Tales of Anansi

To cite this source at the end of a sentence, please put in parentheses the title of the particular story being referenced, like this (The Fish Basket).

The following stories feature Anansi, an African spider-trickster figure which was transplanted to the Americas via the transatlantic slave trade. Much like how Brer Rabbit has Brer Fox and Brer Bear in “The Wonderful Tar Baby” story, these tales have their own cast of animal characters, such as Lion and Tiger. Also like Brer Rabbit, Anansi is sometimes the trickster and sometimes the dupe.

These particular stories come from Jamaica and were originally recorded in a mixture of local vernacular and common English, unlike the Brer Rabbit stories.

The Fish Basket

One great hungry time. Anansi couldn’t get anything to eat, so he takes up his hand-basket and a big pot and went down to the sea-side to catch fish. When he reaches there, he makes up a large fire and put the pot on the fire, and says, “Come, big fish!” He catches some big fish put them aside. He said, “Big fish go, make little fish come!” He then catches the little fish. He says, “Little fish go, make big fish come!” and say, “Big fish go, make little fish come!” He then catches the pot full and his hand-basket. He pile the pot full and sit down and eat it off; he then started home back with the pot on his head and the basket. Reaching a little way, he hides the pot away in the bush an take the basket along with him now.

While going along, he meets Tiger. Now Tiger is a very rough man and Anansi is afraid of him. Tiger said to him, “What you have in that basket, sah?”–speak to him very rough. Anansi speak in a very feeble voice, says, “Nothing, sah! Nothing, sah!” So both of them pass each other, and when they went on a little way, Tiger hides in the bush watching Anansi. Anansi then sit down underneath a tree, open his basket, take out the fishes one by one, and say, “Pretty little yellow-tail this!” and put it aside; he takes out a snapper and says, “Pretty little snapper this!” and put it one side; he takes out a jack-fish and says, “Pretty little jack-fish!” and put it one side. Tiger then runs up and says, “Think you haven’t nothing in that basket, sah!” Anansi say, “I just going down to the sea have a bathe, sah, and I catch them few little fishes.” Tiger says, “Give it to me here, sah!”–talking in a very rough manner. And Tiger takes it and eats them all and spit up the bones. Anansi then take up the bones and eats them, and while eating he grumble and say, “But look what all my labor did!” Tiger says, “What you say?” Anansi says, “Fly humbug me face, sah!” (brushing his face). So both of them start to go home now with the empty basket, but this time Anansi was studying for Tiger. When he reaches part of the way, Anansi sees a fruit-tree. Anansi says, looking up in the tree, “What a pretty fruit-tree!” Tiger says, “Climb it, sah!” (in a rough manner). So when Anansi go up and pull some of the fruit, at that time Tiger was standing underneath the tree. Anansi look down on Tiger head and said, “Look at the lice in a Brar Tiger’s head!” Tiger said, “Come down and catch it, sah!” Anansi come down and said to Tiger he can’t catch it without leaning on the tree. Tiger said, “Lean on the tree, sah!” The hair on Tiger head is very long. So while Anansi is catching the lice, Tiger fell asleep. Anansi now takes the hair and lash it round the tree, tying up Tiger on the tree. After he did that he wakes up Tiger and says that he can’t catch any more. Tiger in a rough manner says, “Come and catch it, sah!” Anansi says, “I won’t!” So Anansi runs off, Tiger springs after him, and find out that his hair is tied on the tree. So Tiger says, “Come and loose me, sah!” Anansi says, “I won’t!” and Anansi sings now,

“See how Anansi tie Tiger,
See how Anansi tie Tiger,
Tie him like a hog, Tiger,
See how Anansi tie Tiger,
Tie him like a hog, Tiger!”

And Anansi leaves him to go home, and a hunter-man comes and sees Tiger tie on the tree, and kill him.

The Gub-Gub Peas

A man plants a big field of gub-gub peas. He got a watchman put there. This watchman can’t read. The peas grow lovely and bear lovely; everybody passing by is in love with the peas. Anansi himself passes and wants to have some. He begs the watchman, but the watchman refuses to give him any. He went and pick up an old envelope, and presents it to the watchman and says the master says to give the envelope to the watchman. The watchman says, “The master knows that I cannot read and he sent this thing you come and give me?” Anansi says, “I will read it for you.” He said, “Hear what it say! The master says, ‘You must tie Mr. Anansi at the fattest part of the gub-gub peas and when the belly full, let him go.'” The watchman did so; when Anansi’s belly is full, Anansi called to the watchman, and the watchman let him go.

