Why the Lizard Moves Its Head Up and Down

Anansi is known for his cleverness, but his desire to get what he wants often leads him into trouble. In this West African folk tale, he discovers the secret names of a king’s three daughters and asks his friend, the lizard, to announce them at court. When the king rewards the lizard instead of Anansi, jealousy drives the spider to devise a cruel plan. His deception leaves the lizard unable to speak and provides the tale’s explanation for the animal’s familiar head movements.

The Story of Anansi and the Lizard

In a town not far from Anansi’s home lived a powerful king who had three beautiful daughters. Their names were kept secret from everyone outside the royal family.

One day, the king made a proclamation. He promised that any man who discovered the names of his three daughters would receive them as wives.

When Anansi heard this announcement, he immediately decided to discover the names and claim the reward.

Anansi Discovers the Princesses’ Names

Anansi bought a large jar of honey and went to the bathing place used by the king’s daughters. Nearby stood a tree bearing fine fruit. He climbed it, gathered some of the fruit and covered the pieces with honey.

When the three princesses approached, Anansi dropped the sweet fruit to the ground. The girls believed that it had fallen naturally from the tree.

One of the princesses picked up a piece and tasted it. Delighted by its sweetness, she called to her sisters, using their names as she spoke.

Anansi listened carefully.

He dropped another piece of fruit, and the second princess picked it up. As she spoke to her sisters, she revealed their names again.

By repeating this trick, Anansi discovered all three names without having to approach the princesses directly.

Once they had left, he climbed down from the tree and hurried back into town. He summoned the important men to a meeting at the king’s palace for the following morning.

Anansi then visited his friend, the lizard, and asked him to serve as herald at court. He gave the lizard the three names and instructed him to announce them when the king demanded to hear them.

The lizard agreed.

The Lizard Receives the Reward

The following morning, the king and his court assembled at the palace. The important men of the town were also present.

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Anansi explained that he had discovered the names of the king’s daughters and reminded the king of his promise. The king asked him to reveal the names.

At the appointed moment, the lizard sounded them through his trumpet.

The king and his courtiers were astonished. The names were correct, and the king could not withdraw the promise he had made.

He therefore awarded all three princesses to the lizard.

Anansi was furious.

He argued that he had discovered the names and had merely given them to the lizard to announce. He demanded that at least two of the princesses should be given to him, leaving the third for his friend.

The king refused.

Anansi begged to receive even one of the princesses, but the king would not change his decision.

Feeling cheated, Anansi returned home in a terrible temper. He blamed the lizard for taking the reward he believed belonged to him and swore to take revenge.

Anansi’s Cruel Revenge

For some time, Anansi searched for a way to punish the lizard. Eventually, he devised a plan that would make his friend appear to be a thief.

The king owned a fine cock that crowed at daybreak and woke him whenever he wished to rise early. Anansi went to the palace and told the king that he intended to begin a long journey the following morning. He asked the king to command the cock to crow at daybreak so that he could leave on time.

The king readily agreed.

That night, Anansi secretly returned to the palace by a back way. He seized the cock, killed it and carried it to the lizard’s house while everyone was asleep.

There, he cooked the bird and placed its feathers beneath the lizard’s bed. He also left some of the cooked meat on a dish close to the lizard’s hand.

To complete his scheme, Anansi poured boiling water into the sleeping lizard’s mouth, leaving him unable to speak.

Having arranged everything, Anansi quietly departed.

The Lizard Is Accused

When morning came, Anansi returned to the king and complained that the cock had failed to crow as promised.

The king was surprised. He sent a servant to find the bird, but the servant returned without it.

The king ordered his people to search for the thief.

Anansi seized the opportunity to accuse the lizard. He claimed that the lizard might have stolen the cock because he had previously taken the three princesses whom Anansi believed should have been his reward.

The king’s men searched the lizard’s house.

They found the remains of the cooked cock, along with its feathers beneath the bed. Everything appeared to support Anansi’s accusation.

The lizard was questioned, but he could not explain what had happened. He tried desperately to speak, yet no words came from his mouth.

Instead, he could only move his head up and down.

The people interpreted his movements as a refusal to answer the king’s questions. Their suspicions grew, and the king became increasingly angry.

Unable to defend himself, the lizard was judged guilty of stealing the cock. As punishment, the king took the three princesses away from him and gave them to Anansi.

The spider had succeeded in getting the reward he wanted, but only through deceit and cruelty.

Why the Lizard Moves Its Head

According to the tale, the lizard never recovered his ability to speak. Ever since Anansi silenced him and his head movements were mistaken for an answer, lizards have continued to move their heads backwards and forwards.

The story imagines the movement as a helpless expression of disbelief, as though the lizard were silently asking how anyone could be foolish enough to trust Anansi.

This is the tale’s traditional explanation for the lizard’s repeated head movements. It is a piece of folklore, not a scientific account of lizard behaviour.

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Moral Lesson

The story teaches that jealousy and dishonesty can cause serious harm. Anansi allows his disappointment to turn into a desire for revenge, and he falsely accuses his friend to obtain what he wants. His actions show the danger of putting personal ambition above fairness and friendship. The tale also reminds us not to judge others without evidence, because appearances can be deliberately manipulated to make an innocent person seem guilty.

Knowledge Check

1. Why did the king promise his daughters to the man who discovered their names?
He made the proclamation that anyone who discovered the secret names of all three daughters would receive them as wives.

2. How did Anansi discover the princesses’ names?
He covered fruit with honey and dropped it from a tree. As the princesses tasted the fruit, they called one another by name.

3. Why did the king award the princesses to the lizard?
The lizard announced all three names correctly at court, fulfilling the king’s stated condition.

4. How did Anansi arrange for the lizard to be accused of stealing the cock?
He killed the king’s cock, cooked it, hid its feathers beneath the lizard’s bed and placed some of the meat nearby.

5. Why could the lizard not defend himself?
Anansi had poured boiling water into the lizard’s mouth, leaving him unable to speak.

6. According to the tale, why does the lizard move its head up and down?
The movement is presented as a sign of the lizard’s helplessness after he was silenced and falsely accused by Anansi.

Source

Source: Adapted from “Why the Lizard Continually Moves His Head Up and Down,” collected and arranged by W. H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair in West African Folk-Tales (1917), page 45.

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