Don't Know Much About Mythology - Kenneth C. Davis [202]
While the trickster’s mischief can sometimes benefit humans—Prometheus in Greek mythology, for instance, tricks Zeus and brings fire to mankind—more typically, his amusing diversions bring discord and disorder to the world, making him an unwelcome member of the community. In African myths and legends—as well as in the mythology of the Native Americans—the trickster is an especially vivid character, most often appearing as an animal and always a male. Perhaps the trickster began simply as a way to explain the sudden, unexplained little mysteries of life—the food missing from the table, the muddied well-water, the vegetables filched from the garden—as well as the bigger anxieties, like the hint of a stranger in the marital bed, or the unexplained disappearance of a child.
Animals such as the chameleon, praying mantis, hare, tortoise, and spider take part in every area of African legend, from the Creation to the coming of death to humans. But probably the most common role of animals in African myth is that of the trickster. This list includes some of the most significant of them.
Anansi Perhaps the most famous character in African myth is “Mr. Spider,” who is called Anansi in West Africa (and Turé in the Congo). Known for his cleverness, Anansi is a Creator god in some traditions, including the Ashanti, while in others, he is a man who gets kicked into a thousand pieces and becomes a spider because of his cunning tricks. A scoundrel and shape-shifter known for assuming disguises, Anansi is able to dupe other animals and even humans.
In one popular tale, Anansi makes a rather curious request—he says he wants to own all tribal myths that belong to the Ashanti’s Creator sky god, Nyame.
The sky god tells Anansi that to get the stories, he must capture three things: hornets, the great python, and the leopard. Setting about his challenges, Anansi cuts a small hole in a gourd, throws some water on himself, sits inside the gourd, escapes, and tells the hornets to get in so they will not get wet. Once the hornets are inside the gourd, Anansi plugs up the hole with some grass, and takes the hornet-filled gourd to Nyame.
Next, Anansi cuts down a long bamboo pole and some strong vines. When he comes upon the python, he tells the snake that he has been arguing with his wife about what is longer—the python or the pole. The vain python allows himself to be measured by the clever spider, who then ties the serpent to the pole with the vines. Now caught, the python is delivered to Nyame.
Only the leopard is left. Digging a pit and covering it with brush, Anansi next traps the leopard, who is eventually strung up in the air by rope and killed. When Nyame sees the leopard’s body, he is so impressed that he gives all his stories to Anansi, and they became known as the “spider’s stories.”
When anyone wants to tell one of the sky god’s stories, he must pay homage to Anansi, who owns them all. Today, we would call this “copyright protection.”
Eshu (Yoruba of Nigeria) Unlike many other African tricksters, Eshu is a god, not an animal. Capable of shape-shifting, and being both large and small at the same time, Eshu confuses men and drives them to madness, but also acts as a go-between for the mortals and the gods. The bringer of chaos and cause of all arguments, Eshu once persuaded the sun and moon to trade places, causing universal disorder. He also got the high god of humans to leave earth for heaven. For his tricks, Eshu is ordered to become the messenger who links heaven and earth and reports every day on what is happening on earth.
In a tale with several variations, Eshu walks between two neighbors, wearing a hat with different colors on each side. The neighbors eventually argue over what color the hat is, and come to blows. When their dispute lands in court, Eshu resolves the argument and teaches people