Mythological Creature; the Anansi SPIDER of West Africa and the African Diaspora
The Ghanaian Anansi spider is believed to be a god, responsible for creating the sun, the stars and the moon, as well as teaching mankind the techniques of agriculture and were passed down in the oral tradition over the span of hundreds of years. The stories have survived a lot.
According to wilderutopia.com the Anansi stories are popular in the US because they came here during the African Diaspora.
The African Diaspora is the term commonly used to describe the mass dispersion of people from Africa during the Transatlantic Slave Trades, from the 1500s to the 1800s. As we know, this Diaspora took millions of people from Western and Central Africa to many different regions throughout the Americas and the Caribbean.
African food, culture and stories
[image error]Photo Credit: https://tinyurl.com/yxzsqrzg
These African ancestors landed in regions that featured local foods and cuisines, as well as other cultural influences, that shaped their unique cooking styles.
The overall pattern of a plant-based, colorful diet based on vegetables, fruits, tubers and grains, nuts, healthy oils and seafood (where available) was shared throughout these regions. Their tastes can be shared and tried by people everywhere. Here are the top ten Ghanaian specific dishes according to theculturetrip.com.
The stories came and then spread during the Diaspora too. The Anansi stories come from Ghana and are credited as being passed down from the Ashanti people (Twi). The tales spread to other Akan people too and then to the West Indies, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles.
Aunt Nancy
Anansi means spider in Akan and the creature is usually depicted of course, as a spider. On Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire he is known as Nanzi, and his wife as Shi Maria. He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, Anancy, and in the southern US, Aunt Nancy.
Anansi is also thought to be a trickster and the West African spirit of all ‘knowledge of stories.’ He is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. For the story of how he gained the ‘knowledge of stories,” click here– because once…there were no stories in the world. 
