Anansi+the+Spider

media type="custom" key="8019444"


 * **HISTORY OF ANANSI [ West Africa and the Carribean]**

Anansi (pronunciation Ah-nahn-see) the trickster is a cunning and intelligent spider, and is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy; and in the Southern United States he has evolved into Aunt Nancy. He is a spider, but often acts and appears as a man. The story of Anansi is akin to the tricksters Coyote, Raven or Iktomi found in many Native American cultures. The Anansi tales are believed to have originated in the Ashanti tribe in Ghana. (The word Anansi is Akan and means, simply, spider.) 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 tales are some of the best-known in West Africa The stories made up an exclusively oral tradition, and indeed Anansi himself was synonymous with skill and wisdom in speech. It was as remembered and told tales that they...

=14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy [ Kenya]= media type="custom" key="8020198" || FACTS

** Spiders have silk spinning glands called spinnerets, at the tip of their abdomen. ** ** Not all spiders spin webs. ** ** Spiders belong to the Arachnid family. ** **There are more than 30,000 species of spiders. ** **Spiders are oviparous, which means their babies come from eggs. ** **Most spiders have either six or eight eyes. ** ** All spiders have fangs, through which venom is ejected. Spider bites can be quite painful, and a select few can be fatal. ** **Fear of spiders is called Arachniphobia. It is one of the most common fears among humans. ** **Tarantulas shed their furry skin as they grow, leaving behind what looks just like another tarantula. ** **Spiders eat many types of harmful insects, helping to keep your garden free of pests. ** ||
 * Spiders are not insects. Insects have three body parts and six legs. Spiders have eight legs and two body parts, the abdomen and the thorax.**