Africa's Living Arts

How the World Got Wisdom

Nyame, the God of Heaven and Earth, was searching for a creature to look after the world's wisdom and distribute it fairly. Nyame decided to entrust the wisdom to Anansi, the spider,  who put it in a large pot and kept it in his house. He put a lid on the pot so the wisdom would not spill out. The longer he kept it, the more he thought about keeping all of the wisdom for himself.

Looking for a place to hide the wisdom, Anansi ran through the forest until he came to a very tall, wide tree - the perfect hiding place. Anansi ran home and got the pot of wisdom and some rope. He tied the pot onto his stomach and began climbing the tree. This was very difficult. Anansi tried several times, but each time he fell to the ground.

Anansi's son had been watching and said, "Father, I think if you tied the pot on your back, you would be able to grip the tree much better." Upon hearing his son's wise words, Anansi realized that wisdom was not something he could keep all to himself. In anger, he threw the pot to the ground. It broke and all the wisdom spilled out. People came from the four corners of the earth and scooped up the wisdom. And that's why wherever you go, wisdom can be found.

There is enough for you and enough for me.             

Ashanti Folktale - Ghana, West Africa 

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Sankofa, an Adinkra proverb of the Akan people of Ghana, West Africa says “It is alright to claim something that was once yours but lost." Use the knowledge of the past in the now, to inspire the future.

Art and culture teach awareness, self-respect and builds confidence:

Cultural awareness leads to understanding,

Understanding leads to tolerance, 

Tolerance leads to the peaceful co-existence of diverse nations.

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