West African Culture & Drama “Anansi’s Rescue from the River”

Location

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

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  Louisville, KY native  Graduated from University of Louisville  Received many awards & achievements  Traveled west African countries to study oral traditions & culture Programs?do=topic&topicid=LOUL010045&id=LOUL Gloria Bivens

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 –  Why Anansi has Eight Thin Legs –  Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott (Caldecott Winner) –