After Anansi gone, the master of the peas comes and asks the watchman what was the matter with the peas. The watchman told him. Master says he sees no man, no man came to him and he sent no letter, and if a man come to him like that, the watchman must tie him in the peas but not let him away till he come. The next day, Anansi comes back with the same letter and says, “Master says, give you this.” Anansi reads the same letter, and the watchman ties Anansi in the peas. An when Anansi belly full, he calls to the watchman to let him go, but the watchman refuses. Anansi calls out a second time, “Come, let me go!” The watchman says, “No, you dont go!” Anansi says, ‘If you don’t let me go, I’ll use my magic and spit on the ground and make the whole crop rotten!” The watchman gets frightened that Anansi is a sorcerer and unties him.

A few minutes after that the master came and told the watchman if Anansi comes back the next time, no matter what he says, hold him. The next day, Anansi came back with the same letter and read the same story to the man. The man tied him in the peas, and, after him belly full, Anansi called to the man to let him go; but the man refuse—all that Anansi says the watchman refuses until the master arrive.

The master takes Anansi and carries him to his yard and ties him up to a tree, takes a big iron and puts it in the fire to get hot. Now while the iron was heating, Anansi was crying. Lion was passing then, sees Anansi tied up underneath the tree, asks him what caused him to be tied there. Anansi said to Lion that ever since he was born he never held a knife and fork, and the people want him now to hold a knife and fork. Lion said to Anansi, “You worthless man! I will help you. I will loose you and then you tie me there. Then you go hold a knife and fork.” So Lion loosed Anansi and Anansi tied Lion to the tree. So Anansi went away, now, far into the bush and climbed upon a tree to see what might take place. When the master came out, instead of seeing Anansi he sees Lion. He took out the hot iron out of the fire and shoved it in in Lion ear. And Lion make a plunge and popped the rope and galloped away into the bush and stood up underneath the same tree where Anansi was. Anansi got frightened and began to tremble and shake the tree, Lion then held up his head and saw Anansi. He called for Anansi to come down. Anansi shout to the people, “See the lion you are looking for! See the Lion underneath the tree!” And Lion galloped away and lived in the bush until now, and Anansi get free.

Long-Shirt

Anansi, Tacoomah and Tiger made a dance; Anansi was the fiddler, Tacoomah the drummer and Tiger the tambourine man. They travel on till they get to a country where all the people were naked–no clothing except the head-man, who wore a long shirt; he had a wooden leg. So they invite up all these people to come to the dance. Mr. Ram-goat was in the lot. So they start playing and the people start dancing, and they dance until they get so tired everybody fell asleep; and Anansi stole the head-man’s shirt–a good shirt!–and put his own old one upon him while he was sleeping.

The man awoke, and missed his shirt. Now this shirt could talk. The man call out, “Long-shirt, where you at?” Longshirt answered, “Brar Anansi have me on!” They start up, now. Anansi got so frightened! He met Brar Ram-goat. He said, “Brar Ram-goat, swap my shirt, I’ll give you a new one for your old one!” Ram-goat readily make the exchange. The head-man call out, “Long-shirt, where you at?” Long-shirt call out, “Bra’ Ram-goat have me on now!”

Ram-goat run until he was exhausted, and he couldn’t go any farther. He dug a hole and buried himself into the hole, leaving one horn outside. He didn’t know that horn was projecting outside. The man with the wooden leg couldn’t go as fast as the rest. All the rest ran past Ram-goat; the head-man came along, but hiw wooden leg tripped upon the horn and he fell down. When he got up, he thought it was a stump, so he got out his knife to cut off that stump to prevent it tripping him again. He cut and cut and cut till he saw blood. He call out to the rest, “Look! Come now, this dirt has blood!” All the rest come around saying, “Dig him out! Dig him out! Dig him out!” After they dug him out, they took off the head-man’s long shirt, put on his own old one, and they wet him with all the dirty slops–they drenched poor Ram-goat.

They thought he was dead and they left him and went away. After they were gone, Ram-goat got up. He wrung the dirty clothes, he wrung with all the slop they throw on him; but he never remembered to wring his beard. Oh my goodness! That’s the reason the goat has such an offensive smell until this day, he didn’t remember to wring his beard!

To cite this reading, use the following format:

Beckwith, Martha Warren. Jamaica Anansi Stories. The American Folklore Society, 1924. Wikisource, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Jamaica_Anansi_Stories