Myths and Folklores from Africa

Myths and Folklores from Africa

This folklore is from Turkana Desert, KenyaLong ago there were a Hyena and a Jackal who were the best of friends. They herded cattle and played every day. One day Jackal said to Hyena, "Wouldn't it be nice to be free to move about on our own, to be away from our mothers' constant watch? Let's throw our mothers in the river and run away!" Hyena paced around for a few minutes and then agreed. The next day Hyena brought his mother to the river in a sack. Jackal, trickster that he is, put garbage in a sack, and pretended it was his mother. On the count of three, they both threw their bags into the river. When the job was done, they headed home. For days and weeks afterwards, Hyena and Jackal went about their business. They herded their cattle during the day and met now and then in the evening. Without his mother to cook for him, Hyena often found himself hungry, but Jackal seemed quite satisfied and well fed. One day Hyena noticed this and asked, "How is it, my friend, that you come here every evening looking fat and satisfied? Where are you getting all your food?" Jackal shrugged. "I found some fruit along the way," he replied. For three nights in a row, Jackal showed up well fed. On the fourth day, when Jackal went to tend his cattle, Hyena followed him. Hyena discovered that after his morning in the pasture, Jackal went straight to his mother's house, ate his dinner, and stayed for a while. When Jackal left, Hyena sprang into the room and found Jackal's mother alive and well and cleaning up from the evening's meal. Hyena was furious. In a fit of anger, he killed Jackal's mother and then headed home. The following day Jackal went to his mother's house, as always, and found only her head left behind! He cried and sobbed until he saw Hyena's footprints heading down the trail from the house. When Hyena saw Jackal he taunted Jackal, saying "Why do you look so hungry today, my friend?" Jackal began to cry and quickly moved near the smoke of the fire so he could mask his tears. "Why are you crying?" Hyena asked."I'm not crying," said Jackal, "it's just the smoke of the fire burning my eyes.""I know why you're crying!" Hyena shouted. "It's because your mother is dead, just as mine is because of your treachery!" From that point on, Jackal and Hyena lived with sadness and regret for having been so foolish and killing their mothers. They became friends once again, and came to depend upon each other for food and company. Perhaps the moral to this odd tale is: "Don't let your friends do your thinking for you!"

This folklore is from Kitale, Kenya A while ago, a terrible drought forced people to travel far and wide in search of water and food for their animals. A barefoot traveler bid farewell to his family, tied a rope around the neck of his prize goat and struck off in search of greener pastures. Along the road, hiding in the thorn bushes, was a hungry thief wearing new shoes. He enviously eyed the traveler's goat and began to plan how he could steal it. He ran ahead on the path, put one of his shoes out in the middle of the road, and hid again in the bushes. The traveler arrived at the spot and admired the lone shoe. Instead of picking it up, however, he left it behind. He knew that one shoe would do him no good. The thief retrieved his shoe and again ran ahead of the traveler. This time, he took off the other shoe and put it in the road. Again, he hid in the bushes. The traveler arrived at the spot where the thief was hidden. He was so excited to find the second shoe that he abandoned his goat, left the shoe there and ran back to get the first one! With that, the thief sprang out of the bushes, grabbed his shoe and the goat and headed on his way, whistling happily. When the traveler realized he'd been tricked, he felt like a fool. He went home to his family, a broken man.So the question for you to consider isWhat are your priorities? Would you risk something your family thought was important so that you could have something flashy or cool?

