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The Creation: How Anansi became a Lion
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Religion of the pride:
The Ananasi faith stems from the following home grown myth… likewise they follow this as their history though it is not strictly the truth.
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Ananasi, listen well my children, though you may already know…was a Spider…
Bit Oh no, he was not just any spider… he was the GOD of spiders my children.
And oh he loved to laugh, and he would laugh allll day when he could…and you could hear him “Kui Kui Kui kui” from the one side of the savanna to the other.
But more than he loved to laugh my children. Ananasi loved to –eat-!
Eat all day if he could…for Ananasi is ever skin and bones but when he DOES eat…his belly –swells- right up like the fat round spider he is. All round drum belly on stick thing legs and laughing dawn to dusk Kui Kui kui!

Well –one- day…and this happened oh so long ago before the stars had all climbed to the heavens and before rains fell and after the sky had settled on being blue…though that is another story…for another time…so be silent and listen while I weave –this- web.
Long time ago when the kookaburra was calling up the clouds all heavy and grey…
Ananasi…saw a farmer… fine farmer he was! He had a great jar of yams! Oh so tasty to Ananasi, for Yams are oh so sweet and toothsome to men and their kind.
WELL…. Ananasi saw the yams and he said to himself… OH! I am ever so hungry! I do think I’ll very well DIE if I do not have those Yams! (Although you and I children know that Ananasi, being extremely foolish has died more times than there are lion tails and toes in the savannah enough to count them…)

So Ananansi goes up to the farmer and he puts on his most piteous starving hungry face and he says. “PLEASE give me your Yams! I’m ever so hungry! Why…if I don’t eat those yams I’ll go legs up and die!”
And the farmer turned to Ananasi and laughed – “TA! I know you for what you are! You’re Ananasi! If I give you one Yam…you’ll eat ALL my Yams! And you’ve never set rake to soil! Go Hungry you foolish spider! These Yams are going to be cooked for my supper! And until then I’m burying them safe away from the likes of you!
The he took a handful of dust and –threw- in Ananasi’s eyes…and this hurt especially for spiders have –many- eyes… and chased him off.

But Ananasi was hungry…and a hungry spider is a persistent spider…though not always a wise one. So he shrunk down…all small and hairy with oh so many wiggling limbs and said… “Pah! ...I –shall- have yams for supper…I’ll not be legs up tonight! I’ll be all round and drum bellied!” and he skitters right back…and climbed RIGHT…into the jar of yams just as the farmer buried it.
There he waited…all small and hairy and oh so many limbs rubbing the dust carefully out of each of his eyes… (And they smarted quiet a bit). And there he waited sitting –right- on one of the yams (a very rude thing to do my children…you should never sit on your supper) till he heard the farmer finish burring him and the yams…and walk away. –Tah-tah-tah-tha-tah-. And then he –gobbled- up the yams one by one till there were –none- left not even the small ones…and his belly was a tight round drum.

THEN…. He tried to move…. Oh it was tight in that Jar now! He couldn’t wiggle his fingers…he couldn’t move his toes…and terribly tight it was around his ever so full belly. “AH!” He cried and struggled ever so much that he quite forgot he could become a tiny spider and free him self from the jar like –that-.
“I’m caught and captured! What ever shall I do! If he finds me here I’ll be squashed for sure!” And then he lit on an idea. To be sure it was not a good one, though at such times any idea seems like the wisdom of kings. He said to himself… “If the farmer thinks I’m the Yams…he won’t squish me and I’ll be safe!
And so…he transformed himself –PAHN-…into the mostly lovely yams ever…so round and brown and delicious looking.
Well the farmer came back the next evening… and Ananasi had eaten SO much that he was –still- full…and STILL stuck ever so tight. And he dug up the yams and thought to himself... “Why…these aren’t my yams! Mine were not half so fine as this! ... Drat that Ananasi! He’s eaten my yams! And If these aren’t my Yams they must he him…I’ll cook HIM instead!
So he pulled out the jar (ever so heavy with the yams all in his belly –plus- Ananasi inside) and set them to the fire to cook.
Well it didn’t take long before it started to burn…and out cried Ananasi in the heat and the hot of it. “YAAAAA!! YAAHHHH! Help! Help! I’ve eaten the Yam’s and it’s me you’re cooking! Help! Help! Let me out!”
And the farmer just shook his head. “Don’t be silly! I know you’re just those talking Yams I’ve been growing! I know you’ll be especially sweet and good!”
“I’m not! I’m Not!” Cried Ananasi. “It’s me! Spider-Nancy! Ananasi! Please save me!”
But now the farmer could not hear him… for attracted by all the screaming was a very old lion indeed. So old it had become all milk-eyed and blind. But the farmer did not know this… all he saw was the great form of a lion rolling towards him on great strong feet. –Tham-tham-tham-tham-… and he ran ever so fast for his life. –Pah-pahpahpahpah-
And it was very wise of him to do so…

