West African
Culture & Drama
“Anansi’s Rescue from the River”
Location
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana
Climate & Geography
 Africa
has vast climates
 Undergoing climate changes
 West Africa
– Part Rainforest, part Sahel
 Extremely
wet and humid
 Mostly brown except during Rainy season
– High temperatures
– Mainly flat land
http://bptravel.tripod.com/yafrica.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/explore/rainforest/rainforest_overview_lo.html
Storytelling Characteristics
 For
entertainment and education
 Passes on cultural stories
 Emphasizes and supports the values
of a people
 Says who you are and what is special
about you
 Cultivates an attitude of thinking
 Expresses humanity
Arts Toolkit - Drama
West African Storytelling Forms
Oral tradition prevalent in African
communities
 Storyteller invites the audience to gather
around and hear the story

– Set beginning and ending
– Audience is stationary (stays)

Informal gatherings of friends and family
– “Big ol’ lie” and tells to entertain
– People come and go
West African Storytelling
 “Trickster”
tales
– One character outsmarts another
– Most Anansi the Spider tales are this type
 “Why”
stories or Myths
– Set in nature
– Supernatural beings and heroes
– How something came to be
 “Why
do mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears?”
 “The Buzzard and the Monkey”
African American Storytelling Forms
 Stylized
verbal art
– Found on street corners
– Rap poems
– Contemporary slang
West African Storytelling

Jali or Griots (Storyteller -Musicians)
– Still tell stories today because they are
responsible for teaching the stories to their
people and making sure that they understand
them
– Tales about relationships within family, doing
good without being told, getting along,
responsibility
– “Life of service” – helping others

Kwaku means Uncle (Village Elder)
– Name of male child born on Wednesday
– Important in Ashanti culture as the Uncle is
responsible for nieces & nephews
Nana Yaa Asantewaa


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
Gloria Bivens
Louisville, KY native
Graduated from
University of Louisville
Received many
awards &
achievements
Traveled west African
countries to study oral
traditions & culture
http://www.ket.org/cgi-bin/fw_louisvillelife.exe/db/ket/dmps/
Programs?do=topic&topicid=LOUL010045&id=LOUL
Mama Yaa’s Performance
 Carries
cow tail switch (African
tradition for storytellers)
 Headress and clothing
 Importance of singing, drumming,
and dancing to communicate
messages and retell stories
 Plays balaphone
– Ashanti people today are great artisans
Anansi the Spider Folktales
 Father
was the sky god
– Ashanti, Nyames
 Most
Anansi tales are trickster tales
 Our tale is a traditional West African
Folktale/Myth
– Myths explain how something came to
be
– Shows Anansi’s wisdom in “Anansi’s
Rescue from the River”
Post Viewing Activities
 List
and describe how these elements
of drama were used in the
performance
– Literary
– Technical
– Performance
Post Viewing Activities
 What
purpose(s) of drama did this
performance meet?
– Sharing the human experience
– Passing on tradition and culture
– Recreational
– Artistic expression
Prose vs. Drama
 Compare
and contrast this
performance, storyline and format to
these books
– “Anansi” by Gerald McDermott
– “A Story, A Story” by Gail E. Haley
More Info

Explore Africa with Anansi
– http://www.pbs.org/wonders/Kids/kids.htm

Why Anansi has Eight Thin Legs
– http://www.africa.mrdonn.org/anansi.html

Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott
(Caldecott Winner)
– http://www.geraldmcdermott.com/index.htm