ANANSI - THE BIOPIRATE
(An African Folktale with a modern twist)
Anansi the spider knew that he was not wise. He was very clever, and could outwit many different people, but he knew that he did not have very much wisdom. This bothered him a great deal, but he did not know what to do about it. Then one day he had a clever thought. “I know,” he said to no one in particular, “if I can get all of the wisdom in the village and put it in a hollow gourd, I will be very wise indeed. In fact, I would be the wisest of all!”
Mr. Biopirate, of Developed Nations Inc., runs out of ideas and research grants in his First World lab. Comes prospecting in Third World country. Sees much wisdom in the traditional knowledge of native people. Dreams of the many dollars he can make if he takes it back to his own country.
So he set out to find a suitable gourd and then began his journey to collect the village’s wisdom. He went from door to door, asking everyone to give some of their wisdom. The people chuckled at poor Anansi, for they knew that of all the creatures, it was he that needed some wisdom the most. So each put a bit in his gourd and wished him well on his search.
Mr. Biopirate gets his act together and starts documenting all the native wisdom he can find in his quest to become “the rich and famous discoverer of the cure for terrible ailments.” The villagers are very co-operative with this man from a foreign country, having no inkling of his intentions and probably a bit flattered at his interest in their native plants.
Soon Anansi’s gourd was overflowing with wisdom and he could hold no more. He now needed to find a place to store it.
Mr. Biopirate gathers up all the plant samples he can get his hands on, and prepares to take them back to his developed country. Having got what he came for, he now searches for a good genetic and tissue repository in his First World laboratories, so he can store his precious samples safely.
“I am certainly the wisest person in the world now, but if I don’t find a good hiding place for my wisdom I may surely lose it.” He looked around and spotted a tall, tall tree. “Ah,” he said to himself, “if I could hide my wisdom high in that tree, I would never have to worry about someone stealing it from me!”
Mr. Biopirate starts working on a way to keep for himself all of the wonderful discoveries he stole from the native people of the Third World country. This way even the natives will have to pay for using them, thereby acknowledging his “discovery” of what they have known all along. He has even worked out a way of making this look all nice and legal. This method is called a product patent.
So Anansi set out to climb the towering tree.” He first took a cloth band and tied it around his waist. Then he tied the heavy gourd to the front of his belly where it would be safe. As he began to climb, however, the gourd full of wisdom kept getting in the way. He tried and tried, but he could not make progress around it.
Mr. Biopirate, finds that the natives, all this while oblivious to the theft of their knowledge, have suddenly woken up to the fact that they might have to pay a price to use the plants their ancestors have been using for thousands of years. They raise a ruckus, and with the help of a few politically-correct activist organisations, start a campaign to prevent Mr. Biopirate from getting his patent.
Soon Anansi’s youngest son walked by. “What are you doing Father?” asked the little spider. “I am climbing this tree with my gourd full of wisdom,” Anansi replied. “But Father,” said the son, “wouldn’t it be much easier if you tied the gourd behind you instead of in front?” Anansi sat there quietly for a very long time before saying, “Shouldn’t you be going home now?” The son skipped down the path and when he had disappeared, Anansi moved the gourd so that it was behind him and proceeded up the tree with no problems at all.
At his wits end, Mr. Biopirate meets with his high-priced lawers who advise him to forget the product patent, that would have got him so much money and fame, and settle for a process patent instead. The campaign dies down and is forgotten. But only until another pirate lays claim to more of the Third World treasures. Then it starts all over again.
When he had reached the top, he cried out, “I walked all over and collected so much wisdom that I am the wisest person ever, but still my baby son is wiser than me. Take back your wisdom!” He lifted the gourd high over his head and spilled its contents into the wind. The wisdom blew far and wide and settled across the land. And this is how wisdom came to the world.
Unfortunately, Anansi is a folktale, while the story of biopiracy is all too real (and does not end as happily). Will the Anansis of the modern world ever realise that the benefit of knowledge is in the sharing, not in the hoarding of wisdom?
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With apologies to the African people for having plagiarised their wonderful folktale.
