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Mythology: 1400 to 1900: Africa

Chapter · June 2012

DOI: 10.4135/9781452218458.n301

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Alexis Tengan
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 Mythology 177

Mythology
Mythology consists of sacred narratives about peoples'
origins, their intuitive conceptions about the universe,
and their place in it. The character and structure of
the narratives tend to take different forms, including
such oratory genres as storytelling, myths of origin,
ritualized orations, epic tales, and proverbial legends
with ethical or educational connotations. During the
period of 1400 to 1900, almost all of African mythol-
ogy existed as part of the oral media accompanied by
artistic creations, expressions, and performances. As
a result, their production and reproduction depended
very much on speech and the spoken word. Indeed,
for many societies such as the Dogon of Mali, the spo-
ken word was by itself expressed in mythology, and
was considered as the generic genitor of all existence.
Thus, throughout this period, mythology remained at
the heart of African social and cultural life.

Mythology and Origination

In many African societies, mythical narratives outline
the society's conception about the origins of the uni-
verse and its creative order. In this light, many African
myths postulate the existence of a creator god who is
at the origin of the universe and all that exists within
it. In most cases, the abstract creator god is otiose
while delegating all creative and controlling functions
to spatially and objectively defined divinities, deities
and spirits, who are themselves responsible for the
origin of specific categories of life for;ms. These dei-
ties and spirits directly collaborate with humans for
the creation of ordering institutions. The most sig-
nificant of these spatially oriented divinities include
the two most significant entities, the Sky/Rain (a male
divinity) and the Earth (a female divinity). Narra-
tives about and addressed to the otiose god and the
two most significant divinities, the Sky God and the
Earth Goddess, usually take the form of religious ora-
tions replete with ritual practices. All the other dei-
ties, divinities, and spirits associate themselves in a
 178 Mythology

mythically stated order with either the Earth or Sky These commented on and outlined beliefs about the
category to become the heroes or main figures in the human condition in relation to the environment by
diverse genre of mythical narratives, legends, stories, making use of both human and animal characters in
and tales. dramatic and comic situations.
Intermingling with these divinities and spirits Mythology relating to sociocultural practices
are divinized ancestors and the spirits of other dead -included the epic sagas of kings and chiefs, family
beings (humans, animals, and plants). From 1400 to and clan stories of migration, and settlement and
1900, kinship was the most dominant social struc- cultural norms. These tended to blend notions of
ture within much of black Africa. It was also the historical processes about human activities in the
most turbulent period of African history, caused first past with fictional narratives in order to establish
by the gradual intrusion of Islam across the Sahara, legitimacy for current social and political structures
and second, through rapid and violent global eco- and cultural practices.
nomic and political intrusions, through the Atlantic Africa can be appropriately described as the
slave trade, and later through the wars of coloniza- continent of mythology. Not only do so many diverse
tion. Through displacements, migrations, and family types of myths emanate from the continent, but until
fissions, clan/tribal and ethnic groups and linguistic very recently, mythology has been the dominant
communities became independent and separated medium through which Africans have expressed their
from each other. Each group incorporated into its cultural and religious beliefs and practices. Unlike
mythology conceptions about its displacement, cre- many other civilizations, Africans have consistently
ating migration stories that emphasized the found- refused to confine mythology to the past as an
ing ancestors and their experiences. archival relic, but have continued to draw on it for
daily understanding of life and its meaning.
Mythology in Religion, Culture, and Society Mythology is an essential area of study necessary for
In the absence of writing as a medium of communica- properly understanding Africa's daily expressions in
tion, African societies within this period relied heav- art, music, or oral written and literature.
ily on oral mythology, not only to bring into existence
their foundational institutions and systems as previ- Alexis B. Tengan
ously outlined, but also to develop their religious sys- St. John's International School
tems and sociocultural practices. Religious mythol-
ogy tended to exist on different levels according to its See Also: Folklore and Proverbs; Minority Religions;
sacredness. The highest category included orations Religion, Traditional.
about the activities of gods and divinities within the
context of ritual services. These were often recited by Further Readings
a priestly class or by diviners within the clan or family Abrahams, Roger D. African Folktales: Traditional Stories
at the institutional level. of the Black World. New York: Pantheon Books, 1983.
Following these were secret narratives about spe- Johnson, John William, Thomas A. Hale, and Stephen
cialized knowledge that were only recited on special Paterson Belcher. Oral Epics From Africa: Vibrant
occasions, such as initiation rituals, and within a pri- Voices From a Vast Continent. African Epic Series.
vate and a secluded domain. The creation and narra- Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.
tion of these myths were often handled by members Knappert, Jan. African Mythology: A n Encyclopedia o f
of secret societies, such as the Bagr secret society Myth and Legend. London: Diamond Books, 1995.
among the Dagara in northern Ghana and Southern Levi-Strauss, Claude. The Savage Mind (La pensee
Burkina Faso, and the Poro and Sande secret societies sauvage). London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966.
in Sierra Leone. They could also be narrated by pro-
Mbiti, John S. African Religions and Philosophy, 2nd rev.
fessional bodies, such as the hunting societies found
Oxford: Heinemann, 1990.
in many parts of Africa. Other religious mythology
Tengan, Alexis B. Mythical Narratives in Ritual: Dagara
tended to cover stories, legends, and tales told with Black Bagr, African Thoughts and Perspectives No. 3.
the intention of teaching ethical and moral values. Brussels: P. I. E., 2006.

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