All Stories Are Anansis free essay sample

With the prize money from the Hopwood Awards, Courlander took his first field trip to  Haiti, inspired by the writings of  William Buehler Seabrook. In 1939, he published his first book about Haitian life entitled  Haiti Singing. Over the next 30 years, he traveled to Haiti more than 20 times. His research focused on religious practices, African retentions, oral traditions,  folklore,  music, and dance. His book,  The Drum and the Hoe: Life and Lore of the Haitian People, published in 1960, became a classic text for the study of Haitian culture. Courlander also took numerous field trips to the  southern United States, recording  folk music  in the 1940s and 1950s. From 1947–1960, he served as a general editor of  Ethnic Folkways Library(he actually devised the label name) and recorded more than 30 albums of music from different cultures (e. g. , the cultures of  Indonesia,  Ethiopia,  West Africa, Haiti, and  Cuba). In 1950, he also did field recordings in  Alabama  later transcribed by  John Benson Brooks. In the 1960s, Courlander began a series of field trips to the  American Southwest  to study the oral literature and culture of the  Hopi Indians. His collection of folk tales,  People of the Short Blue Corn: Tales and Legends of the Hopi Indians, was issued in 1970 and was quickly recognized as an indispensable work in the study of oral literature. From 1942-43, during  World War II, Harold Courlander served as a historian for the  Air Transport Command  for the  Douglas Aircraft  Project 19 in Gura,  Eritrea. Courlander then worked as a writer and editor for the  Office of War Information  in  New York  and  Bombay,  India, from 1943-46. From 1946 until 1956, he worked as a news writer and news analyst for the  Voice of America  in New York City. He was an information specialist and speech writer for the  U. S. Mission to the United Nations  from 1956–1957. He was a writer and editor for  The United Nations Review  from 1957–1960. From 1960 until 1974, Courlander was African specialist, Caribbean specialist, feature writer, and senior news analyst for the Voice of America in  Washington, D. C.. Always sympathetic to the plight of animals, Courlander, in his later years would write with his rescued, mixed  German Shepherd  dog, Sandy, at his side. Even in the 1990s, Courlander still used the same  Royal typewriter  he had purchased in the 1940s. Courlander never learned  typing  as they teach it in school and always typed his manuscripts using two fingers. Summary: Once there were no stories in the world. The Sky-God, Nyame,  had them  all. Anansi  went  to  Nyame and  asked  how much they would cost to buy. Nyame set a high price: Anansi must bring back Onini the Python, Osebo the Leopard, the Mmoboro Hornets. Anansi  set  about  capturing  these. First  he  went  to catch the hornets, Anansi filled a calabash with water and poured some over him and some over the nest, calling out that it was raining. He suggested the hornets get into the empty calabash and, when they obliged, quickly sealed the opening. Then, he went to where Python lived and debated out loud whether  Python  was really longer than the  bamboo  poleor  not  as  his  wife  also  says. Python  overheard  and,  when Anansi explained the  debate, agreed to lie  along the bamboopole. Because  he  cannot  easily  make  himself  completelystraight  a  true  impression  of  his  actual  length  isdifficult  to  obtain,  so  Python  agreed  to  be  tied  to  thepole. When he was completely tied, Anansi took him to Nyame. To catch the leopard, Anansi dug a deep hole in the ground. When the leopard fell in  the hole Anansi offered to help him out with a strong rope. He made the leopard dizzy and once the leopard was out of the hole, Anansi tied him up and was carried away. To catch the fairy he made a doll and covered it with sticky gum. He placed the doll under the odum tree where the fairies play and put some yam in a bowl in front of it. When the fairy came and ate the yam she thanked the doll which of course did not reply. Annoyed at its bad manners she struck it, first with one hand then the other. Anansi captured her. Anansi handed his captives over to Nyame who rewards him with the stories, which now become known as Anansi stories or Anansesem. And that is why, in parts of Africa, the people love to tell, and love to hear, the stories they call spider stories. And now, you have heard one too. Insights When one is very determined, nothing is impossible. -since Anansi really wanted the own the all the stories in the world, he did everything he must to acquire his wish. Strength is not measured by size. -Anansi was just a small spider but he have conquered animals bigger than he. There are two kinds of people on earth: The tricksters and  the ones who are tricked. Relation to Life In  life,  when  we  really  wanted  something  else,  we  do everything we could to acquire what we longed for. We got to focus ourselves to the bright side. Like Anansi, we try to conquer every obstacle we face and in the end, achieve what we really wished for. Comprehension: C1. Answer the following questions: 1. Who owned the stories in the beginning? Ans. In the beginning, all tales and stories belonged to Nyame, the sky god. 2. Who wanted to own them later? Ans. Kwaku Anansi, the spider wanted to own the stories later. 3. What was the price to be paid to own all the stories in the world? Ans. Nyame set a high price: Anansi must bring back Onini the Python, Osebo the Leopard, the Mmoboro Hornets. 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. To catch the hornets, Anansi filled a calabash with water and poured some over a banana leaf he held over his head and some over the nest, calling out that it was raining. 