This folklore is from Meru, KenyaIn this land a long time ago, the people and wild animals were friends and worked together. The elephant was the biggest and strongest of creatures. It was also one of the most helpful of all the animals. When the women of the village needed firewood hauled to their houses, they would ask the elephants to help. One day, a woman needed firewood, so she asked one of the elephants to bring wood from the forest. The elephant happily agreed to help, and headed off into the woods. After several hours, the elephant returned. He brought just a small trunkful of the nicest branches he could find. The woman wasn't satisfied and complained to the elephant."You're the biggest and strongest of all the animals and this is the best you can do? This is barely enough to keep a mouse warm for the evening!" The elephant couldn't understand why the woman was so upset, but he promised to do a better job next time. The following day, the woman asked the elephant to gather firewood again. This time the elephant was determined to make up for his earlier mistake. He came back that evening dragging several large trees, roots and all. "What am I supposed to do with these?" complained the woman. "They're far too large to be of any use! Why can't you just do what I asked?" Hearing the woman complain again, the elephant got mad. He decided to leave the village for good and to go off into the wild. In the wild, he wouldn't have to suffer the constant complaints of the woman. As he left, he turned to the woman and warned, "When we meet again, we will be enemies." As he left, he angrily stripped the woman's house of its cowhide shingles. He made the shingles into the floppy ears you still see on elephants today. From that day on, elephants were wild. The people came to fear, respect and admire them. But people and elephants will never again live together as they did many years ago.

What do you think is the moral of this story? Telling tales

This folklore is from Munduli, Tanzana"Many years ago, my father and his father owned many cattle and lived in the hills on the edge of the forest. His home, like all traditional Maasai homes, was built around the 'boma.' A boma is a thorn corral where the cattle are kept safe at night."One dark, moonless night when my father, Longida, was just a child, a strong wind blew in over the hills. The empty water gourds outside the hut fell down and began knocking around. The cows began to rustle about, and their bells rang out, 'Clang, clang.' Longida awoke with a strange feeling that something wasn't right, so he stepped cautiously into the cold night air. "When Longida's eyes adjusted to the dark, he was able to make out the form of a lion. The lion was standing still against the thorn fence. The beast growled, and Longida stepped back slowly. Then the lion sat back on its haunches and held up its paw. This gesture made Longida feel oddly at ease. He ever-so-slowly approached the lion, closer and closer, until he could see a long acacia thorn sticking out from the lion's paw."His heart beat fast in his chest. Longida walked towards the lion until he was close enough to feel the lion purr and smell his musty breath. With his hand shaking, Longida reached out, pulled the thorn from the lion's paw and quickly stepped back."With that, the lion turned to walk away. It looked over its shoulder, beckoning Longida to follow. The lion walked into the bush, looking back every several feet to make sure Longida was following. He led the boy to a clearing where a gazelle had been freshly killed. The lion stopped as if to offer him the meat to Longida as a gift, and then stalked off into the night. "Longida woke his family, and told them his fabulous story, but nobody believed him. They did enjoy the meat, though!"

This folklore is from Mangola, Tanzania A long time ago there was a young boy named Simboya who had an older brother named Ngaida. It was a time of famine, and their father sent them into the wilderness to find food. Deep in the bush they came upon an elephant that had fallen into a trap. The elephant looked up from the trap and pleaded with the boys, "Save me! Save me!" Simboya freed the elephant, which made his brother very angry. "How can you be so foolish to let our dinner go so easily? Would you let your family go hungry?!" Simboya felt bad and offered to go without food so Ngaida could eat more, so long as he would promise that not to tell their father about the elephant. After several days passed, Simboya's father asked him, "Simboya, why are you getting so thin?" Ngaida couldn't hold back. He blurted out the whole story about Simboya and the elephant. The boy's father was very angry with Simboya. The next day, while they were out collecting honey from the trees, he and Ngaida pulled away the ladder. They left Simboya stranded in the tree. After days in the tree without food, Simboya's bones began to show. One day, weak with starvation, he saw an elephant pass beneath him. "Hey, do you know an elephant who is a little smaller than you? It has long ears." he called out. "It once got caught in a trap near here.""Oh yes, I know him," recalled the elephant. "He should pass this way soon." Some hours later, Simboya's elephant friend passed below. "What happened, Simboya?" called the elephant, with distress."I'm being tortured for freeing you from the trap. Can you help me?"The elephant paced around the tree all day and night, thinking and thinking. In the morning he proposed a plan. "Can you spit on my back?" he asked. Simboya spat in the middle of the elephant's back, forming a small pool. "Good," said the elephant. "Now spit again, and then jump." Simboya gathered a huge gob and spat. Then he leapt from the tree and landed with a splash in the pool of spit on the elephant's back. The elephant took Simboya back to his home. The elephant lived in Seya Habarkari, which means 'the place of the trees." There the elephant gave the boy cattle, and found him a wife.Some years later, Simboya began to miss his family. He sent a little bird off with a message for them to come to him. They arrived, crying with happiness to see Simboya alive and well. He forgave them, and they lived the rest of their days together in Seya Habakari."

