by Elisa Thorp

Created on: March 06, 2009

It all started with a spider. Really, it started with a spider (Ananse) story:

There once was a powerful, rich king with three beautiful daughters, but no sons. The daughters were never allowed to leave the King's palace, and their names - Kpanlogo, Alogodzan, and Nmaa Nmaa - were kept secret from the public.

As the King grew older, he became more concerned that he had no son to inherit his throne. The wise old king devised a plan to secure his throne. He devised a contest for all the men of his realm: the man who guessed the secret names of his three daughters would win their hands in marriage, and thereby inherit the throne.

Previously, a sneaky man had made his way into the palace. He sneaked his way around and through the palace until he came upon the three beautiful daughters playing. He began to flail and gyrate, acting like a mad man, making the girls laugh at him. Not too far away, their mother heard the uproar, and wanted to know what all the commotion was. Mother called out to her eldest, "Kpanlogo?" Receiving no answer, she called out to her other daughters, "Alogodzan? Nmaa Nmaa?" With this, the man vanished, leaving the girls explaining to their mother what had just taken place.

The day of the contest all the single men of the kingdom gathered at the palace for their chance to win the King's contest. One by one, they presented to the king, trying to guess the names of his beautiful daughters. One by one, they failed. Finally, it was the turn of the sneaky man. He had composed a song using the names of the daughters and he began to sing, "Kpanlogo Alogodzan nn Kpanlogo Nmaa oo Nmaa oo".

The crowds and the Royal Family were truly amazed! However, none more so than the king, who demanded to know how Sneaky Man had learned the names of his precious daughters. Sneaky Man enthralled the throngs with his amazing tale of bravery and daring. The king was so impressed with Sneaky Man's cleverness, that he gladly gave his daughter's hands in marriage to our sneaky friend.

Like most Ananse stories, this tale was passed from generation to generation in West Africa, specifically the Accra region of Ghana, as both entertainment and an educational tool. After hearing the story told by his grandfather, during the 1960s, a young Ga man called Otoo (Otu) Lincoln was inspired to create a performance of this tale. Developing new rhythms, now known as Kpanlogo, Lincoln incorporated aspects of traditional Ghanaian fisher-folk dances, known as "lolo", as well as African "high-life"

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>