Week 9 Reading Notes: How We Got the Name “Spider Tales”, Part A





Link to story.

Title: How We Got the Name “Spider Tales”

Publication: West African Folk-Tales, 1917

Author: William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair

Notes: William H. Barker (1882-1929) was an American missionary who collected stories from the west coast of Africa to compile into his book, “West African Folk-Tales,” published in 1917. Cecilia Sinclair was the coauthor and the illustrator of the novel.

Characters:
Nyankupon, chief of the gods
Spider/Anansi, the trickster
Bees
Boa
Tiger

Places: 
Ghana

Events:
Anansi envies Nyankupon’s fame
Anansi asks to be written into future stories
Nyankupon sends Anansi on a quest to fetch three things
Anansi tricks the bees to fly into a jar
Anansi tricks the boa to hang from a stick
Anansi tricks the tiger into following him
Nyankupon, impressed, calls the old tales Anansi tales

References:
http://www.loyalbooks.com/book/west-african-folk-tales-by-william-h-barker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anansi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Artist and Aspiring Writer: An Introduction

Image
The artist herself Hello and welcome! My name is Natalie, and I’m a senior majoring in art at the University of Oklahoma. If you read my previous post, then you’ll know that I was born and raised in Texas, hailing from the great city of Dallas. I like good art, good food, and good people. My goals include becoming a professional illustrator, a comic artist (the kind that draws, not the kind that does standup), and maintaining a stable income to support my current/future dogs and cats. A crane spotted at the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden You’re probably wondering why I’m taking this class. In short, I’m a nerd. Outside of art, I like reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and good-humored romance. I also like reading up on things, including non-fiction books, biographies, autobiographies, and endless Wikipedia articles. And when I’m not reading, I’m usually playing video games. Airplane view while heading back to the U.S. from Japan But I am an artist. I like to try...
Read more

Week 7 Story: The Legend of Princess Tamatori

Image
"The Legend of Princess Tamatori," illustrated by Natalie Homsher “You lost the jewel?” The Empress spoke, dangerously low. The head council did his best not to flinch, but failed. His skin crawled in fear. He began to speak. “Your majesty, I-“ “Go.” She didn’t have time for his apologies. They were in the middle of a war, and without the power of the jewel to destroy their enemy, their chances of winning would be slim to none. “And don’t come back without the jewel.” She turned her back on him, and the councilman knew that he was dismissed indefinitely. — Takeuchi looked over the steep cliff side and into the ocean, staring into the emerald depths below. He peered through the waters in search in the gem, to no avail. The Jewel of Heart’s Desire, the one thing that could save the country of turmoil, was lost. Worse, he had disappointed his love, Empress Jingū. He stared at the jagged rocks below in despair. Nearby, the pearl divers had returned from work and swum up to sh...
Read more