Anansí and Turtle Go to Dinner

A timeless trickster tale from Africa about silly spider, Anansì.

This story provides another classic African folktale about the trickster spider Anansí. First off, it is a custom that whenever a guest arrives at mealtime that the host share his or her food with the guest, whether the visitor is invited or shows up uninvited. In this folktale, Anansí learns that Turtle is coming over and that he must share his dinner with Turtle. Being the trickster that he is, Anansí figures out a way to trick Turtle so that he can keep all of the food for himself. Of course, when Turtle realizes what Anansí has done, he is determined to teach Anansí a lesson.

While author, Bobby Norfolk was visiting the town of Kumasi in Ghana in the summer of 1993, a woman told him, "At four-thirty every afternoon, we try to gather together and have Anansi time." Norfolk attended the afternoon break and heard elders tell stories of Anansi, the tireless trickster of Ghanian tradition. Anansi appears in these stories in his most playful and creative guises. The Norfolks' adaptations brim with action, energy, and humor.