Cunning
Kancil and Anansi are two cunning animals.
Indonesia’s Kancil stories developed from Indian animal fables featuring a cunning hare. In Indonesia the hare was replaced by the local mouse deer, Kancil. Scenes from Kancil stories are depicted in reliefs in this museum building.
Stories about the spider Anansi come from West Africa, especially Ghana. In the 17th century they sailed with the transports of enslaved Africans to the Caribbean. Surinamese and Antillean migrants brought Anansi to the Netherlands, and here he adapted again. Anansi always looks after his own interests. In the end, though he may not want to, his antics always seem to benefit people.
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