Thunder and Lightning (Nigeria):A long time ago, both thunder and lightning lived on this earth, among the people. Thunder was a mother sheep and Lightning was her son, a ram. Neither animal was very popular with the people, for when somebody offended Lightning, he would fly into a furious rage and begin burning whatever he came across. This often included huts and corn bins, and even large trees. Sometimes he damaged crops on the farms with his fire and occasionally he killed people who got in his way. As soon as Thunder knew he was behaving this way, she would raise her voice and shout at him as loudly as she could, and that was very loud indeed. Naturally the neighbors were very upset, first at the damage caused by Lightning and then by the unbearable noise from his mother that always followed his outbursts. The villagers complained to the king on many occasions, until at last he sent the two of them to live at the very edge of the village, and said that they must not come and mix with the people any more. However, this did no good, since Lightning could still see people as they walked about the village streets and so found it only too easy to continue picking quarrels with them. At last the king sent for them again. "I have given you many chances to live a better life," he said, "but I can see that it is useless. From now on, you must go away from our village and live in the wild bush. We do not want to see your faces here again." Thunder and Lightning had to obey the king and agree to abide by his ruling; so they left the village, angry at its inhabitants. But still there was plenty of trouble in store for the villagers, since Lightning was so angry at being banished that he now set fire to the whole bush, and since it was the dry season this was extremely unfortunate. The flames spread to the little farms of the people, and sometimes to their houses as well, so that they were in despair again. They often heard the mother ram's mighty voice calling her son to order, but, since it was always after the fact, it made very little difference in his actions. The king called all his counselors together and asked them to advise him, and after much debate they hit on a plan. Why not banish Thunder and Lightning completely away from the earth, and send them to live in the sky. And so the king proclaimed. Thunder and Lightning were sent away into the sky, where the people hoped they would not be able to do any more damage. Things did not work out quite as well as they had hoped, however, for Lightning still loses his temper from time to time and cannot resist sending fire down to the earth when he is angry. Then you can hear his mother rebuking him in her loud rumbling voice.

Lituolone (Sesuto):Once there was a monster, named Kammapa, that devoured humans. Eventually the only person left in the world was an old woman who had fearfully gone into hiding when she saw what was happening. One day, without the aid of a man, she gave birth to a boy-child who was adorned with amulets. She named her son Lituolone in honor of her god. By nightfall the boy was full-grown. He asked his mother where the other people were, and being told of Kammapa, grabbed a knife and went forward to fight it. The monster swallowed him in one gulp; finding himself unharmed in the beast's stomach, Lituolone used his knife to cut his way out. In tearing apart the beast's entrails he allowed thousands of human beings to escape with him. The world was repopulated again.

