Showing results for "Legends" in Africa

As you study the African myths, legends, and folklore through this guide, you will find that there are so many gods and goddesses, and so many different versions of certain stories, that it will blow your mind. The intricate myths in this book have been lined up and collected to help you understand some of the earliest, most ancient beliefs from those living on the African continent. Some have been influential in our day, and some have been completely forgotten except for vague traditions that have been passed on from one generation to the next.

Containing delightful stories from the Yoruba and other West African peoples, this book presents tales of courage and cunning, virtue and vice, and fortunes found and lost. Some of these stories draw upon actual historical persons and events, while others are purely fictional, but each story has something to delight any listener.

The nice thing about African mythology is that it is rooted in such ancient traditions. And although the west hasn’t fully embraced some of these interesting stories, they have been told by many and remembered by some, enough to write them down and discover what they are all about. Different regions have different traditions, of course, and you’ll learn more about many of them in this book.

The modern history of Africa was, until very recently, written on behalf of the indigenous races by the white man, who had forcefully entered the continent during a particularly hubristic and dynamic phase of European history. The embrace of Christianity and Islam, even today, is not necessarily to the exclusion of ancestral spirits, nor the essentials of witchcraft and sorcery. The precarious security of albino people in east and central Africa, whose body parts are sought after in traditional “medicine,” is testimony to the fact that these superstitions are alive and well.

African ideas of how the world began are very different from the story of Genesis. Though the creator god is repeatedly seen as having withdrawn from the world, people often have a very direct and intense relationship with demigods, ancestors, and bush spirits. The entire landscape is permeated by spiritual meanings and inhabited by gods and spirits. While many Africans today formally follow the Christian or Muslim faiths, they often blend these beliefs with traditional lore and rites.

Do you like epic tales that sing the deeds of the world’s greatest heroes? If so, you will love this volume of epics from the West African country of Mali. Each is full of battles, derring-do, magic, and prophecies based on historical events.

This book presents a story of one of the most glorified and celebrated Islamic heroes, that is Tariq Ibn Ziyad. He fought many brave battles to spread the vision of Islam around present-day Spain and Portugal. This book is designed as a part of the historical figures series. This book aims to impart the understanding of their lives and bravery in the minds of children. It seeks to help people reflect on their courage, abilities, strategies, and challenges they faced.