Week 7 Reading B: More Anansi

So, I just realized that I could do the "Story Lab: story revision" option for my old Anansi story, which worked out great; I was able to add all kinds of African material to the bibliography that I did not have before. So, I won't be writing an actual new story until Week 9, which is good; that gives me time to ponder. Here are notes from the B part of the Anansi stories, which has some fabulous stuff... I am so tempted to do the Old Woman and Her Pig story. I still can't believe someone in Jamaica made up an Anansi version of that story! So... maybe I could make up a Brer Rabbit version.

Goat on the Hill-Side / The Duckano Tree. I like the weird aetiology of Anansi squeezing the dog's sides in the duckano story; I wish we had a word for those hollows in the dog's side ot make it easier to tell.

Anansi and the Tar-Baby / The Yam-Hills. The counting story with the yams is hilarious. Ridiculous, but hilarious. A Brer Rabbit story using that motif would be really funny!

Guinea-Chick / Horse and Anansi. These are such great stories, and I can totally imagine Brer Rabbit versions of these tales. Now I am even thinking would a weird but fun project that would be: taking the Anansi stories that don't have Brer Rabbit versions already and doing a whole book of them, as a kind of storytelling/folktale-type experiment. And maybe even vice-versa.

Anansi in Monkey Country / The Fishes. You've got to love a story which has a line about "the fish ran after him"... and I really like this story, with Anansi being so boastful and cruel, but not invincible, since he has to run away and hide in the end.

Anansi, White-Belly and Fish. Since this is an aetiology story, I'll be able to make it a story of the day... I'm thinking I might need to add "dove" to where it says "white-belly" to make it clear just what animal it is.

The Rain / Fire and Anansi. I love both of these stories! I wish the story about dog and goat included the part about goat's tail being broken off, because then I could use it as a story of the day aetiology. (That version is in Brer Rabbit!)

Spider Marries Monkey's Daughter. This is another good story with the "name" motif (it would be fun to go through Beckwith's whole book looking for the stories with a naming motif).

The Chain of Victims. This is the one I reworked as a Story Lab assignment.

Tumble-Bug Rolls and John-Crow. These are both aetiologies! I did the tumble-bug (dung-beetle) already, and I still need to do John-Crow as a story of the day.

Anansi and the Pig Coming from Market. And this is the famous pig. I love the way it is about Anansi being cheap and lazy, ha ha. That is a big difference from the old woman, where it's just about her and the pig arguing. Turning that into a Brer Rabbit story could be so fun! I have a ton of bibliography here already. Here's a musical version; maybe I could even try to write mine as a song!