Tortoise and the Lizard (Bantu):Tortoise had used up all his salt, and he found his meals so tasteless without it that he decided to call on his brother and ask him if he had any to spare. His brother had plenty. "How will you get it back to your home?" he asked Tortoise. "If you will wrap the salt in a piece of bark cloth, and tie it up with string, then I can put the string over my shoulder and drag the parcel along the ground behind me," said Tortoise. "A splendid idea!" exclaimed his brother, and between them they made a tidy package of the salt. Then Tortoise set off for his long, slow journey home, with the bundle going bump, bump, bump, along the ground behind him. Suddenly he was pulled up short, and turning round, he saw that a large lizard had jumped on to the parcel of salt and was sitting there, staring at him. "Get off my salt!" exclaimed Tortoise. "How do you expect me to drag it home with you on top of it?" "It's not your salt!' replied the lizard. "I was just walking along the path when I found this bundle lying there, so I took possession of it and now it belongs to me." "What rubbish you talk!" said Tortoise. "You know well it is mine, for I am holding the string that ties it." But the lizard still insisted that he had found the parcel lying in the road, and he refused to get off unless Tortoise went with him to the elders, to have their case tried in court. Poor Tortoise had to agree and together they went before the old men at the court. First Tortoise put his case, explaining that as his arms and legs were so short he always had to carry bundles by dragging them along behind him. Then the lizard put his side of the matter, saying that he had found the bundle lying in the road. '"Surely anything that is picked up on the road belongs to the one who picks it up?" cried the lizard. The old men discussed the matter seriously for some time; but many of them were related to the lizard and thought that they might perhaps get a share of the salt, so eventually they decreed that the bundle should be cut into two, each animal taking half. Tortoise was disappointed, because he knew it really was his salt, but he sighed with resignation and let them divide the parcel. The lizard immediately seized the half that was covered with the biggest piece of cloth, leaving poor Tortoise with most of his salt escaping from his half of the parcel, and spilling out on to the ground. In vain did Tortoise try to gather his salt together.His hands were too small and there was too little cloth to wrap round it properly. Finally he departed for home, with only a fraction of his share, wrapped up in leaves and what remained of the bark cloth, while the elders scraped up all that had been spilled, dirty though it was, and took it back to their wives. Tortoise's wife was very disappointed when she saw how little salt he had brought with him, and when he told her the whole story she was most indignant at the way he had been treated. The long, slow journey had tired him, and he had to rest for several days. But although Tortoise was so slow, he was very cunning and eventually thought up a plan to get even with the lizard. So, saying good-bye to his wife, he plodded along the road towards the lizard's home with a gleam in his eye, and after some time he caught sight of the lizard, who was enjoying a solitary meal of flying ants. Slowly and silently Tortoise came upon him from behind and put his hands on the middle of the lizard's body. "See what I've found!" called Tortoise loudly. "What are you doing?" asked the perplexed lizard. "I was just walking along the path when I found something lying there," explained Tortoise. "So I picked it up and now it belongs to me, just as you picked up my salt the other day." When the lizard continued to wriggle and demanded that Tortoise set him free, Tortoise insisted that they go to the court and get the elders to judge. The old men listened attentively to both sides of the story, and then one said: "If we are to be perfectly fair, we must give the same judgement that we gave concerning the salt." "Yes," said the others, nodding their white heads, "and we had the bag of salt cut in two. Therefore we must cut the lizard in two, and Tortoise shall have half." "That is fair," replied Tortoise, and before the lizard could escape, he seized a knife from an elder's belt and sliced him in half, and that was the end of the greedy lizard.

