The spider-trickster Ananse originates as the protagonist of Akan folktales, a bold taboo-breaker shaping and re-shaping the ethics of traditional society. In the course of time, though, it has undergone several metamorphoses in anglophone written literatures, connecting various societies and at least three continents. In Ghana it has been employed as a sort of everyman or as a linguistic model. In the Caribbean, apart from symbolizing the recovery of vernacular cultures and of their suppressed history, it has assumed the form of underdog embodying enslaved Africans, of persecutor, or of contemporary political subjects; it has been used as a trope revolving around gender issues, or as a metamorphic means to re-construct reality. Finally, Black British literature has employed Ananse to retrace the 'final passage' of Afro-Caribbean immigrants. This essay attempts an interpretation of Ananse's facets as instruments of cultural adaptation in the context of the African Diaspora and its major theorists.
Il ragno-burlone Ananse ha origine come protagonista delle fiabe Akan, uno sfacciato iconoclasta che forma e riforma l'etica della società tradizionale. Nel corso del tempo, però, ha attraversato varie metamorfosi nelle letterature scritte anglofone, collegando numerose società e almeno tre continenti. In Ghana è stato impiegato come una sorta di Everyman, o come modello linguistico. Nei Caraibi, oltre a simboleggiare il recupero delle culture popolari e della loro storia soppressa, ha assunto il ruolo del soggiogato che si incarna negli schiavi africani, del persecutore, o del soggetto politico contemporaneo; inoltre è stato usato come metafora attorno alla quale si muovono questioni di genere, o come strumento metamorfico per ri-costruire la realtà. Infine, la letteratura Black British ha utilizzato Ananse per ripercorrere il 'final passage' degli immigrati afro-caraibici. Questo saggio propone un'interpretazione delle sfaccettature di Ananse come strumenti di adattamento culturale, nel contesto della Diaspora Africana e dei suoi più importanti studiosi.
Trans(l)atlantic I-con: The many shapes of Ananse in contemporary literatures
Pietro Deandrea
2004
Abstract
The spider-trickster Ananse originates as the protagonist of Akan folktales, a bold taboo-breaker shaping and re-shaping the ethics of traditional society. In the course of time, though, it has undergone several metamorphoses in anglophone written literatures, connecting various societies and at least three continents. In Ghana it has been employed as a sort of everyman or as a linguistic model. In the Caribbean, apart from symbolizing the recovery of vernacular cultures and of their suppressed history, it has assumed the form of underdog embodying enslaved Africans, of persecutor, or of contemporary political subjects; it has been used as a trope revolving around gender issues, or as a metamorphic means to re-construct reality. Finally, Black British literature has employed Ananse to retrace the 'final passage' of Afro-Caribbean immigrants. This essay attempts an interpretation of Ananse's facets as instruments of cultural adaptation in the context of the African Diaspora and its major theorists.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.