West African Folk-TalesAfrican Traditional ReligionsLegend / Oral TraditionEnglishShareWest African Folk-Tales 2Project Gutenberg #66923 - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableProject Gutenberg #66923LanguageEnglishEspañol‹West African Folk-Tales 0West African Folk-Tales 1West African Folk-Tales 2West African Folk-Tales 3West African Folk-Tales 4West African Folk-Tales 5West African Folk-Tales 6West African Folk-Tales 7West African Folk-Tales 8West African Folk-Tales 9West African Folk-Tales 10West African Folk-Tales 11West African Folk-Tales 12West African Folk-Tales 13West African Folk-Tales 14West African Folk-Tales 15West African Folk-Tales 16West African Folk-Tales 17West African Folk-Tales 18West African Folk-Tales 19West African Folk-Tales 20West African Folk-Tales 21West African Folk-Tales 22West African Folk-Tales 23West African Folk-Tales 24West African Folk-Tales 25West African Folk-Tales 26West African Folk-Tales 27West African Folk-Tales 28West African Folk-Tales 29West African Folk-Tales 30West African Folk-Tales 31West African Folk-Tales 32West African Folk-Tales 33West African Folk-Tales 34West African Folk-Tales 35West African Folk-Tales 36›How Wisdom Became The Property Of The Human RaceWest African Folk-Tales 2ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1There once lived, in Fanti-land, a man named Father Anansi. He possessed all the wisdom in the world. People came to him daily for advice and help. One day the men of the country were unfortunate enough to offend Father Anansi, who immediately resolved to punish them. After much thought he decided that the severest penalty he could inflict would be to hide all his wisdom from them. He set to work at once to gather again all that he had already given. When he had succeeded, as he thought, in collecting it, he placed all in one great pot. This he carefully sealed, and determined to put it in a spot where no human being could reach it. 2Now, Father Anansi had a son, whose name was Kweku Tsin. This boy began to suspect his father of some secret design, so he made up his mind to watch carefully. Next day he saw his father quietly slip out of the house, with his precious pot hung round his neck. Kweku Tsin followed. Father Anansi went through the forest till he had left the village far behind. Then, selecting the highest and most inaccessible-looking tree, he began to climb. The heavy pot, hanging in front of him, made his ascent almost impossible. Again and again he tried to reach the top of the tree, where he intended to hang the pot. There, he thought, Wisdom would indeed be beyond the reach of every one but himself. He was unable, however, to carry out his desire. At each trial the pot swung in his way. For some time Kweku Tsin watched his father’s vain attempts. At last, unable to contain himself any longer, he cried out: “Father, why do you not hang the pot on your back? Then you could easily climb the tree.” 3Father Anansi turned and said: “I thought I had all the world’s wisdom in this pot. But I find you possess more than I do. All my wisdom was insufficient to show me what to do, yet you have been able to tell me.” In his anger he threw the pot down. It struck on a great rock and broke. The wisdom contained in it escaped and spread throughout the world. ‹Previous chapterWest African Folk-Tales 1Next chapterWest African Folk-Tales 3›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg