Ants in African Mythology
The common ant, a tiny insect that lives in underground colonies and gathers food, is credited in North African myths with teaching the first humans…
Month: August 2017
Animals in African Mythology
animals Animal tales in the African tradition amuse and entertain, provide explanations, and comment on human weaknesses and values. Animal trickster heroes are common. Chief…
Ancestors in African Mythology
ancestors In many traditions throughout Africa, ancestors are not truly dead in the final sense of the word. Although unseen, they are forces in the…
Anansasem
anansasem (anansesem) Akan (Ghana) Spider stories, named after the Ashanti trickster hero Anansi; a class of folktales told by the Akan-speaking people of Ghana. These…
Amulets and talismans in African Mythology
amulets and talismans Threatened by hunger, natural elements, beasts of prey, and unknown forces, Africans—like many other people around the world—enlisted the aid of magic…
Amokye
Amokye- Ashanti (Ghana) The woman who welcomed the souls of dead women to Asamando, the Land of the Dead. (See also underworld.) Traditionally, Ashanti women…
Amma
Amma Dogon (Burkina Faso, Mali) The Creator, a deity who in some versions of the Dogon creation account was male and in others was female.…
Amadlozi
amadlozi Zulu (South Africa) The spirits of the ancestors of the Zulu people. Humans could invoke the help of the spirit world by calling on…
Ama (Ma)
Ama (Ma) Jukun (Nigeria) The Creator, possibly a fusion of two or more deities. Ama was sometimes regarded as male and at other times as…
Al-Khidr
Al-Khidr (Al-Khadir, The Green One) Arab (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Western Sahara) A legendary Islamic hero. According to legend, he was given the name “the Green…
