Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Kweku Ananse and the Two Parties




Kweku Ananse and his family lived in a village called ‘Anyiber Mo’. One day the chief of his village decided to throw a grand party to thank God for enabling him to fulfill his promises. Ananse and his wife Aso were among the important people invited. This excited him because this was a good opportunity to drink the finest palmwine. 

The next day the chief of the neighboring village also sent Mr. & Mrs. Ananse an invitation to his wedding party. Ananse was happy to receive it but wasn't sure what to do because both of the parties were on the same day beginning at the same time with the same duration. Ananse sat down and thought very hard about what to do. Later he put on a tranquil smile as he went about his daily work after deciding what to do. 

Finally, when the much-awaited day arrived, Ananse asked his wife to wait for him at the wedding party. When she left, he went under his bed and brought out a new thick long rope he had bought for the sake of the two parties. After dressing up in his best Kente cloth and a pair of ‘ahenema’ sandal (native sandal), he called two of his sons (Ntikumah and Tikonokono). As soon as they saw the rope, they asked “Papa, what are you doing with that?”. Ananse replied, “ Keep quiet and listen. We shall go to the border between the two villages. I will then tie this rope around my waist. You’ll take one end of the rope each and go to where the parties are taking place”. Ananse exhaled deeply and concluded, “Now pay attention boys, the first person to see that the refreshment is being served should pull the rope very fast so that I can come there and enjoy myself OK?!!” The boys nodded and when they got to the border, they did exactly as planned. 

Unfortunately for Ananse, both parties began the refreshments at the same time so both sons started to pull the rope at the same time. People in both villages who saw the scene couldn’t help laughing and cheering. Due to the noise, the two sons could not hear Ananse’s wailing and pleas for them to stop so they pulled all day and he Ananse suffered all day for his greed.