African Myths of Origin

by Belcher, Stephen (Editor/introduction)

• ISBN13: 9780140449457
• ISBN10: 0140449450
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-06-27
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

A rich, unique anthology of retold fables from Africa Gathering a wide range of traditional African myths, this compelling new collection offers tales of heroes battling mighty serpents and monstrous birds, brutal family conflict and vengeance, and desperate migrations across vast and alien lands. From accounts of the inventive wiles of animal- creators and a community forced to flee a giant crocodile to the heroic story of the cripple Sunjata who rose to found an empire, all the narratives here concern origins. They offer a kaleidoscopic picture representative of the rich cultures and societies of the African continent: the ways of life, the peoples—from small hunting bands to great empires—and the states that have taken shape over many generations and environments.

Author Biography

Stephen Belcher was born in Cairo, Egypt and spent much of his childhood in Africa and Europe. He holds a doctorate from Brown University, has taught at Pennsylvania State University, and currently teaches at the University of Kankan in the Republic of Guinea.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xi
A Note on the Text	p. xxvii
List of Maps	p. xxix
Some General Themes
Stories About Hunters
The San Peoples of Southern Africa	p. 6
Pygmies of the Central African Forests	p. 18
The Songhay Hunters of the Niger River	p. 21
The Origin of Hunters' Associations: Sanen and Kontron of the Manden	p. 34
How Hunters Learned about Magic	p. 38
The Animal Bride I: The Changed Skin	p. 40
The Animal Bride II: Sirankomi	p. 42
The Cattle-Herders
Khoi-Khoi Cattle Stories	p. 51
Fulbe Stories of Cattle	p. 53
The Maasai of East Africa	p. 59
The Great Lakes I: The Origin of Cattle (Rwanda)	p. 64
The Great Lakes II: The Story of Wamara (BaHaya)	p. 66
The Chagga of East Africa: Murile	p. 69
Tricksters
Uthlakanyana, the Zulu Child Trickster	p. 75
Stories of Moni-Mambu of the BaKongo	p. 82
Ture, the Zande Trickster	p. 88
Eshu of the Yoruba	p. 97
Legba of the Fon	p. 100
Ananse the Spider, of the Ashanti	p. 104
Stories of Kingdoms and Peoples
Ancient Africa
Egyptian Stories	p. 120
Ethiopia	p. 136
Peoples of the Upper Nile and East Africa
The Oromo of Southern Ethiopia	p. 143
The Shilluk of Southern Sudan	p. 150
The Luo of Sudan and Uganda	p. 153
The Gikuyu of Kenya	p. 159
The Swahili of the Coast	p. 162
Kingdoms of the Great Lakes
The Kingdom of Bunyoro	p. 170
The Kingdom of Buganda	p. 176
The Kingdom of Rwanda	p. 182
The Kingdom of Burundi	p. 192
Central East Africa
Nsong's Lianja, Hero of the Mongo	p. 196
The Kuba Kingdom of the Bushoong: Mboom and Woot	p. 215
The First Kings of the Luba	p. 219
The Kingdoms of the Lunda	p. 223
The Bemba of Zambia	p. 233
The Peoples of Southern Africa
The Shona of Zimbabwe	p. 239
The Nguni Peoples of Southern Africa: Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi	p. 244
The Khoi-Khoi: Stories of Heitsi-Eibib	p. 248
The Central Atlantic
The Yaka of the Kwango River	p. 254
The Kingdom of Kongo	p. 257
The Fang of Gabon and Cameroon	p. 261
Jeki la Njambe of the Duala	p. 268
The Bamun Kingdom of Cameroon	p. 282
From the Forest to the Niger
The Igbo	p. 286
The Kingdom of the Nupe: Tsoede	p. 290
The Jukun Kingdom of the Kororofa	p. 292
The Bachama and Bata of the Upper Benue	p. 298
The Peoples of the Coast
The city of Benin	p. 304
The Yoruba of South-western Nigeria	p. 308
Borgu and the Legend of Kisra	p. 318
The Fon and the Kingdom of Dahomey	p. 320
The Akan-Ashanti and the Baule of the Forest	p. 326
The Mossi Plateau
The Founding of Gonja	p. 333
A Dagomba Hero	p. 334
The Mossi of Burkina Faso	p. 338
The Dogon of the Bandiagara Escarpment	p. 341
Lake Chad and the Central Sudan
The Sara and the Sow of Lake Chad	p. 348
The Kingdom of Bagirmi	p. 357
The Kingdoms of Kanem and Bornu	p. 359
The Hausa	p. 365
The Kingdoms of the Western Sudan
The Songhay Peoples of the Middle Niger	p. 371
The City of Djenne	p. 382
The Soninke	p. 385
The Maninka and the Empire of Mali	p. 392
The Bamana of the Middle Niger	p. 413
The Peoples of Senegambia
The Mandinka of Senegambia	p. 423
The Sereer of Senegal	p. 428
Njaajaan Njaay and the Wolof	p. 433
The Futa Tooro	p. 436
Malick Sy and Bondu	p. 441
The Sahara
The Tuareg of the Sahara	p. 446
Sources and Further Reading	p. 457
Index	p. 493
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