Move over odin, ra, and zeus, theres a new really old pantheon in town. African mythology a to z celtic mythology a to z chinese mythology a to z. Photo by jeanchristophe benoist used under a creative commons license. A concise guide to the gods, heroes, sagas, rituals and beliefs of african myths by bernard hayes available for immediate download. See the discussion in martin bernal, black athena vol. Thoth, originally a moon deity, later became god of wisdom and scribe of the gods. The top 10 infamous mythical legends and folklore from the african continent.
The ronga of mozambique tell the legend of a mother who gave a hippo her baby to protect it from a foe. It was made to commemorate the defeat of the galatians of asia minor by attalos i of pergamon in the third century b. Names of god epithets of gods of monotheistic religions. Odin sacrificing himself to gain knowledge of the runes. The goddess of storms and strong winds is oya, one of the wives of shango. See more ideas about african mythology, mythology and african.
Gods and goddesses the african culture similar to all the polytheistic religions believe to have the one god who created everything and anyone even other gods. He was present at the beginning of creation and taught priests spiritual knowledge and ethics. The multimammia is black in the campidoglio at rome, and in montfaucon. A god behind the gods, a supreme god who created everything. As master of the deep, he has a great insight into the. His followers and priests are known as babalawo, meaning father or master of the mysticism. Shes also known as a guide to the dead and is the only orisha who has one foot in the world of the living and one in the. Humans use mythology and ritual to establish a sense of community and identity and an understanding of their place in the universe. The african mythology myth is that the gods meant for humans to be immortal and that death was introduced when the wrath of the gods was incurred either by the animals or the people by some unlucky mistake. At the beginning of yoruba mythology, the universe was composed of two elements, the ethereal sky above and a watery chaos below. Each god has three objects known as otanes that are sacred to the god. Captivating greek, egyptian, norse, celtic and roman myths of gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters kindle edition by clayton, matt. As queen of the oceans and the seas, she is the highest reigning water god in the yoruba tradition.
In addition to working the land, the celts made great use of the materials avail. Traditional african belief is overwhelmingly monotheistic. In african mythology, jok is the concept of the divine. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Olokun presides over this watery abyss, an aquatic realm populated by sea spirits. Gods of different elements have been appointed as in the tradition in africa. These tools maintain the traditions of a culture and reflect what is most important in peoples lives. Aberewa earth goddess, ashanti people of ghana aja forest goddess, yoruba people of nigeria ala goddess of fertility, igbo people of nigeria. African mythologyafrican mythology in contexta vast continent, africa is home to many cultures and a thousand or more languages. The african continent includes so many countries, regions, languages, tribes, cultures and crossovers that the sheer diversity of prevailing gods would seem overwhelming if there werent a few handy shortcuts. The same mysteries have puzzled people on every continent, the same fears have beset them and they have all attempted to explain the mysteries and allay the fears in the same waythrough the worship.
To specify, greek mythology is the body of myths and teachings that belong to the ancient greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, and the nature and origin of the world. See more ideas about gods and goddesses, african and orisha. This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. All the gods and goddesses of greece were black, asserts sir godfrey higgins, at least this was the case with jupiter, baccus, hercules, apollo, ammon. A complete list of hindu gods and goddesses insight state. The concise list can be found on our pantheon page of african gods and spirits this list is frequently updated we are constantly discovering more. H 1635 gods and mythological figures library of congress. Red is the color of blood and deathviolence male qualities in the african mythology. The seven african gods, african, hispanic, religion. See more ideas about african, gods and goddesses, deities. However, red can also mean transparent or clear too. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. The mother hippo would come with the baby to suckle from its mother every night.
Our holy database currently contains 400 african deity names and 196 unique articles. Orunmila is a god of wisdom, knowledge and divination. Unlike europeans, who believe spiritual beings must be separated, african mythology believes jok is the unified spirit of all supernatural beings. She is the mother of the sea aja african aja is an orisha, patron of the forest, the animals within it and herbal healers, whom she taught their art. God, divinities and spirits in african traditional. Their names live on in placenames, peoples names, and history. Subject headings manual h 1635 page 1 january 2020.
African mythology is as vast and diverse as the continent itself. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading mythology. The concise list can be found on our pantheon page of african gods and spirits. All the gods and goddesses of greece were black gnostic. Aug 26, 2018 this are the various gods of africa explained, and their powers, where they rule over. The female hippopotamus is almost always a goddess in african mythology. The complete gods and goddesses of ancient egypt pdf. We read myths not only to learn about the culture in which the myth originated. Others are lesser spirits, such as the spirits of ancestors. See more ideas about gods and goddesses, african and african mythology. In the early mythologies of most cultures, women were the supreme gods.
