About Anansi or “Zarenyen”: “dark and powerful”
The Spider, Anansi, or “l’araignée” in French was an insect I really dreaded growing up. I dreaded the idea of the big thick legged spider with a hairy body that was dark black… mind you I think the only time in my life that I have ever seen one of those was in Ecuador, when I was in my late teens. Yet, that specific image was engrained in my mind. Sadly.
Dancing and dance exploration have a way of allowing people to access memories and pains we had thought were long gone.
I took part in a dance exploration class with ILL NANA in January 2021. The group of dancers was asked to explore different states of being which is a method in choreography. We had to explore the “beautiful“ state, the “grotesque” state, the “animal” state and the “kitchen-table” state; or however you show up to express your natural “self”.
When we got to the “animal” state, I was going to embody a dove. But for some reason, I chose the spider. “Zarenyen”, in creole means spider and is also a Gede dance to celebrate the dead (and rebirth), which is associated in North America to Halloween. “Zarenyen” is honestly a very hard dance because of the fast pace, the positioning of the body, the polyrhythmic coordination of the shaking hand movements, pelvis movement, feet and core work — all working on their own rhythm. But actually, right after the thought of “Gede Zarenyen”, I thought of just the regular spiders I had grown up with in the house.
I grew up with spiders around me all of my life: light brown and dark brown spiders, green spiders and clear spiders. It was rare, but I did happen to find rounder spiders with dots outside in the garden… Or so I remember…Our childhood home attracted them because of the kinds of plants that filled the house. I had concerns of swallowing a spider during my sleep. But really, that was the worst of my worries about them.
In that “animal” state, I experienced the beauty of the spider. The way it moved, its concerns, its moments of stillness and calculations, its dance up and down its spider web, hanging from a thread from the ceiling. I also explored its static contemplative self, its moments of bundling up tightly to protect itself, and its moments of scurrying movement… And of course the patient and skillful hemming of its web.
After we were done dancing. I realized I had reclaimed a creature I had dreaded for so long and that was actually tied to a Kindergarten memory of having my (second) name rhyme with “l’araignée”. We would all sit in a circle at the beginning of the day. The teacher had created rhymes so we could learn each others’ names. Everyone else had what I remembered to be happy, colourful images rhyme with their name. Everytime we got to my name and I saw that ugly image of the dark spider, I would cringe! Every single morning, I would cringe. I even remember coming prepared one day with another word to rhyme with my name, but being so soft-spoken, I never had time nor the ability to pause the rhyme before it was my turn.
I honestly believe that the kindergarten teacher needed to revisit her teaching strategies… what four year-old would want to be associated to a scary spider?… in a Western context at least…
Today, the “Zarenyen” dance is one of my favourite folk dances and I am curious to explore more about how the spider moves. I am so relieved that I can now replace that sorry kindergarten memory with the feeling and knowledge that spiders are beautiful, multi-layered, crucial to the natural cycle of life, dark and versatile in colour.
I’ve experienced the beauty of the spider: dark and powerful.
