Celebrating a story that has moved the world for centuries...

Ananse and the Wisdom Pot (A Story from Ghana)

Ananse the spider was far and wide considered to be the wisest of all animals, and many animals came to him with their problems and questions.

After a while, Ananse grew tired of answering so many questions and decided he would have to do something to regain his peace and quiet. So he put all of his wisdom into a giant pot. He strapped the pot to his belly. He planned to carry the pot to a branch of a tall tree where all the animals could go to get their own answers to their questions.

But as he was climbing the tree, the pot kept getting in the way of his legs and slowed him down. Ntikume, one of Ananse's many sons, saw this. He suggested that Ananse strap the pot to his back instead, where it wouldn't be in his way.

When Ananse heard this he was furious. He couldn't tolerate the thought that his son should have a better idea than his own. So Ananse grabbed the pot and flung it to the ground, where it shattered into a thousand pieces.

Ever since then, wisdom has been scattered all over the world for many people to find.