We’ll it’s a very good thing for Ananasi that spiders do not smell at all tasty when they cook… especially when they are cooked in old yam jars. And it’s a good thing that he kept yelling… “Oh Help! Help! Let me out! I’ve eaten too much and I’m being cooked! I’m a Spider and Not a yam! Not even a talking one I swear it on the grave of my grandmother!” (A very silly thing to swear, for Ananasi –has- no grandmother…and so she has no grave… but Ananasi had never let such things stop him)

The lion, blind old and milk eyed was –quite- confused. “You smell quite bad cooking… and you yell quite loud…why should I help you when if I leave you…you’ll be silent…and the smell will carry away on the wind. I am old, blind and hungry…you might yet make a mouthful”

“OH!” Cried Ananasi… “Venerable old beast! Do not eat me! I’m not even enough to stick in your teeth! But Get me loose and I’ll do you a favor!”

“I need no favors…I need food…I need a place to sleep…I need a wise patron in this troubled land…” said the lion and lashed his tail… for he was old, and had been cast out of his home for being blind and unable to hunt. (This children is the way things must be)

“Let me out!” Cried Ananasi… “And I’ll give you new eyes!” (Small promises…for spiders have many eyes)
“Let me out!” Cried Ananasi “And I’ll give you a home!” (Wise promise…for spiders know all places)
“Let me out! He cried last… “And I shall be your patron!”
“DONE!” Cried the lion and scattered the coals to the sand and tipped the jar with a great paw… shattering it and freeing the fat old spider.

Good to his word (for one must always keep ones promises…even if you are a very god of tricksters and stories) Ananasi did each thing that he promised. First… he plucked out two of his eyes... –Pah –pah- and then he plucked out the lion’s... “Tu- tu” and then he switched them!
“AH!” Cried the lion…for it had been so long since it had seen the sun…that it hurt its new eyes. “The sun! It hurts these eyes Ananasi! What good are they to me!”
“ Kui-kuikuikui” Laughed Ananasi... “Be patient! I am not done yet! For I tell you… my children find the best food at –night- and that is when these eyes are best for!”
Then he led the lion to a great cave in the stones… down, down into the –belly- of the world they walked. “What is this?” Cried the lion “I see no Gazelle or Zebra! Just water and strange white fish! “Kui-kuikuikui” laughed Ananasi “This is the belly of the land…buried down like a pot of yams but much safer! These tunnels are the reflections of my webs…their fingers reach from sunrise to sunset! And through them my laughter always rings and here you can hear –all- the stories that I keep! This is your land!”
“But…” said the lion “I am trapped with a patron who was nearly cooked by his own belly!”
“Kui-Kuikuikui” Laughed Ananasi... “That! He cried…is your story! And my gift to you! I –meant- to be trapped! To see what you would do!” (Terrible lie for him to tell, but he was safe and full of yams with a belly tight like a drum.) “When you need me… just turn to the night sky! For there I have cast my web! And Each light you see there is but one of the stories that have been told…or will be told. And this shall set you apart from all others!”

And that child…is how the tribe in the belly of the world began… with a pot of yams and a foolish spider. There are more stories... there always are…but they are for another time… this tale is done… “Keu-keu-keu!”

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The Glossary of Terms:

Weaver- King

Wefter- Queen

Spinner- Heir (A meritorious, not blood related position.)

Spiderling - cub/youth

Jumping Spider - Scout/Spy

Hungry Spider - Hunter

Sky Spider - A term for probationary members of the Anansi.

Children of Bird: - In Anansi myth, the Goddess of Birds was Anansi's nemesis...for obvious reasons. (Birds vs spiders...) and they clashed on many occasions. The Anansi use this term as a generic one for their foes.
Whispers - The very complex and hard to learn scent language the Anansi use to mark their tunnels, many of which are totaly lightless.
"Keu-Keu-Keu!" - A stylized laugh, one of the ways of finishing a formalized story.

"A Story! A Story!" - A stylized opener used at gatherings or any other occasion when a story is about to be relayed. Stories of findings in the outside world and even historical or just stories for play and enjoyment start with the same stylized opener, an invitation for everyone to stop and listen.

Spider Stories - All stories. The Anansi beleive that Anansi stole the stories from another god and spread them across the world, and that only once stories were stolen by Anansi were they able to have happy endings.

