Question

Why were the Anansi stories popular among slaves in Jamaica?

Answer 1

The Anansi stories originated in Africa. The Ashanti slaves from West Africa brought the stories to America, and specifically to Jamaica.

Anansi was kind of a diety, a combination of a man, a spider. A tricky and cunning diety that use his genious to impress people.

The Jamaican tribe really loved Anansi because they were considered weak. But with the help of Anansi, the people learned to use wit and cunning to overcome difficult situations and even out-smart intelligent individuals.

Answer 2

The Anansi stories were important to the enslaved people in Jamaica for primarily three reasons:

1. These stories originated from West Africa and were brought over to the Americas with the captured slaves and was a means for them to have some level of connection to their homeland.

2. Also, as more and more slaves were born in Jamaica, the stories were passed down from mother/father to child. In many instances, families were broken up and slaves were separated from their relatives for the monetary gain of the planters/owners. These stories then became a way to remain close to the family that the slaves had been separated from.

3. The Anansi stories are always comical and as such it was a great way for the slaves to come together and enjoy themselves away from the very hard hard life that they led.