Unit-
6
ALL STORIES ARE ANANSI’S
Harold
Courlander
Comprehension:
C1. Read the
questions given below and discuss the answers for them with your friends.
1) Who owned the stories in the beginning?
Ans: Nyame (the Sky God) owned the stories in
the beginning.
2) Who wanted to own them later?
Ans: Anansi (the spider) wanted to own them
later.
3) What was the price to be paid to own all the stories in the world?
Ans: The price to be paid to own all the
stories in the world was: Mmoboro (the hornets), Onini (the python) and Osebo (the
leopard).
4) Did Anansi agree to pay the price?
Ans: Yes, Anansi agreed to pay the price.
5) Why did Anansi pour water on himself and over the hornets?
Ans: Anansi wanted to make the hornets to
believe that it was raining, so he poured water on himself and over the
hornets.
6) What did Anansi capture the hornets in?
Ans: Anansi captured the hornets in a dry gourd.
7) What dispute did the spider have with his wife?
Ans: Anansi said that his wife felt the
python was shorter and weaker than a bamboo pole. Anansi opposed this and it led
to a dispute.
8) What suggestion did Onini give to find out the truth about his length
and strength?
Ans: Onini recommended Anansi to measure him adjacent
to the length of the bamboo pole to find out the truth about his length.
9) Why did Anansi tie Onini at one end of the pole?
Ans: Anansi intension was to catch Onini, and
then he got an opportunity to tie him at one end of the pole because when Onini
stretched at one end he was getting shorter at the other. So, Anansi tied and
caught him.
10) Where and why did Anansi dig a pit?
Ans: Anansi dug a deep pit in the forest to
capture Osebo.
11) Why did Anansi bend a tall green tree over the pit?
Ans: Anansi bent a tall green tree over the pit
because to tie Osebo tail and pull him out (to captive him).
12) Why did the Sky God offer Anansi all the stories?
Ans: The Sky God offered Anansi all the
stories because he had paid the price for all the stories Mmoboro, Onini, and
Osebo.
13) What should anyone acknowledge before telling a story?
Ans: All should acknowledge that all the
stories belonged to Anansi.
C2. Answer the following questions. Work in pairs.
1) Describe how Anansi captured the hornets for the Sky
God.
Ans: Anansi went home and planned; he first
cut a gourd from a vine and made a small hole in it. He took a large calabash
and filled it with water. He went to the tree where the hornets lived. He
poured some of the water over himself, so that he was dripping. He threw some
water over the hornets, and then he put the calabash on his head, as to protect
himself from a storm, and called out to the hornets. He asked them didn’t be
foolish to stay in the rain and advised them to go into to a dry gourd. The
hornets thanked him and flew into the gourd through the small hole. Anansi
plugged the hole with a ball of grass and captured the hornets for the Sky God.
2) Explain how the python got trapped.
Ans: Anansi got success in capturing hornets,
the next was python. He returned to the forest and cut a long bamboo pole and
some strong vines. Then he walked toward the house of Onini, talking to
himself. Onini asked him about dispute between him and his wife. Anansi said
that his wife felt the python was shorter and weaker than a bamboo pole. Anansi
opposed this and it led to a dispute. Onini recommended Anansi to measure him adjacent
to the length of the bamboo pole to find out the truth about his length. Anansi
intension was to catch Onini, and then he got an opportunity to tie him at one
end of the pole because when Onini stretched at one end he was getting shorter
at the other. So, Anansi tied and caught him.
3) What method did the spider Kwaku Anansi adopt to get
the leopard demanded as a price for the ownership of all tales and stories of
the world?
Ans: Anansi final target was Osebo. Anansi went
into the forest and dug a deep pit where the leopard was accustomed to walk. He
covered it with small branches and leaves and put dust on it, so that it was
impossible to tell where the pit was. Anansi went away and hid. When Osebo came
prowling in the black night, he stepped into the trap Anansi had prepared and
fell to the bottom. Anansi heard the sound of the leopard falling, and Osebo
asked Anansi to help him to come out of the pit but Anansi was frightened to
help because Osebo might eat him. Osebo swore Anansi that he would not eat him
later Anansi bent a tree toward the ground and he tied a rope to drop into the
pit. Anansi asked him to tie his tail then Osebo tied the rope to his tail.
Anansi took knife and cut other end of rope, he hung in the air head downward,
twisting and turning. And while he hung that way, Anansi killed him with his
weapon and carried it to Nyame.
P.S. you might also want to check out:
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# MAURITIUS
# THE COLLECTORS
# THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY
# A QUESTION OF SPACE
# ON SAYING PLEASE
# THE STORY TELLER
# AN ASTROLOGER'S DAY
# A DREAM OF FLIGHT
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