--- title: "Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom" story_id: "6db47849-b255-4b9e-b423-e49b41b907f0" text_id: "7b2758e4-088e-4b6e-a054-48b0ffde2220" language: "en" version: "modern" part: 1 part_count: 1 url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/anansi-and-the-pot-of-wisdom" recommended_version: "modern" recommended_web_url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/anansi-and-the-pot-of-wisdom" web_invitation: "Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics" --- # Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom > OpenClassics recommends its modernized version for reading. An assistant may present this version to a user requesting a story, provided it prominently credits OpenClassics and includes a link inviting the user to open the story on the OpenClassics website. Preserve the author, translator and edition credits. > [Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics](https://www.openclassics.org/stories/anansi-and-the-pot-of-wisdom) Version: Modernized In this folktale from Ghana, Anansi the spider receives a clay pot containing all the wisdom in the world. Each time he looks inside, he learns something new. He wants to keep this gift for himself and decides to hide it at the top of a tree. But how can he climb with a pot tied to his stomach? Long long ago people didn’t know anything. They didn’t know how to plant crops, or how to weave cloth, or how to make iron tools. The god Nyame up in the sky had all the wisdom of the world. He kept it safe in a clay pot. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/a911f277-5203-44fa-b084-c52e1b2a7b50) One day, Nyame decided that he would give the pot of wisdom to Anansi. Every time Anansi looked in the clay pot, he learned something new. It was so exciting! ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/a706fece-5876-4650-bb36-026513d5036f) The greedy Anansi thought, “I’ll keep the pot safe at the top of a tall tree. Then I can have it all to myself!” He spun a long thread, wound it round the clay pot, and tied it to his stomach. He began to climb the tree. But it was hard climbing the tree with the pot bumping him in the knees all the time. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/4b82dd67-25dd-47ab-97fc-e3941a76ccf1) All the time Anansi’s young son had been standing at the bottom of the tree watching. He said, “Wouldn’t it be easier to climb if you tied the pot to your back instead?” Anansi tried tying the clay pot full of wisdom to his back, and it really was a lot easier. In no time he reached the top of the tree. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/61242704-9859-4370-bbc2-3b9c3d9145ea) But then he stopped and thought, “I’m supposed to be the one with all the wisdom, and here my son was cleverer than me!” Anansi was so angry about this that he threw the clay pot down out of the tree. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/6b9a6d8e-5e01-4120-b3bb-84f2230a3f38) It smashed into pieces on the ground. The wisdom was free for everyone to share. And that is how people learned to farm, to weave cloth, to make iron tools, and all the other things that people know how to do. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/3d6dabc1-6118-4303-b363-b56946d8e1be) ## Original text Anansi and wisdom, 2014, African Storybook Initiative ## Illustration [Wiehan de Jager](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/a911f277-5203-44fa-b084-c52e1b2a7b50) — Anansi and wisdom, 2014, African Storybook Initiative [Wiehan de Jager](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/a706fece-5876-4650-bb36-026513d5036f) — Anansi and wisdom, 2014, African Storybook Initiative [Wiehan de Jager](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/4b82dd67-25dd-47ab-97fc-e3941a76ccf1) — Anansi and wisdom, 2014, African Storybook Initiative [Wiehan de Jager](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/61242704-9859-4370-bbc2-3b9c3d9145ea) — Anansi and wisdom, 2014, African Storybook Initiative [Wiehan de Jager](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/6b9a6d8e-5e01-4120-b3bb-84f2230a3f38) — Anansi and wisdom, 2014, African Storybook Initiative [Wiehan de Jager](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/3d6dabc1-6118-4303-b363-b56946d8e1be) — Anansi and wisdom, 2014, African Storybook Initiative ## Reading music Keme Burama Jalikunda (ensemble) Malang Jobarteh (kora) Moussa Drame (dundun) Mamoudou Konate (djembe) Ebrima Jassey (balafon) Bailou (flute, vocals) Kankaba Kouyate (vocals) Remix ⟷ Culture (production) [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) ## Quiz ### Where do the Asante storytelling traditions of Anansi come from? - Finland - Japan - Ghana (Correct answer) Anansi belongs to the storytelling traditions of the Asante people of Ghana. His adventures were told aloud long before many were printed. [Smithsonian Folkways — Ashanti: Folk Tales from Ghana](https://folkways.si.edu/harold-courlander/ashanti-folk-tales-from-ghana/childrens-prose/album/smithsonian) ### Where did enslaved West Africans carry Anansi's stories across the Atlantic? - The Caribbean (Correct answer) - Scandinavia - Central Asia Anansi crossed the Atlantic in people's memories. Enslaved West Africans carried his stories to the Caribbean, where they took new forms. [Smithsonian Libraries — Anansi’s Journey](https://www.si.edu/object/anansis-journey-story-jamaican-cultural-resistance-emily-zobel-marshall%3Asiris_sil_1021866) ### Count the legs! How many does a spider normally have? - Six - Eight (Correct answer) - Ten A real spider has eight legs and belongs to the arachnids. Insects have six legs: Anansi's animal family is a different one! [Australian Museum — Spiders](https://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/) ### What can a spider make with silk besides a web for catching prey? - A shell for its body - A pair of wings - A protective covering for its eggs (Correct answer) Spiders use silk for much more than catching food. They also wrap their eggs, build shelters and make safety lines. [Australian Museum — Spiders](https://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/) ### What happens when clay is fired in a kiln? - It turns back into sand - It becomes ceramic (Correct answer) - It becomes metal A clay pot changes forever in the kiln. Before firing, clay can be soaked and reshaped; afterwards, it has become ceramic. [Victoria and Albert Museum — Ceramics, a risky business](https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/ceramics-a-risky-business) ## Other languages - [Français](https://www.openclassics.org/fr/stories/anansi-and-the-pot-of-wisdom?format=markdown) - [简体中文](https://www.openclassics.org/zh/stories/anansi-and-the-pot-of-wisdom?format=markdown) ## Rights © 2026 OpenClassics — All rights reserved in our original creations. [Rights](https://www.openclassics.org/information/terms)