Anansi and the Hat Shaking Dance: for reader, strings, and percussion

Abstract

READER 1: In West Africa, the Ashanti people tell stories of the mischievous trickster, Anansi the Spider, who, although greedy and lazy, is also funny and lovable. He loves to eat and hates to work, and sometimes when he plays his tricks on people, Anansi gets into a heap of trouble. READER 2: Take, for instance, the day when Anansi woke up feeling very good, and decided to got to the next village and help his mother-in-law plant her rice fields. He took his tall hat, put it on his head to keep out the sun, and walked to his mother-in-law’s house.When she heard he had come to help[ her, she was surprised and delighted and said,Anansi, you go and plant rice in this field right here, and I will go to the field over the hill there, and pretty soon we will have the planting all done! But before, we start, just let me put a pot of beans on the stove to cook so we may have a big feast tonite and invite all the neighbors to celebrate our good day of work.