Tortoise and the Baboon (Nyanja):One evening when the tortoise was crawling slowly home, he met the baboon on his path. "Hello, old fellow," said the baboon heartily. "Have you found much to eat today?" 'No,' replied Tortoise sadly. "Very little indeed." The baboon danced up and down, chortling with laughter at an idea which had just come to him. "Follow me, poor old Tortoise," he exclaimed, "and when you reach my home I will have supper all ready for you." "Thank you. Thank you," said the grateful Tortoise, as the baboon turned round and bounced gaily along the path that led to his home. Tortoise followed as fast as he could, which was very slow indeed, especially when he went uphill. Once or twice he stopped to rest, when the ground became so bumpy that he got disheartened, but holding in his mind the picture of a wonderful feast, he plodded on. At last he reached the place in the bush that the baboon called his home. There he was, leaping about and grinning to himself, and as soon as he caught sight of Tortoise he exclaimed:"Bless my tail! What a long time you have taken to get here. I declare it must be tomorrow already!" "I'm so sorry," said Tortoise, puffing a little after his long journey. "But I'm sure you have had plenty of time to get the supper ready, so do not grumble at me." "0h, yes, indeed!" replied the baboon, rubbing his hands together. "Supper's all ready. All you have to do is to climb up and get it. Look!" he said, pointing to the top of a tree. "Three pots of millet-beer, brewed especially for you." The poor tortoise looked up at the pots which the baboon had wedged in the branches high above his head. He knew he could never reach them, and the baboon knew that too. "Bring one down for me, there's a good friend," begged Tortoise, but the baboon climbed the tree in the twinkling of an eye and shouted down to him: "0h, no! Anybody who wants supper with me must climb up to get it." So poor Tortoise could only begin his long homeward journey with a very empty stomach, cursing at his inability to climb trees. But as he went he worked out a splendid plan for getting his own back on the unkind baboon. A few days later the baboon had an invitation to eat with Tortoise. He was very surprised, but knowing how slow and good-natured the tortoise was, the baboon said to himself: "0h, well, the fellow evidently saw the joke and bears me no malice. I'll go along and see what I can get out of him." At the appointed time the baboon set out along the track that led to Tortoise's home. Now it was the dry season, when many bush fires occur which leave the ground scorched and black. Just beyond the river the baboon found a wide stretch of burnt and blackened grass, over which he bounded towards Tortoise, who stood waiting beside a cooking pot from which issued the most savory of smells. "Ah, it's my friend the baboon!" said Tortoise. "I'm very pleased to see you. But did your mother never teach you that you must wash your hands before meals? Just look at them! They're as black as soot." The baboon looked at his hands, which were indeed very black from crossing the burnt patch of ground. "Now run back to the river and wash," said Tortoise, "and when you are clean I will give you some supper." The baboon scampered across the black earth and washed himself in the river, but when he came to return to Tortoise he found he had to cross the burnt ground again and so arrived as dirty as before. "That will never do! I told you that you could only eat with me if you were clean. Go back and wash again! And you had better be quick about it because I have started my supper already," said Tortoise, with his mouth full of food. The poor baboon went back to the river time and again, but try as he would he got his hands and feet black each time he returned, and Tortoise refused to give him any of the delicious food that was fast disappearing. As Tortoise swallowed the last morsel, the baboon realized he had been tricked and with a cry of rage he crossed the burnt ground for the last time and ran all the way home. "That will teach you a lesson, my friend," said the Tortoise, smiling, as, well-fed and contented, he withdrew into his shell for a long night's sleep.

This is a myth from West Africa:In the beginning, there was only Mangala. Mangala is a singular, powerful being who is perceived to be a round, energetic presence. Within Mangala existed four divisions, which were symbolic of, among many things, the four days of the week (time), the four elements (matter), and the four directions (space). Mangala also contained two sets of dual gendered twins. Mangala was tired of keeping all of this matter inside, so the god removed it and compiled it into a seed. The seed was his creation of the world. The seed however did not hold together well and blew up. Mangala was disappointed with this and destroyed the world he created.Mangala did not loose hope; the creator began again, this time with two sets of twin seeds. Mangala planted the seeds in an egg shaped womb where they gestated. Mangala continued to put more sets of twin seeds in the womb until he had 8 sets of seeds. In the womb, the gestating seeds transformed themselves into fish. The fish is considered a symbol of fertility in the Mande world. This time, Mangala's creation was successful. This is important, because it illustrates the idea of dual gendered twinship, an idea that permeates Mande culture. Mangala tried to maintain this perfect creation, but chaos crept in; one of the male twins became ambitious and tried to escape from the egg. This chaotic character is called Pemba. He is a t trickster figure who symbolizes the mischievousness of humans. Pemba's first trick was to steal the a piece of the womb's placenta and throw it down. This action made the the earth. Pemba then tried to refertilize what was left of the womb, committing incest against his mother, the womb.Mangala decided to sacrifice Pemba's brother Farro to save what was left of his creation. He castrated him and then killed in order to raise him from the dead. Mangala took what was left of the placenta and transformed it into the sun, thus associating Pemba with darkness and the night. Farro was transformed into a human being and was taught the language of creation by Mangala. Farro's knowledge of words is very powerful and the tool he used to defeat Pemba's mischief. Farro and his newly created twins came to Earth and got married (not to each other) and became the horonw. This is the basis for the foundation of exogamy in Mande.Next, an unknown being named Sourakata arrived from the sky with the first sacred drum, hammer, and the sacrificed skull of Farro. Sourakata began to play on the drum and sung for the first rain to come. Sourakata is a magical being who can control nature, and he taught Farro and his followers. He is the origin of the nyamakalaw. As one can see from the origin myth, the horonw are the people of the earth. They were destined to become farmers and well-bred aristocracy. The nyamakalaw, on the other hand, were destined to be primal and mysterious. They understand nature and are able to use it to their benefit. These roles are exactly what we see in the horonw and nyamakalaw relations in Mande society today.

