We are almost done with our virtual trip around the world! This time, we are heading to a warmer climate to take a look at African mythology; their folklore, creation myths and deities, as well as monsters. African mythology is surrounded by gods, ‘orishas’, and power play just like the European and American myths too.
Unlike European mythology which still holds its ground in the culture of Europe, African mythology is fast losing its relevance in the modern sphere. Africa is rich in culture and its traditions catch the eyes of its Western counterpart, that is the same situation when it comes to its mythology.
The beautiful African Mythology became quite choked up by the activities of the slave trade where the antiques and heritage of the African people were destroyed, or at best shipped to Europe. Even the slaves who could take the myth they believed in across to Europe found it hard to continue in the worship of these myths because of the reign of Catholicism across all parts of Europe.
The trans-Atlantic slave trade was a critical episode in world history. Between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, more than twelve million Africans made the involuntary journey from their homelands to the Americas. How did Africans and their descendants cope with forced displacement? One form of solace lay in folklore and religion.
Scholars once claimed the so-called Middle Passage broke Africans’ connections to their native cultures. We now know this to be false. Elements of African folklore and religion survived the trans-Atlantic crossing. Although facets of African folklore did endure in the Americas, they often took on new forms depending on local contexts.
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Let's delve into some specific examples of African mythological figures and traditions:
Creation Myths and Deities
The Untold Secrets of African Creation Myths
According to Baluba mythology, their creator deity’s name is Kabezya-Mpungu. Their creation myth connects God’s unavailability with the humans longing for him. In the story, Kabezya-Mpungu becomes invisible after creating the world and its first humans, who did not have a heart at that point.
This faith originated in Bantu region in the southern half of Africa. It’s based around the idea of the main creator god Nzambi Mpungu who made the world and the sprits in it. Nganga - priestly doctors - are there to heal the mind and bodies of the followers.
Located in South Sudan, Dinka people believed in the supreme creator god Nhialic who ruled all the other spirits. While there are several versions of the Dinka creation myth, it mainly focuses on the creation of humans, Garang and Abuk being the first ones of their kind.
The chief god of the Otuho is Ajok and is mostly described as kind, although can be angered depending on circumstances. In what could be described as a creation myth, Ajok answered a prayer of a woman who wished for her son to be resurrected.
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Traditional Malagasy mythology refers to Zanahary, a creator deity and the division of Heaven and Earth between him and his son Andrianerinerina, who was a frequent source of worship for the people.
The traditional religion of Zulu worships various deities, commonly associated with animals or natural phenomena. Unkulunkulu is regarded as the highest god, as well as the creator of humanity. Some other deities include Nomhoyi, the goddess of rivers; Nomkhubulwane, the goddess of the rainbow, agriculture, rain and beer (which she also invented according to the myth); and Sonzwaphi, the deity of healing.
The African mythology, mostly related to Nigerian religion and culture, is characterized by the presence of an all-powerful god, Olorun. These representatives, the Orisas, thus opined the creation of humans as they could only be true rulers if they have subjects to lord over. African mythology has it that before the use of clay, the Orisas had tried other means to create the first humans; water, steel, wood, iron, and the rest of it. In their failure to successfully create humans using these items, one of the Orisas whose name was Oxala, suggested that they try clay to create humans.
Key Figures in African Folklore
Anansi the Spider
The figure of Anansi the spider survived more intact than most. Anansi originated as a trickster deity among the Akan people of modern Ghana. He has always been depicted as a spider (the name Anansi translates directly to “spider” in the Akan languages). Unlike the negative image of spiders in Western popular culture, Anansi is a revered repository of wisdom.
According to one Anansi story, humans did not originally possess the gift of storytelling. Storytelling was originally monopolized by Nyame, the supreme god in the Akan religion. Humanity’s boredom frustrated Anansi, so the spider traveled to the sky to argue with Nyame. Nyame, ever the gatekeeper, only offered to give Anansi his legends on the condition that he complete a job for him.
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Anansi followed the sky god’s advice. Returning to Earth, he cleverly tricked and captured each creature by exploiting their most basic weaknesses. Anansi took his animal cargo to Nyame, who granted the spider’s request despite his frustration. The trickster spider returned to Earth once more carrying Nyame’s stories. To this day, Anansi remains one of the most prolific figures from African folklore.
Br’er Rabbit
In the many parts of Africa historically affected by the slave trade, cultures have told stories of heroic and intelligent rabbit and hare figures. Br’er Rabbit is largely a descendant of these tales. Recounted in stories passed down through the generations across the American South, Br’er Rabbit became widely known after Joel Chandler Harris published his Uncle Remus tales in 1881.
