Editing Anansi (section)

==Origin==

Spider tales are found extensively throughout West Africa,<ref name=":0">Lee, F H. ''Folk Tales of All Nations''. New York: Tudor publ. Co, 1930. Print, p. 15</ref> but the Anansi tales from [[Ghana]] are seen to be the  origin of these stories and are among the best-known, as Anansi's name comes from the word in the [[Akan language]] for "spider".<ref name=":2">{{cite book
  | last = Haase
  | first = Donald
  | title = The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales
  | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group
  | pages = 31
  | year = 2008
  | isbn = 978-0-313-33441-2
  | url = https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_w7y9/page/31
  }}</ref> They later spread to the [[Caribbean|West Indies]], [[Suriname]], [[Sierra Leone]] (where they were introduced by [[Jamaican Maroons in Sierra Leone|Jamaican Maroons]]) and the [[Netherlands Antilles]]; also [[Curaçao]], [[Aruba]], and [[Bonaire]].

Anansi is depicted in many different ways and with different names, from "Ananse", "Kwaku Ananse", and "Anancy", to his [[New World]] iterations, such as "Ba Anansi",<ref name="Herskovits 1934">{{cite book|last1=Herskovits|first1=Melville J|author-link=Melville J. Herskovits|last2=Herskovits|first2=Frances|title=Rebel Destiny Among the Bush Negroes of Dutch Guiana|location=New York, London|publisher=Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill Book Company|year=1934}}</ref>{{rp|102–123}} "Kompa Nanzi" and/or "Nanzi",<ref>[[Rose Mary Allen|Allen, Rose Mary]]. "The Anancy plot in the search for the Curaçaoan identity.  or the Yu di Kòrsou". Legon, Ghana: ''Presented at "Migration, Citizenship and Belonging: African, Caribbean and European Perspectives" on 11–12 September 2012 at Kwabena Nketia Conference Hall'', Institute of African Studies.</ref> "Nancy", "Aunt Nancy", and "Sis' Nancy", even though he is always depicted as a male in his stories.<ref>{{cite book |last=Courlander |first=Harold|author-link=Harold Courlander|date=1996 |title=A Treasury of African Folklore |url=https://archive.org/details/treasuryofafrica0000cour/page/136 |location=New York |publisher=Marlowe & Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/treasuryofafrica0000cour/page/136 136] |isbn=1-56924-816-8 }}</ref> While often depicted as an animal, Anansi has many representations,  which include an anthropomorphic spider with a human face, or conversely, a human with spider-like features, such as eight legs. Anansi also has a family in several folktales involving him, consisting of his long-suffering wife Okonore Yaa – known in other regions as Aso, Crooky, or Shi Maria; Ntikuma, his firstborn son; Tikelenkelen, his big-headed son; Nankonhwea, his son with a spindly neck and spindly legs; finally, Afudohwedohwe, his pot-bellied son.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ananse – Ghana's Amazing Spider-Man |url=https://yen.com.gh/34207-feature-ananse-ghanas-amazing-spider-man.html#34207 |website=Yen Ghana|date=13 January 2016 }}</ref> Anansi also has a beautiful daughter named Anansewa in other tales, like those introduced in the work of [[Efua Sutherland]]: in Efua's tale, he embarks on a mission to ensure that Anansewa can have an appropriate suitor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sutherland |first1=Efua |title=The Marriage of Anansewa; Edufa: Two Plays |date=1990 |publisher=Longman Publishing}}</ref>

It is said that Odomankoma (¿) is also known as Ananse Kokuroko (meaning Great Spider), who might be Ananse. But this could actually be chalked up to the two being relatives.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vecsey |first=Christopher |date=1981 |title=The Exception Who Proves the Rules: Ananse the Akan Trickster |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1581431 |journal=Journal of Religion in Africa |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=161–177 |doi=10.2307/1581431 |jstor=1581431 |issn=0022-4200}}</ref> It is said in some Akan myths that Ananse becomes the creator, so it could be either roles changing similar to Bobowissi becoming the God of Lightning after [[Tano (Tano Akora)|Tano Akora]]'s role is changed from the God of Lightning to the God of War after fighting with [[Owuo]], or Odomankoma's [[sunsum]] being reincarnated inside of Ananse after Owuo kills him, supported by how sunsum works (via the father).