The tradition of telling Anansi stories is vividly alive in the Caribbean area and in West-Africa. Through Suriname and the Antilles, the spider Anansi became known in the Netherlands. The stories are in fact not about a spider, but about man in general. Anansi is a strong, archetypical figure, able to take on many roles. There are big differences within the storytelling tradition. He may be very selfish, for instance, a clever scoundrel, lazy, courageous, naughty, but honest as well. He combines good and evil and moreover, has a link with the divine, as he can travel from earth to heaven with a spun thread. The stories are not fixed. Any moment a new one can come about. The synergy with other cultural expressions (like music, theatre and television) feeds new stories. There are more or less fixed characters around the spider, like his wife Akuba and his opponent Tigri (tiger). The Dutchification entailed that the black side of Anansi was more or less flattened. He became more like a sympathetic rascal. By placing the Anansi tree in the Dutch Open Air Museum, where storytellers with an Afro-Caribbean background bring Anansi to life, he gets the chance to show his original character. It does fit in the tradition that the spider takes the ‘colour’ of the environment in which the stories are told. Anansi stories are told in the domestic sphere, although in the Netherlands they are mostly used in a written form. In the regions from which Anansi originates, these stories are told at funerals, birthdays, at schools or in the theatre. Although the stories are nice to read, they are at their best when told.
