of the Maypole are the most spectacular aspect of the Land-ship performance. There are eight participants: four males, led by the King, with the red ribbon, and four females led by the Queen with the white ribbon. The six other ribbon colors are blue and green, yellow and mauve and orange and pink, which are plaited in a clock-wise and counter clock-wise movement, moving over and under each other. The ribbons are plaited around the central post until they become too short to intertwine, and then the weave is reversed to unwind. In Akan cosmology, the colors of red and white, which are king and queen in the Land-ship maypole dance, are highly significant and have special spiritual meaning when used together. The dancing of the maypole is a traditional dance found all over northern Europe that dates back to the middle ages, with this version of English and Scottish provenance, a custom likely to have been continued by British settlers in Barbados. The adaptation of the British maypole into the African culture can be identified as a poignant memory of the mast of the slave ship, but more predominantly the Akan story of Kweku Anansi, the spider man. According to the original Akan legend, Kweku Anansi (Kweku means male born on a Wednesday and Anansi means spider) is the son of Nyame, the Creator God. Anansi had the ability to perform fantastic feats and was also very tricky. It is said that Anansi taught the Akan people the art of weaving and the construction of houses. The Barbados Land-ship therefore does a re-enactment of the Anansi story, using the eight ribbons for the weave, which represents the eight legs of the spider. The web thus became the symbol of the life-giving rays of the sun, and was also used as a metaphor to bind individuals by ties of blood, clan, village and the state, to form a strong group. Thus during slavery the focus on the meaning of the maypole would have become the backbone for the very survival of Akan peoples wherever they were. Dances and maneuvers While many have referred to Land-ship Dances, the Land-ship does not dance. They perform maneuvers to the command of the Captain while on parade with the Tuk Band (Engine) providing the music to power the ship. They step, they don't dance. Even the Maypole, which many consider a dance is a