This myth is from Nigeria:The Yoruba creator is called Olurun or Olodumare and is often assisted by the lesser god, Obatala. In the beginning, there was only water and chaos. The supreme being sent Obatala or Orishanla down from the sky to create some land out of the chaos. He descended on a long chain (umbilical cord) and brought with him a rooster, some iron, and a palm kernel. First, he put the metal on the earth and the rooster on top of that. The rooster scratched the metal and spread it out to create land. Then he planted the palm seed and from it grew the earth's vegetation. Olurun named earth "Ife" and the first city "Ile-Ife." Orshilana created humans out of the earth and got Olurun to blow life into them.

This myth is from Ekoi(South Nigeria): In the beginning there were two gods, Obassi Osaw and Obassi Nsi. The two gods created everything together. Then Obassi Osaw decided to live in the sky and Obassi Nsi decided to live on the earth. The god in the sky gives light and moisture, but also brings drought and storms. The god of the earth nurtures, and takes the people back to him when they die. One day long ago Obassi Osaw made a man and a woman, and placed them upon the earth. They knew nothing so Obassi Nsi taught them about planting and hunting to get food.

This myth is from Ethiopia: Wak was the creator god who lived in the clouds. He kept the vault of the heavens at a distance from the earth and covered it with stars. He was a benefactor and did not punish. When the earth was flat Wak asked man to make his own coffin, and when man did this Wak shut him up in it and pushed it into the ground. For seven years he made fire rain down and the mountains were formed. Then Wak unearthed the coffin and man sprang forth, alive. Man tired of living alone, so Wak took some of his blood, and after four days, the blood became a woman whom the man married. They had 30 children, but the man was ashamed of having so many so he hid 15 of them. Wak then made those hidden children into animals and demons.

This myth is from Fans(Bantu): In the beginning there was nothing but Nzame. This god is really three: Nzame, Mebere, and Nkwa. It was the Nzame part of the god that created the universe and the earth, and brought life to it. Whle the three parts of Nzame were admiring this creation, it was decided to create a ruler for the earth. So was created the elephant, the leopard, and the monkey, but it was decided that something better had to be created. Between the three of them they made a new creature in their image, and called him Fam (power), and told him to rule the earth. Before long, Fam grew arrogant, he mistreated the animals and stopped worshipping Nzame. Nzame, angered, brought forth thunder and lightning and destroyed everything that was, except Fam, who had been promised immortality. Nzame, in his three aspects, decided to renew the earth and try again. He applied a new layer of earth to the planet, and a tree grew upon it. The tree dropped seeds which grew into more trees. Leaves that dropped from them into the water became fish, those that dropped on land became animals. The old parched earth still lies below this new one, and if one digs deep enough it can be found in the form of coal. Nzame made a new man, one who would know death, and called him Sekume. Sekume fashioned a woman, Mbongwe, from a tree. These people were made with both Gnoul (body) and Nissim (soul). Nissim gives life to Gnoul. When Gnoul dies, Nissim lives on. They produced many children and prospered.

