Ananse the spider: African folktales.
Grouping children and telling them stories is
one of the African traditions. This is a story about the spider known by the
Akans, Fantis, or Twi in Ghana as "Anansi."
According to the story, Anansi visited his mother-in-law on an empty stomach.
He was really starving to death.
On arrival, he was welcomed by his in-law, and
since her delicious meal of beans was ready, his mother-in-law served him.
Even though Anansi
was on the edge of collapsing with hunger, he refused to eat the food with the
excuse that he had eaten a couple of minutes ago.
According to the narrator of the story, Anansi was just
playing gently. He was actually feeling shy about eating at his mother-in-law's
house.
This is actually a stupid thing to do by Anansi; after all, what is the
shamefulness in this when someone eats at the wife's mother's house?
Just then, someone knocked on the door. As soon as the
mother-in-law went to answer the call, Anansi sneaked into the kitchen to fill
his hat full of the hot bean stew and quickly put it on his head.
The extremely hot cooked bean stew was peeling off his hair from his skull. He told his mother-in-law that he wants to leave. Then, both went out talking.
He told his mother-in-law, "Please go back to the house;
I can go on my own." His mother-in-law, not suspecting anything, decided to
escort him further.
When Anansi couldn't persuade his wife's mother to return home, and also couldn't stand the pain any longer, he lifted his hat, and the hot beans spilled all over his body.
The shocked mother-in-law stood motionless, watching as her
son-in-law fled in agony. The shame Anansi cast on himself was too much to
bear; from that period, he went into hiding.
This is the reason Anansi the Spider is always seen at the corners of buildings or places. Actually hiding from his disgrace.