Anansi is one of the most important and famous 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 performing other duties for him. Eventually, Anansi was replaced by a chameleon.
In some beliefs, Anansi created the sun, stars and the moon. He created the first man, but Nyame actually made him come to life. He taught mankind agriculture.
Ananse tales from books and pamphlets published in Ghana portray the spider as a culture hero or one who is responsible for the way certain things are, a cunning trickster; and a greedy person who must pay for his actions with shame and punishment.
Ananse was furious that his son knew something he didn't, because it showed that he did not know everything.
Ananse decided to use the party as an occasion to show off his wealth to his in-laws, so he and his wife dressed in the finest church clothes and Ananse put on his nice-looking hat and put a pipe in his mouth.
According to Yankah, the people of the West Indies refer to Ananse as Miss Nancy or Aunt Nancy, "which constitutes a direct derivation from Akan and are apparently a carry over from West Africa during the transatlantic slave trade".
Yankah also states that Ananse is "the trickster among the Azande where he is known as Ture, the same vocabulary for the animal spider; he is the trickster among the Ngbandi of the Congo, and exists in Hausa tales as the hero (gisso)."
Ananse has always been associated with trickery and mischief, traits which are sometimes glorified and/or punished at the end of every Anansesem.
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