How Widsom Came Into The World
Todays Lesson in Mythology and Folktales.
This West African story from Nigeria uses humor to pass values from generation to generation... Enjoy the lesson...
Long, Long ago, Nyame, the sky god, gave Anansi the spider all the wisdom in the world.
"Make sure you share it equally with everyone," Nyame said to Anansi.
Anansi meant to share the wisdom that Nyame had given him, but he kept putting it off. He put the wisdom in a huge pot and carried it around with him everywhere. Every day, Anansi peeked into the pot of wisdom and learned something new. He acquired all sorts of wonderful ideas and useful skills.
Soon, Anansi became greedy. I will not share the treasure with everyone, he thought to himself. I'm going to keep this knowledge all for myself. In fact, I think I'll hide this pot of wisdom where nobody else can find it.
Anansi decided to hide the pot at the top of a very tall tree. He made some rope out of vines and tied one end of the rope around the pot. He tied the other end of the rope around his waist.
With the pot hanging in front of him, Anansi began to climb the very tall tree. Climbing was hard because the pot kept banging against his belly. He climbed up a little way: Bump! Bump! Bump! He climbed a little farther: Bump! Bump! Bump!
Anansi's son watched the whole thing. He watched as his father inched up the tree with the huge pot thumping against his belly.
"Father," said Anansi's son, "tie the pot on your back. That way, it won't keep thumping against your belly."
Anansi realized that this was a good idea. He untied the giant pot of wisdom and tied it onto his back. Then he continued to make his way up the tree. The going was much easier.
By the time Anansi had reached the top of the tree, however, he was angry. "That young one, with only his common sense, knows more than I do," Anansi shouted, stomping his feet. "And I have a whole pot of wisdom!"
Anansi was so angry that he hurled the pot of wisdom from the top of the tree. It shattered as it hit the ground and wisdom flew in every direction.
After that, people kept finding little bits of wisdom scattered everywhere. Whenever they wanted to, they could take some home to share with their families and friends. And that is why, from that day to this, nobody has all the wisdom in the world. Instead, everybody has little bits of it. We share these little pieces of wisdom whenever we exchange ideas with one another.
This West African story from Nigeria uses humor to pass values from generation to generation... Enjoy the lesson...
Long, Long ago, Nyame, the sky god, gave Anansi the spider all the wisdom in the world.
"Make sure you share it equally with everyone," Nyame said to Anansi.
Anansi meant to share the wisdom that Nyame had given him, but he kept putting it off. He put the wisdom in a huge pot and carried it around with him everywhere. Every day, Anansi peeked into the pot of wisdom and learned something new. He acquired all sorts of wonderful ideas and useful skills.
Soon, Anansi became greedy. I will not share the treasure with everyone, he thought to himself. I'm going to keep this knowledge all for myself. In fact, I think I'll hide this pot of wisdom where nobody else can find it.
Anansi decided to hide the pot at the top of a very tall tree. He made some rope out of vines and tied one end of the rope around the pot. He tied the other end of the rope around his waist.
With the pot hanging in front of him, Anansi began to climb the very tall tree. Climbing was hard because the pot kept banging against his belly. He climbed up a little way: Bump! Bump! Bump! He climbed a little farther: Bump! Bump! Bump!
Anansi's son watched the whole thing. He watched as his father inched up the tree with the huge pot thumping against his belly.
"Father," said Anansi's son, "tie the pot on your back. That way, it won't keep thumping against your belly."
Anansi realized that this was a good idea. He untied the giant pot of wisdom and tied it onto his back. Then he continued to make his way up the tree. The going was much easier.
By the time Anansi had reached the top of the tree, however, he was angry. "That young one, with only his common sense, knows more than I do," Anansi shouted, stomping his feet. "And I have a whole pot of wisdom!"
Anansi was so angry that he hurled the pot of wisdom from the top of the tree. It shattered as it hit the ground and wisdom flew in every direction.
After that, people kept finding little bits of wisdom scattered everywhere. Whenever they wanted to, they could take some home to share with their families and friends. And that is why, from that day to this, nobody has all the wisdom in the world. Instead, everybody has little bits of it. We share these little pieces of wisdom whenever we exchange ideas with one another.
posted by a faith bigger than fear at Monday, June 26, 2006
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