West African Mythology
Encyclopedia
Shared West African mythology refers to myths found across the region of West Africa
. Some of these myths traveled across the Atlantic during the period of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade
to become part of Caribbean, Cuban or Brazilian mythology, with some endemic changes.
Features of West African mythology include:
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. Some of these myths traveled across the Atlantic during the period of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
to become part of Caribbean, Cuban or Brazilian mythology, with some endemic changes.
Features of West African mythology include:
- Mami WataMami WataMami Wata is venerated in West, Central, Southern Africa, and in the African diaspora in the Caribbean and parts of North and South America. Mami Wata spirits are usually female, but are sometimes male.-Appearance:...
or Water Spirits - AbikuAbikuAbiku is a word in Yoruba. The word is derived from Yoruba: "predestined to death", which is from "that which possesses" and "death"...
- OgbanjeOgbanjeAn Ogbanje is a term in Odinani for what was believed to be an evil spirit that would deliberately plague a family with misfortune. Its literal translation in the Igbo language is "children who come and go"...
- River Snake
- Ancestral Spirits (This falls into religion and/or reincarnation belief systems as much as myth)
- TricksterTricksterIn mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...