6. What did Anansi capture in the Hornets? Ans. Anansi captured a group of large wasp. 7. What dispute did the spider have with his wife? Ans. The Spider went near the python and talked to himself that his wife was stupid and said that he was longer and stronger, shorter and weaker. This seemed strange to the python. At last the Spider told that he had a dispute with his wife who said that python was shorter and weaker than the bamboo pole. 8. What suggestion did Onini give to find out the truth about his length? Ans. Onini told that it was useless and silly to argue and Spider could find out the truth by bringing the pole and measuring it. . Why did Anansi tie Onini at the one end of the pole? Ans. The Spider tied Onini so that he shouldn’t slip. So he tied the head to the pole. He tied the tail to the pole. He made it not to move. 10. Where and why did Anansi dig a pit? Ans. He went to the forest and dug a deep pit where the leopard was accustomed to walk. He wanted to catch leopard. 11. Why did Anansi bend a tall green t ree over a pit? Ans. He bent a tall tree toward the ground so that its top was over the pit and he tied it that way. 12. Why did the sky god offer Anansi all the stories? Ans. The Sky god told Anansi that great warriors and the chiefs had tried but they had been unable to do it. They did not get hornets, python and the leopard but the spider brought all these three so the Sky God offered Anansi all the stories. 13. Why should anyone acknowledge before telling a story? Ans. Because that story is certainly Anansi’s tail. C2 – Answer the following Questions: 1. Describe how Anansi captured the Hornets for the Sky God? Ans. Once there were no stories in the world. The Sky-God, Nyame,  had them  all. Anansi  went  to  Nyame and  asked  how much they would cost to buy. Nyame set a high price: Anansi must bring back Onini the Python, Osebo the Leopard, the Mmoboro Hornets. Anansi  set  about  capturing  these. First  he  went  to catch the hornets, Anansi filled a calabash with water and poured some over him and some over the nest, calling out that it was raining. He suggested the hornets get into the empty calabash and, when they obliged, quickly sealed the opening. 2. Explain how the python got trapped? Ans. Once there were no stories in the world. The Sky-God, Nyame, had them all. Anansi went to Nyame and asked how much they would cost to buy. Nyame set a high price: Anansi must bring back Onini the Python, Osebo the Leopard, the Mmoboro Hornets, and Mmoatia, the invisible Fairy. He went to where Python lived and debated out loud whether Python was really longer than the palm branch or not as his wife says. Python overheard and, when Anansi explained the debate, agreed to lie along the palm branch. Because he cannot easily make himself completely straight a true impression of his actual length is difficult to obtain, so Python agreed to be tied to the branch. When he was completely tied, Anansi took him to Nyame. 3. What method did the Spider Kwaku Anansi adopt to get the leopard as a price demanded for the ownership of all tales and stories of the world? Ans. To catch the leopard, Anansi dug a deep hole in the ground. When the leopard fell in the hole, Anansi offered to help him out with his webs. Once the leopard was out of the hole, though he was bound in Anansis webs and was carried away. C3 –Discuss the points and justify your answer. Ans. The spider achieved the impossible by using wisdom and knowledge. He used various methods to capture the Hornets, the Python and the Leopard because it was not possible for great Warriors and Chiefs. Anansi was successful in his attempt because of using skill and intelligence and became the owner of all stories that are told. To Anansi all these tales belong. Let us see what he did: First  he  went  to catch the hornets, Anansi filled a calabash with water and poured some over him and some over the nest, calling out that it was raining. He suggested the hornets get into the empty calabash and, when they obliged, quickly sealed the opening. He went to where Python lived and debated out loud whether Python was really longer than the palm branch or not as his wife says. Python overheard and, when Anansi explained the debate, agreed to lie along the palm branch. Because he cannot easily make himself completely straight a true impression of his actual length is difficult to obtain, so Python agreed to be tied to the branch. When he was completely tied, Anansi took him to Nyame. To catch the leopard, Anansi dug a deep hole in the ground. When the leopard fell in the hole, Anansi offered to help him out with his webs. Once the leopard was out of the hole, though he was bound in Anansis webs and was carried away. Language Activity – See Page No 115 – 119. Writing Activity Ans. Around the 17th or 18th century, a stout rigid stick took over from the  sword  as an essential part of the European gentlemans  wardrobe, used primarily as a walking stick. In addition to its value as a decorative accessory, it also continued to fulfill some of the function of the sword as a weapon. The standard cane was  rattan  with a rounded metal grip. A  walking stick  is a device used by many people to facilitate  balancing  while  walking. Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes, and can be sought by collectors. Some kinds of walking stick may be used by people with disabilities as a  crutch. The walking stick has also historically been known to be used as a  defensive  or  offensive  weapon, and may conceal a  knife  or  sword  as in a  swordstick. Walking sticks, also known as  trekking poles,  pilgrims staffs, hiking poles or hiking sticks, are used by  hikers  for a wide variety of purposes: to clear spider, or part thick  bushes  or  grass  obscuring the trail; as a support when going uphill or a brake when going downhill; as a balance point when crossing streams, swamps or other rough terrain; to feel for obstacles in the path; to test  mud  and  puddles  for depth; and as a defense against wild animals. A walking stick can be improvised from nearby felled wood. More ornate sticks are made for avid hikers, and are often adorned with small trinkets or  medallions  depicting conquered territory. Wood walking sticks are used for outdoor sports, healthy upper body exercise and even club, department and family memorials. They can be individually handcrafted from a