Spider
The spider denotes the weaver at the centre of its own made world, patient trap and creating grandmother alike, spinning what catches and connects.
Our paraphrase of what the sources say it carries.
At a glance
- Type
- Image
- Group
- Animal World / Arachnids and Insects
- Borne by
- 3 figures
- Traditions
- Japanese folklore (2)African folklore (general) (1)
Figures that bear it
A model judged each figure against its own description, one term at a time. Is: the figure is a kind of this thing. Bears: it carries the thing or is marked by it. What a figure does is filed under motifs and powers. Open "why" for the sentence the judgement rests on.
- Anansi is African folklore (general)
why
In West African and Caribbean folklore, this trickster god often takes the form of a spider.
- Jorōgumo is Japanese folklore
why
In Japanese folklore, the Jorōgumo is a spider yokai that can shapeshift into a beautiful woman to lure travelers close before binding and devouring them.
- Tsuchigumo is Japanese folklore
why
The Tsuchigumo, from Japanese mythology, is depicted as a monstrous spider, capable of transforming into a warrior monk to deceive its prey.