In the Spider's Footsteps

A Journey Round West Africa with Folk Tales

Non-fiction plus Mythology

As a rural development officer my work was in the bush and I lived most of the time in isolated villages where there was no electricity, television or even radio to provide entertainment. Evenings were spent eating together, talking round a fire, singing songs and telling stories and listening to the tribal tales of myth and legend. There were musicians and drummers in almost every community and the slightest excuse would provoke a dance or some sort of party among many of the tribes.

During these evenings I heard many of the folk tales that have been passed down through the generations with almost no change despite the passage of time. One tale I heard in a village in Ghana and recorded on tape. Sometime later I discovered the same story in the journal of an obscure missionary, printed in 1865. He had recounted it in English and in the vernacular and the words were absolutely the same over 100 years later. This sparked my interest and I started collecting.

Many of West Africa's tales involve anthropomorphism and characters switch between human and animal form as easily as breathing in and out. The animals can also talk and display degrees of deviousness that astonish the audience. The most prominent of Africa's cheats and tricksters even migrated across the ocean during the years of the slave trade and he has assumed new characteristics among Caribbean communities. He is, of course, the Spider. Among the different tribes the Spider goes by many other names, the most common of which is Kwaku Ananse, as he treats with men and gods, animals, magicians and birds, always trying to gain the advantage in any situation and often succeeding.

Sometimes he gets what we in western society would call his 'just deserts' but in African society the moral of the tale is equally as powerful even if the culprit gets away with his crimes.

This collection will offer you some enjoyable and entertaining tales whilst telling you a little about the people who told them and the work that took me to their villages.

This book has been written and will be available as soon as a publisher can be found. Any publisher interested in discussing this title is cordially invited to contact me by phone on 01295 770982 or by email via ian@mud-hut.co.uk

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