In these stories, Br’er Rabbit uses his intelligence to thwart the ambitions of his larger rivals. Although he might initially get stuck in one of their traps, he is ultimately able to think on his feet and escape. He was even featured as a cartoon character in Disney’s infamous 1946 film Song of the South.
Shango, the God of Thunder
Shango, the god of thunder for the Yoruba people of Nigeria, is perhaps the most powerful figure from African folklore on this list. The Yoruba religion speaks of Shango as having been the fourth king of Oyo, a real medieval state that dominated southwestern Nigeria for over 500 years. He was a strict leader and conqueror who was intrigued by magic.
Through his experimentation with the magical arts, Shango created lightning, with disastrous results; the palace of Oyo was destroyed, along with much of his family. Feeling ashamed and defeated, Shango left Oyo and committed suicide. However, death was not his end. Shango became an orisha (a Yoruba divinity), capable of sending lightning down to attack Oyo’s enemies. In the Americas, Shango gained a widespread following during and after the Atlantic slave trade.
High John the Conqueror
The figure of High John the Conqueror is intimately connected to African folklore and religious traditions. High John the Conqueror isn’t so much a character in a story, though, as he is the manifestation of a plant. One version of the legend, noted by Zora Neale Hurston in 1943, does give High John a distinct personality. A prince from the Kingdom of Kongo, his spirit never crumbled despite his enslavement.
That being said, Hurston’s version of the story is the only one so far recorded to humanize High John. During the nineteenth century, the High John root functioned as a good-luck charm for Black people who used it. Users might take it in the hope of achieving financial prosperity, sexual prowess, or protection against evil.
Mami Wata
What happens when you combine a mermaid with Medusa? You might just get the most widely known incarnations of the spirit Mami Wata! It’s hard to trace the exact origins of the Mami Wata cult. Several African peoples all the way down the continent’s Atlantic coast have long valued and revered water deities.
Mami Wata herself is a modern amalgamation of many of these spirits under a single name. In the Caribbean, Mami Wata is linked with both healing and wealth. She can reward followers with earthly prosperity or punish them severely for failing to honor her.
The Flying Africans
The legend of the Flying Africans is not particular to any African diaspora subculture. It seems to have been widespread across North America and the Caribbean. The Flying Africans tale stemmed from enslaved Africans’ desire for freedom from bondage. According to the legend, Africans and their descendants escaped from the shackles of chattel slavery by literally taking flight and returning to Africa.
Some real-life events inspired versions of the tale. In Georgia, for instance, the self-drowning of mutinous Igbo slaves in May 1803 remained in local memory through the 1930s. Interviewers and anthropologists from the Federal Writers’ Project recorded accounts of the story from participants. These accounts were included in the book Drums and Shadows, which was published in 1940.
Here is a table summarizing the key figures discussed:
| Figure | Origin | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Anansi | Akan people of Ghana | A trickster deity depicted as a spider, revered for wisdom and storytelling. |
| Br’er Rabbit | African folktales | A clever rabbit who uses his intelligence to outsmart his rivals. |
| Shango | Yoruba people of Nigeria | The god of thunder, a powerful orisha and former king of Oyo. |
| High John the Conqueror | African folklore | A spirit of resilience and good luck, often represented by a plant root. |
| Mami Wata | Various African peoples | A water spirit associated with healing, wealth, and both rewards and punishments. |
| Flying Africans | African diaspora | A legend about enslaved Africans who escaped bondage by flying back to Africa. |
Other Deities and Creatures
There are tons of recordings on Kongo religion in Christian missionary files, but a historian John K. Thorton states that their credibility is questionable due to the hostile bias in which they were written. Kongo people believed that, after death, a person’s soul leaves the body to become a ghost and enter Kalunga, the land of the dead.
Also known as Latuka, their primary religion is mainly based on nature and ancestor worship. Otuho people took their identity very seriously - converting to another religion basically meant cultural assimilation in their minds.
Berbers took great care of their dead, the bodies buried with ostrich eggs, jewellery and weapons. They were also mostly in foetal position and painted with ochre (a clay pigment). They also participated in what was called cult of the dead, considering the spirits of their ancestors to be gods.
Ancestors play a huge role in their folklore, usually seen as kind and genuine figures. However, if they are ignored, some spirits may become angatra (ghosts of the dead) and bring disease or misfortune to those who taunted them.
They’re also not short of more menacing creatures, such as Inkanyamba, a carnivorous animal with an eel-like body and equine head, who can control the weather and are able to grow to a pretty impressive size. There is also Tikoloshe, a gremlin who can turn invisible by swallowing a pebble.
Dogon people were one of the last in the West Africa region to lose their independence and come under the French rule. The most important spiritual figures in the religion were the Nummo/Nommo twins. Also referred to as the Serpent, the Nummo were amphibians (fish able to walk on land). They were also called “Water Spirits”.