The goddesses venus, isis, hecati, diana, juno, metis, ceres, cybile, are black. All the gods and goddesses of greece were black gnostic warrior. A knowledge deity is a deity in mythology associated with knowledge, wisdom, or intelligence. In the roman empire, there are temples to jupiter, juno, quirinus, and other major and minor gods and goddesses. The concept of god, divinities and spirits in african traditional religious ontology has been so misunderstood by many scholars to the point of seeing africans as people who did not know the supreme being nor worship him. From the wooly texture of the hair, i am inclined to assign to the buddha of india, the fuhi of china, the sommonacom of the siamese, the zaha of the japanese, and the quetzalcoatl of the mexicans, the same, and indeed an african, or rather. This list also covers spirits andor deities found within the afroamerican religions which mostly derives from traditional african religions. The routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. The creator is thought to have once lived on earth, but left it for his kingdom in the sky because of human infractions.
This list is frequently updated we are constantly discovering more. He is pictured as tall and white with only half of his body visible. Most of these black gods were regarded as crucified saviors who died to save mankind by being nailed to a cross, or tied to a. The stress of the program is on giving students an idea of the nature of the greek and roman gods and of the importance of these gods in the lives of the ancients.
This are the various gods of africa explained, and their powers, where they rule over. The stones are what sacrifices are made on, the metals are the particular metal sacred to. Obatala, yemaya, oshun, shango, eleggua, ogun, oya. Press button download or read online below and wait 20 seconds. Its subject matter is, african reality, african experience and how the african understand and interpret these experiences. A guide to the gods, goddesses, and traditions of ancient egypt check price as the title of the book indicates, it focuses on egyptian myths and several stories originating from this part of the world in ancient times. The yoruba people are based in nigeria, benin and togo. God and the spirits, the gods, the holy ghost and beings from the otherworld.
The number of gods and goddesses varies from culture to culture. She was married to obatala and is considered the mother of gods, as shango is her son. She was known as tawaret, the goddess of fertility and childbirth in ancient egypt. This paper seeks to examine how africans conceive of the supreme being, divinities and spirits. The african culture similar to all the polytheistic religions believe to have the one god who created everything and anyone even other gods. Goddess of love, intimacy, beauty, wealth and diplomacy.
There may be spirits and ancestors floating around, but theres only one god. African mythologies are credited for most happenings in their part of the world and revered as deities to be worshiped. African gods and goddesses pantheons the white goddess. This is an index of lists of deities of the different religions, cultures and mythologies of the world list of deities by classification. Thisperiod lasted from around 800 bce until about 600 ad. She was said to be more clever than a million gods. The orisha and the 12 gods of yoruba mythology ancient code. Main gods and spirits african mythologies include supernatural beings who influence human life. Until july 20, headings for individual named gods, goddesses, and mythological figures were established in lcsh. According to akan mythology, all humans lived deep within the earth. Our alphabetical list of african gods and goddesses names. The routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and. The gods in the yoruba language are referred to as orishas. Romans of the first century bce recorded the celtic myths and then later, after the introduction of christianity to the british isles, the irish monks of the 6th.
This is a list of african spirits andor deities found within the traditional african religions. African mythology gods and spirits from the african continent. One day, seven men, five women, a leopard, and a dog crawled out of a hole made by a massive worm. African mythology gods and spirits from the african. Coeus, titan of the inquisitive mind, his name meaning query or questioning. The routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses,devils and demons from classical greek and roman mythology to the gods of eastern europe and mesopotamia. List of greek mythological creatures and monsters facts. Most african cultures, if not all, believe in a supreme creator in one form or another. Godcheckers az names list of african gods and spirits.
Download african gods or read african gods online books in pdf, epub and mobi format. God in the sky, god on earth, creator god, river god. African mythology is a blend of different culture with most of the themes relating to animals and especially tricksters. This is the supreme god or the creator who was believed to have once lived on earth but had left to his kingdom because of human infractions. Click download or read online button to get african gods book now. African mythology myth encyclopedia god, story, legend. The heroes are probably the bestknown part of greek mythology, but what makes a hero having monsters to fight, thats what. Lewis makes us wonder why the orishas dont have their own comic book series. African doctrines or theories on reality being and the universe which is made up of things like god, gods, life.
By sir godfrey higgins osiris and his bull were black. Gods and goddesses is a twopart program that seeks to introduce students to both aspects of mythology. Looking around them, the astonished people became terrified, but adu ogyinaethe first man on the surfaceseemed to understand the world and its wonders. Africa isnt a single place with a single pantheon, and wed be fools to. Articles that are apart of african mythology will appear here. Written accounts of african mythology began to appear in the early 1800s, and presentday scholars labor to record the continents myths and legends before they are lost to time and cultural change. Most african traditional religions have multiple gods, often grouped together in family relationships. Captivating greek, egyptian, norse, celtic and roman myths of gods. Revered by hunters he is the god of animals agwe benin africa.
Jul 30, 2019 the druid priests of the celts did not write down the stories of their gods and goddesses but instead transmitted them orally, so our knowledge of the early celtic deities is limited. The dramatic legend of anansi, the spider, the trickster and spirit of knowledge in african mythology. Although no single set of myths and legends unites this diverse population, different cultural groups and regions share some common mythological elements. Many of the things that we will read this year will make a reference to a. After that date, headings for individual named gods, goddesses, and mythological figures are established as rda name authority.