for the spider, because the term is the Americanized version of Anansi). Hanansi Compé Anansi Kweku Anansi (Akan) Nansi