This myth is from Yoruba: In the beginning was only the sky above, water and marshland below. The chief god Olorun ruled the sky, and the goddess Olokun ruled what was below. Obatala, another god, reflected upon this situation, then went to Olorun for permission to create dry land for all kinds of living creatures to inhabit. He was given permission, so he sought advice from Orunmila, oldest son of Olorun and the god of prophecy. He was told he would need a gold chain long enough to reach below, a snail's shell filled with sand, a white hen, a black cat, and a palm nut, all of which he was to carry in a bag. All the gods contributed what gold they had, and Orunmila supplied the articles for the bag. When all was ready, Obatala hung the chain from a corner of the sky, placed the bag over his shoulder, and started the downward climb. When he reached the end of the chain he saw he still had some distance to go. From above he heard Orunmila instruct him to pour the sand from the snail's shell, and to immediately release the white hen. He did as he was told, whereupon the hen landing on the sand began scratching and scattering it about. Wherever the sand landed it formed dry land, the bigger piles becoming hills and the smaller piles valleys. Obatala jumped to a hill and named the place Ife. The dry land now extended as far as he could see. He dug a hole, planted the palm nut, and saw it grow to maturity in a flash. The mature palm tree dropped more palm nuts on the ground, each of which grew immediately to maturity and repeated the process. Obatala settled down with the cat for company. Many months passed, and he grew bored with his routine. He decided to create beings like himself to keep him company. He dug into the sand and soon found clay with which to mold figures like himself and started on his task, but he soon grew tired and decided to take a break. He made wine from a nearby palm tree, and drank bowl after bowl. Not realizing he was drunk, Obatala returned to his task of fashioning the new beings; because of his condition he fashioned many imperfect figures. Without realizing this, he called out to Olorun to breathe life into his creatures. The next day he realized what he had done and swore never to drink again, and to take care of those who were deformed, thus becoming Protector of the Deformed. The new people built huts as Obatala had done and soon Ife prospered and became a city. All the other gods were happy with what Obatala had done, and visited the land often, except for Olokun, the ruler of all below the sky.

This myth is from Zimbabwe:Modimo was the creator. He distributed good things, appeared in the east and belonged to the element water. At the same time he was a destroyer, a terrifying creature responsible for drought, hail, cyclones and earthquakes. When these things happened he appeared in the west and was part of the element fire. Modimo was also sky and light, earth and root. He was unique and singular. He had no ancestors, no past or future. He pervaded the whole of creation. His name was taboo and could be spoken only by priests and seers.

This myth is from Zulu: The Ancient One, known as Unkulunkulu, is the Zulu creator. He came from the reeds (uthlanga, means source) and from them he brought forth the people and the cattle. He created everything that is: mountains,streams, snakes, etc. He taught the Zulu how to hunt, how to make fire, and how to grow food. He is considered to be the First Man and is in everything that he created.

Ancient Egyptian Creation Myths:Lower Kingdom Creation Myth Only the ocean existed at first. Then Ra (the sun) came out of an egg that appeared on the surface of the water. Ra brought forth four children, the gods Shu and Geb and the goddesses Tefnut and Nut. Shu and Tefnut became the atmosphere. They stood on Geb, who became the earth, and raised up Nut, who became the sky. Ra ruled over all. Geb and Nut later had two sons, Set and Osiris, and two daughters, Isis and Nephthys. Osiris succeeded Ra as king of the earth, helped by Isis, his sister-wife. Set, however, hated his brother and killed him. Isis then embalmed her husband's body with the help of the god Anubis, who thus became the god of embalming. The powerful charms of Isis resurrected Osiris, who became king of the netherworld, the land of the dead. Horus, who was the son of Osiris and Isis, later defeated Set in a great battle and became king of the earth.

Ancient Egyptian Creation Myths:Upper Kingdom creation story) At first there was only Nun, the primal ocean of chaos that contained the beginnings of everything to come. From these waters came Ra who, by himself, gave birth to Shu and Tefnut. Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture gave birth to Geb and Nut, the earth god and the sky goddess. And so the physical universe was created. Men were created from Ra's tears. They proved to be ungrateful so Ra, and a council of gods, decided they should be destroyed. Re created Sekhmet to do the job. She was very efficient and slaughtered all but a few humans, when Ra relented and tricked her into stopping. Thus was the present world created. Against Ra's orders, Geb and Nut married. Ra was incensed and ordered Shu to separate them, which he did. But Nut was already pregnant, although unable to give birth as Ra had decreed she could not give birth in any month of any year. Thoth, the god of learning, decided to help her and gambling with the moon for extra light, was able to add five extra days to the 360-day calendar. On those five days Nut gave birth to Osiris, Horus the Elder, Set, Isis, and Nephthys successively. Osiris became the symbol of good, while Set became the symbol of evil. And thus the two poles of morality were fixed once and for all.

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