Yorubas have evolved a robust cosmology, meaning it believes all humans possess something known as “Ayanmo”, which more or less means destiny or fate. According to their beliefs, each person eventually becomes one with Olodumare, the divine creator of the universe, their thoughts and actions in the physical realm interacting with other living beings and the Earth itself.
I could not wrap this article up without mentioning a couple of other monstrous creatures from different regions. The Groostlang is ‘a great snake’ that can grow up to 60 feet length, lives in Richetsveld area of South Africa. Since the gods deemed it too deadly, they came up with a plan to separate its intelligence and powers across the two species of elephant and snake.
There’s also Adze, a vampire from the legends of the people of Ghana and Togo. The Adze is usually in an indestructible firefly or insect form but, if captured, it will assume a quasi-human form. When it shapeshifts, it can attack you and eat your organs - which is bad enough, but as an insect, it can suck your blood while you’re asleep and spread diseases.
The Importance of Preserving African Mythology
The first time I heard about Oduduwa is still vividly emblazoned in my mind. I was a little boy of 7. Yet, what unfolded right in front of me caused my mind to gallop into an imaginative frenzy―that someone as awesome as this was my forefather, that he lived on the land I now live, that he spoke the same language I now speak and probably had Iyan and Egusi soup as his favourite dish too. That day, I became ecstatic about the folklore and tales of dignified personalities of the Yoruba and the Òrìsà Pantheon and their stories have since stayed with me.
The tales of Sango, Ogun, Oya, Osun and the other Òrìsàs were like good music to my soul. I felt an unexplainable joy. I still have same feelings about them now and I strongly doubt that I will ever outgrow it. In fact, when I was much younger, my friends and I had our favourites: fascinated by the fact that he was the god of lightening and could manipulate fire, I was stuck on Sango, going as far as making for myself a battle axe like his. Some of my friends made sport out of gathering cowries just to show-off their love for Osun, the river goddess while some went fiery for Ogun, the god of war.
However, a look at our society today seems to ooze of a gradual, consistent decline of theknowledge of these mythical heroes as well as legendary men and women. They have beenand are being banished from our minds and from our societies. I was opportune to speak with a group of young minds recently and I was left in shock when Irealized that most of them, though were Yorubas, did not know Sango and Ogun - two of the most popular Yoruba deities, I believe. Painful also was that more than a handful of them had ‘Ogun’ as part of their surnames while the straw that broke the camel’s back was that these younglings went thrilled at the mention of the names of Hollywood superheroes and Western legendary figures.
I was not entirely surprised though as the images of these characters where everywhere: on their shirts, pens, books, bags…This, to a large extent, shows how some of the most important components of our culture is being left to be forgotten without being properly passed on to new generations - a valid way to ruin our cultural heritages, values and identities and to reduce them to mere vestiges.
The west and their attendant influences such as Hollywood might appear the chief culprit in this charade. Nevertheless, it will be totally wrong to categorically point accusing fingers at them since charity begins at home. Our very own movie industry in Nigeria, Nollywood, which should have been a vehicle for passing our ideas and keeping our own ways alive for younger generations has been doing much less of that and that has contributed immensely to this fade of our cultural heritages and identity.
Our system of education also to a large extent seems to speak less and lowly about things that are indigenous and speak so highly of things that are foreign. For example, children are taught poems like “Twinkle Little Stars” and “London Bridge is Falling Down” in Schools to the detriment of witty indigenous poems that are ornaments for persuasive speech and deep though arcane verses from the Ifa Corpus (Odu Ifa) which use natural phenomena as classroom templates. In most of our homes too, mentioning names of our deities are frowned at while parents happily give their wards nicknames as Thor. This goes to show that the way we communicate some of the things we traditionally say and the things we traditionally do has been unrefined and bland, failing to evolve enough to capture the attention of younger generations and the people at large
The way we tell the stories of our legendary figures, ancestors and heritages as a whole needs to be rebranded. Animations - just like Commotion studio is currently doing with the Sango story - should be considered. Movies and documentaries that tell stories in new and fresh perspectives should be embarked upon. For instance, instead of telling the story of Sango or Ogun in the ordinary and bland way, a leaf should be drawn from Hollywood’s renditions and depictions in projects as “God of War” or “Thor”. After all, a decent nexus can be drawn between those characters and that of Africans, Yorubaprecisely. In any case, attention should be awarded to how we tell our stories so that they can garner the attention of incoming generations. If drastic actions are not taken, our cultural heritages and our pristine identities may not recover from this slippery slide and unguarded free fall into the bin of forgotten history.
