Video caption: Tiana being surprised by Anansi in The Quest: The Golden Amulet eBook for children
Anansi. Brer Anansi. Ananse. Nansi. No matter how you spell or say it, to African and Caribbean people, they all simultaneously mean one thing - "trickster".
The word "anansi" means spider and comes from the language spoken by the Akan people in Ghana, West Africa. Stories about Anansi spawned in Ghana and subsequently spread widely across the Caribbean through stories told by generations and descendants of enslaved Africans in countries like Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Casually referred to as 'spiderman' throughout the Caribbean, Anansi is known for being extremely crafty by deceitfully crafting ingenious, cunning plans to get what he wants. Among his many tricks is his ability to take the shape of a human or another animal. It is also said that Anansi speaks with a lisp and in a high-pitched voice. His laziness and greed are endless, so he always avoids doing any form of work by using his cleverness to trick others into doing the dirty work.
The tales of the infamous Anansi are myriad. As the legendary Jamaican cultural icon Rt. Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverley said at the end of her stories, "Jack Mandora, me noh choose none".
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