Anansi Riddim!

The trickster celebrated through soca.

Greetings Superstars!

Check out this soca song I found about Anansi the Trickster Spider:

Owner of All Stories

Anansi of West African and Caribbean mythology has been called the ‘owner of all stories,’ responsible for keeping the power of oral tradition alive. And it was through oral tradition that the legend traversed the Atlantic Ocean. Anansi’s superpowers would have offered escape for kidnapped Africans bound for the Caribbean, and the tales continued to inspire resistance in enslaved people in the islands.

That’s why I love that this soca song celebrates “Anansi riddim”—using words and music to spread the legend and its message to resist though intelligence and communication (and to know when to run away 👻).

Just like Loki in Scandinavia, Anansi represents our clever, cheeky alter-egos. He does and gets what he wants, guided by a neutral moral compass. Kids love this—that’s why Anansi is a popular children’s book character. This one was a favorite in my house:

In most tales, Anansi outsmarts oppressive powers and extricates himself from impossible situations—all without breaking a sweat.

I hope that you check out an Anansi story this week, or just reconnect with a childhood book that you loved.

📚🕷️🪘