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The Members and Owners:
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Pride owner(s): Endejester, Thalion, Ryugen
Members and Rankings:
Korvo: Weaver (King) (Ryugen)
Devi: Wefter (Queen) (Endejester)
-Heir: ((None yet declared. This will be meritorious rather than genetic.)) ((“Spinner”))
Taban: Spiderling (Child) (Thalion)
Lucia: Jumping Spider (Scout) (Thalion)
Nogea: Hungry Spider (Hunter) (Remove)
Laylil: Jumping Spider (Scout) (Manda)
Tezba: Hungry Spider (Hunter) (Aroca)
Tiacapan: Jumping Spider (Scout) (Taejira)
Xuco: Sky Spider/Jumping Spider? (Scout) (Thalion)

Character descriptions:


: The King or “Weaver” of the Anansi, Korvo is an proud, dark furred lion with gold markings, Korvo is a proud and clever soul with a dark wit. He has recently recovered his place as lord of his hidden tribe after an wildfire stripped him of his memory, leaving him wandering the surface until found by his adopted son, Taban. Korvo is dark for most lions, but not evil. However, the survival of his pride and people comes first and foremost in his mind, and those who cross him can expect to be savagely hounded until dealt with.


: A former pridelander, Devi came to the Anansi as a blind cub, dreaming of Anansi. Perhaps willfully naive of the true nature of her adopted son, she is never the less a clever but quiet lioness. Despite her blindness she has grown skilled at hunting, having spent most of her life underground learning to use her ears and other senses.


: The adopted son of Devi and Korvo, Taban is, in fact, a cheetah cub. Korvo fondly calls him ‘his windcatching son’, although he realizes his son is no lion at all. He has also told Taban that whatever gifts Anansi may have given him, he will never be anything but Korvo’s own son. Taban is a clever and sharp witted young cub, fiercely loyal to his pride and an ingenious spy, his recent missions including finding out more about the dangerous and frightfully mad Nyekundu.


Formally one of the higher-ranking females of her pack, Lucia was a fierce hunter and a clever tactition. She grew up well enough among her own kind, learning to hunt under her aunt, the alpha female of her former pack. When she was a young adult, the pack had been ambushed by human hunters during a hunt. She was scarred by one of the two-leggid's 'thunder sticks' though she managed to deliver a few wounds herself. Unfortunately, much of the pack was killed and the survivors scattered. Wounded and grieved, the hyena escaped to a shadey overhang near another mouth to the Anansi caves. She was allowed to remain there and rest, to her great suprise, the lions even brought her meals to sustain her until she was able to hunt on her own. In gratitude, Lucia has indebted herself to the lions that had spared her, finding comfort in their strange ways.


Fubar came into the anansi as a young pup. He'd been seperated from his mother after a storm and ended up taking shelter in one of the caves leading into the depths of the underground. Taban was the first to find the sleeping pup early the next morning. Still a cub himself and having never had a rightful playmate, the wolf pup and cheetah grew close as brothers. Devi allowed the pup to stay with them in the underground, if only to keep her son company. As he's grown, he's become fiercely protective of Taban and is often given the task of playing as his personal bodyguard when the young cheetah ventures into the overworld.


: - Nogea is a soft caring guy, his bright red pelt makes him stand out in the crowd but yet his quiet nature means he is more suspicious then originally may seem. He is a lion to please, always wishing to help people and do things that are needed or wanted of him.


: ((to be filled in))


: ((to be filled in))


Xuco is Taban's true father though it's likely neither will ever learn of it. As a young cheetah, Xuco was quite dominant in his territory. He managed to claim quite a range for himself as well as a few females that had the envious eye of the other males. Of the females, Eylai had been his favorate. Unfortunately, his time with her was cut short when an invading pack of wild dogs had driven him from his range. Eylai had born between herself and Xuco only one cub, being a young mother. Shortly after Xuco had been driven away, she met her own death defending the den in which her newborn lay. Xuco returned shortly after only to find the den empty and his lover's blood staining the ground. Grieved by the loss of his mate and his unborn child, Xuco moved into a new range closer to the white sands of the desert. It was there that he encountered Lucia, a strange hyena who spoke of a grand collection of creatures that lived in the underground, to include a young cheetah. Intrigued by the idea, Xuco followed the hyena huntress into the depths.



-Born and raised in the Anansi tunnels, Tiaca knows her way around them very well. She's quiet and often slightly unsure of herself, especially aboveground. In the tunnels she feels much safer, and she is far more open with her fellow cave-dwellers. She can often be found wandering the more far-reaching tunnels by herself, sometimes losing track of time and not returning to the main cavern for days or even weeks. Tiaca is a bit odd, but kind-hearted and dedicated to her pride.

-???((COULD BE YOU!!!!)):