The Wisdom That Would Not Stay in a Pot
In this dramatic retelling of an Akan folktale from Ghana, Anansi discovers that wisdom cannot belong to one person. Prose, stage directions, and verse help readers compare literary forms.
Play the quiz as a gameSTORYTELLER: (Holds up a program.) The heading Cast of Characters lists Storyteller, Anansi the spider, and Ntikuma, his son. A drawing's caption reads, “Anansi carries his wisdom pot.” Our play retells a folktale from the Akan people of Ghana.
STORYTELLER: Prose might begin, “Anansi walked toward a tall tree with a pot tied to his body.” A narrator tells events in sentences within paragraphs. In our drama, actors show events through speech and movement.
ANANSI: (Peers into a clay pot.) At last! I have gathered every bit of wisdom in the world. Now I can make every clever decision.
NTIKUMA: Father, how can you be sure? Perhaps someone in the village still knows something you don't.
ANANSI: (Hugs the pot.) I have searched everywhere! I shall hide this treasure high in that tree, beyond anyone's reach.
STORYTELLER: (Steps aside as Anansi approaches the tree.) Anansi wants the wisdom for himself. Ntikuma follows, wondering how his father will carry the pot.
ANANSI: (Ties the pot against his stomach with a cord. Reaches around the trunk.) My arms cannot meet! This round pot keeps bumping against the bark.
NTIKUMA: You could set it down while you think. A quiet moment sometimes helps me find a new idea.
ANANSI: No, no! Someone might take it. (Tries again.) This tree is stubborn. It will not let me climb.
STORYTELLER: The tree stays still. Anansi twists this way and that. The pot swings between him and the trunk like a little door.
NTIKUMA: (Points toward Anansi's back.) Why not tie the pot behind you? Then there would be nothing between your body and the tree.
ANANSI: (Moves the pot to his back and pretends to climb easily. Then steps down.) That works! But wait. How did you think of it?
ANANSI: I claimed to have every bit of wisdom, yet you gave me advice I needed. (Looks inside the pot.) This cannot hold all the good sense in the world.
NTIKUMA: I learned by watching you. Tomorrow, you might notice something that helps me. We can learn from each other.
ANANSI: (Unties the pot and lifts its lid.) Then I will not hide what I know. Let this wisdom travel, and let me keep listening.
STORYTELLER: (Waves cloth to suggest an imaginary breeze.) In the tale, wisdom drifts out across the land. Anansi cannot collect it again, but now he is glad to share.
NTIKUMA: (Claps a steady rhythm and speaks this verse, one line with each four claps.) A thought can travel far and wide. It need not stay shut up inside. We learn from neighbors, young and old. Good sense is more than pots can hold.
ANANSI: (Offers Ntikuma the empty pot.) Will you carry this home? My hands are ready to help someone else.
STORYTELLER: (Both bow.) The pot goes home empty, but Anansi does not. He carries a useful thought: wisdom grows when people share it.