Black Magick

You Can't Trick Me Nancy

     I remember at summer camp we all went on a hiking trip and this white girl Gretchen ran to the supervisor screaming about how she saw a big spider with red and blue stripes on it was on a pine tree near her cabin. The supervisor Mr. Kevin made sure to walk with her so that she wouldn't be scared. I for one was kinda interested to know how a spider could have red and blue stripes on it. I for was never one to be afraid of bugs and I was curious as to what Gretchen found so frightening. While the others went on about their hike I ran back to camp and to the spot to look for this strange spider.

     "What are you looking for little Aje" said a mysterious voice. Quickly I turned to look who it was but no one was there "Who said that" I said but no one came into plain sight "I'm up here in the tree little Aje" said the voice again. I looked up to the and saw the spider just as Gretchen described it, it was the size of a football and it was brown with the blue and red stripes Gretchen had said but they didn't look natural on it they looked like tribal markings. "Who are you? Or more like what are you?" I said nearly confused "Why am I not scared of you?" the spider stayed in place while it's chelicerae moved forming words "Would you be scared of your grandfather if he were in a tree?" I looked at the spider as if it were crazy "What the heck are you talking about you're not my grandfather my mom's dad is dead and my dad's dad is a Puerto Rican man who refuses to even speak english. And you still didn't answer my question, what the heck are you?".

     "Little Aje I am your grandfather and the grandfather of all those like you, I am Anansi, the Stroryteller of the Gods, it is I who is the Ancestor of your people I came here with your greatest great grandfathers and grandmothers from Africa" for a moment I spaced out then I remembered to when I was 7 in daycare when the ladies would tell us stories from the books in the library one of them was about a spider named Anansi who was a storyteller and a trickster.

     "Anansi. I've heard of you before. You're real?" I said in disbelief "Oh little Aje I'm as real as you and that little Oburoni girl who woke me up from my nap with her agitating screeching", he had to have been talking about Gretchen "You mean Gretchen? She said she saw a weird spider in the tree. It was you wasn't it?" "I just told you little Aje I was sleep how am I supposed to know if that brat saw me all I saw was her running away from here" Anansi sounded irritated at my question but I ignored it "Why do you keep calling me that? What's an Aje?".

     Anansi moved to the far end of his branch and started to weave a web "Because that's what you are little one, an Aje." I rolled my eyes "Do you always half answer questions? What does it mean" "Do you always have so many questions" he retorted this time with sarcasm in his voice "What do you think it means...witch" "I-I. What are you talking about?" Anansi sighed heavily "Do I need to spell it out for you baby Obibini. You-are-a-witch" he trailed a piece of his web downward coming closer to me his eight eyes seemed so human like they showed emotion. "How would you know that" I said "Well for one that ultraviolet aura surrounding you radiates the power of a thousand warriors".

     "Oh" I said "I'll tell you what little Aje I'll help you conjure the elements if you bring me the delicious foods that those people serve you" he continued up to his web, was this thing for real the lunch at camp was horrible "Conjure the elements? How?" I said "Your family never told you? You have so much more power than praying to old ancestral gods who sit on their lazy asses all day. I can teach you to call forth storms and to summon fire" Anansi sounded so perfectly confident in his words it bordered on arrogant "Ok then" I agreed "If I feed you then you have to teach me how to shoot lightning" Anansi laughed "Its a deal little Aje".

     Over the next week I had gave Anansi half of my lunch and he taught me how to make rain come and to start fires with my mind.

"You are progressing fast little Aje" said Anansi "Say. How about I tell you a story" I raised my eyebrow "A story? About what?" Anansi began to spin a web "It is a tale of a panther who became a queen".

"Once deep in the jungles of Africa lived a panther with a coat as black as the night sky and the sharpest claws and teeth that shone like diamonds but, there was one problem, the panther like to play tricks on all of the other animals. One day she messed with the wrong animal" Anansi said. I gasped completely immersed in the story "Who did she mess with?" Anansi continued to spin his we "Bird woman" I curled my top lip "Bird woman?" "Oh yes" said Anansi "The panther plucked one of Bird woman's feathers while she wasn't looking" my eyes widened "Ouch" I whispered. "Little did the panther know that Bird woman layed golden eggs each with magical powers" he said "And while the panther was busy scratching at the tree Bird woman made her nest in, Bird woman cracked one of her golden eggs on the panther's head". My eyes widened from the anticipation"What happened to the panther?" Anansi crept closer "The panther tried to roar and found that only a screeching noice came from her voice, she caressed her black coat of fur and found only smooth skin, she touched her teeth and no longer felt fangs. She had become human" said Anansi.

     "Oh my gosh, that poor panther" I said "Oh well, nothing to be done about it now" Anansi nonchalantly caught a fly in his web. "So little Aje do you know the moral of the story?" I scratched my chin "Uh, don't mess with people" Anansi laughed "Of course not we all are tricksters from time to time it's in our nature, no the moral of the story is know who you're dealing with" I squinted my eyes "Huh".

"Know your enemy" Anansi exclaimed. "Now run along little Aje".

Hmm. I thought about what Anansi for the next two days and why he would tell me something like that. When camp was over I said goodbye to all the friends I had made and thanked Anansi for all he had taught me even though it barely made sense half the time.

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Anansi: also known as Nancy, Aunt Nancy, or Kwaku Ananse is a Ghanaian trickster spirit from the Ashanti tribe. Anansi was widely known for telling stories and was said to have brought humanity to gift of storytelling.

Aje: Yoruba word meaning Mother that also is used to denote witches.

Oburoni: An Akan word meaning foreigner that is commonly used when referring to white people.

Obinini: Akan word used when referring to Ghanaians or other people of African descent.