African Myths of Origin (Penguin Classics) published by Penguin Classics

by Anonymous

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 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.

Genres: Mythology, Africa, History, Nonfiction, Folklore, African Literature, Religion

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because my knowledge of African mythology is lacking. But, as I read this book, I realized that just as it can be deceptive to say "European mythology," so too can it be deceptive to say "African mythology." In Europa, we have Græco-Roman, Germanic, and Celtic traditions (not to mention Finno-Uigric, Slavic, and Romani tales) whereas in Africa, there are Yoruba, Mandike, and Khoi-Khoi legends (not to mention to Shona, Igbo, Gikuyu, and countless others).

We should instead say African mythologies as we should also say European mythologies. There are a great variety of traditions. And to be sure, there are parallel motifs and similar legends among the regions and across the continent.

And this book is a good introduction to the diversity of African myth, legend, and folklore. And editor Stephen Belcher's own Introduction to the anthology offers a nice invitation to and understanding of the study of mythology.

A good read. And now to explore some of the traditions Belcher introduces a little more in depth.....

[Anisha Inkspill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of varying length stories, occasionally they are extracts, from different regions of Africa.

How this book is organised suits a beginner like me who is new to this subject, but it paced a lot stories in and several times I lost my bearing. However, not an impossible read as the stories are accompanied with commentary.

The stories are a mixture of moral tales and what read like fairy tales to me, especially the ones with talking animals and trees. Some stories spoke to me more than others, but I want to come back to this one, knowing I will get more from it next time. For now, I'm glad I found this book as I would not know how to start with African mythology without seeing wide selection of tales included here. Just seeing this, puts things into context.

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephen Belcher defines a myth as a story that explains origins and the root-causes of things, such as the origin of the world, the creation of the moon, the first people, the origins of farming, or the origins of a particular tribe or city. This book contains a collection of myths or traditions of origin for a representative (not comprehensive) variety of the major peoples and historical states of the African continent. This broad overview of African myths is sorted by themes that are general to many cultures (i.e. stories about hunters, cattle-herds & tricksters) and then by general region on the African continent.

The myths are based on published and written sources, and so by necessity exists at some distance from the original narrations made by the (sometimes anonymous) men and women who have reported them. For historical stories (i.e. before 1900) the editor is dependent on accounts provided by travellers and other outsiders, such as priests, traders, missionaries, or invaders. From 1900 onwards, a growing number of accounts were produced by African members of the tribal/cultural/language groups, intended to preserve their history and to disseminate knowledge of their people. More recent growing collection of texts have been recorded in the field and published in translation or in bilingual form. Some of these mythological stories were also performed, rather than merely told. The versions supplied in this book are thus, retellings (and generally of the oldest versions available) and not a reflection of the original presentation - which I think is a bit of a pity. The writing style of the editor is rather dry, bland and simplistic. More passionate versions of these creation myths would have made for more interesting reading.

This compilation presents stories of animal-creators; such as the San myth of Mantis, who made the moon from a feather coated with gall, or Ananse the spider who found the moon to settle a wager with the sky-god Nyame. Some of the stories have a flavour similar to 'Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories', such as the tale that tells how chimpanzees once possessed arts and crafts, until humans stole them. There are stories which tell how the world was formed and how a particular culture was established, usually as a gift from the spirits, through misadventure and accident, or from conflict and rivalry. Also, stories about migrations for a variety of reasons, such as escaping from a monstrous crocodile, or escaping the growing Ahsanti empire or tyrannical father, or because the village had too many people and not enough resources. A large portion of these stories are rather grisly and macabre, featuring cannibalism, killing for minor infractions or jealousy.

An interesting collection of African origin myths, retold in a rather uninspiring manner. I was also hoping for more stories from the San and the Taureg, but that was not to be.

[Mustafa Bilal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rich and Kaleidoscopic as the continent it paints, this collection is a marvelous introduction to understanding the complexity, the variety, and the vastness of Africa. Too often ignored, the Africans have a lot of stories to tell. They range from stories of cattle, reptiles, kingdoms, tribes, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, spirits, humans, occult, magic, hunting, uncles, nephews to jealousy, desire, passion, ambition, that destroys and nurtures. You can trust folklore to explore the diversity of human imagination and human ambition. The volume brings vastly different and vastly same stories together to create a picture of Africa that is lost and that needs to be looked at to cherish them and understand them. It is also a good introduction for beginners. You can start from here and then move on to specifics and in-depth explorations.

[Douglas Grion Filho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't like the author that much. His assumptions were clearly based on orientalist notions of both africa and the middle east. Too many of his sources were european travelers/historians who wrote down local myths, which made those sources very suspicious to me. Funnily enough, when the book used sources from African scholars, the myths were far more interesting, evocative, and morally complex. I wonder why...

Anyway, it was still worth the read, and I now have several bookmarked legends that are amazing and super fun!

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well presented as an anthology of all the "creation" or "origin" folklore of different African nations. The book is sorted into regions and then by similar stories (e.g. the origin of the Hunter, the story of the first cattle herdsman...) with a good explanation at the start of each chapter

I read this one chapter at a time broken up into many many small bites to get through it, the source material is very dry. I would only recommend it if you have a deep interest in African Origin stories or to have on hand as a reference material for a more specific interest (the forbidden fruit and garden of life story is in here).

[James F · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of about seventy myths from the African continent, mostly dealing with the origins of the world, humanity, or particular tribes and cities. These are retellings, not the actual texts or transcriptions translated, and some are put together from multiple versions, so it is more of an African Bullfinch than an academic collection. It does give the essence of the stories, so I will go on from here to read some of the actual texts knowing some of the context. The introductions give some of the history of the various groups, and there are three maps showing where they are located. The organization is largely geographical, apart from a few stories at the beginning which give themes that are spread through much of the continent.

[James Carrigy · Rating 4 out of 5]

9/10

Dozens upon dozens of miniature epics and national mythologies, all brimming with pathos, love, violence and humour.

[Edward Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book covers a surprising amount of territory, doing what would seem impossible, namely giving some sense of the pulse of a continent. It does so by limiting its scope to myths of "origin", either cosmic or social. The narratives are presented without commentary or adornment.

My only complaint is that one is often left to wonder why one culture is represented with a cosmogonic myth, another by a myth of socio-political origins. I suspect this is because there may not have been an engaging narrative ready-to-hand in the one case or the other; my preference would have been for the treatment of each culture to have at least acknowledged briefly the cosmic and the socio-political side.

Still, the book is a starting point, and facilitates further research with its analytical bibliography for each chapter.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a broad collection of African myths, but it's focus is really on representing the myths from as much of the continent as possible rather than presenting any given myth in the best literary form. It's enjoyable as an overall survey and comparison of the different stories that are told throughout Africa, but it's not the greatest source of well told myths.

It does however serve as an excellent resource for anyone interested in the subject, both by providing enough information to give a strong sense of the framework, and with excellent recommendations for further reading on any given subject.

[Krissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm...a fine translation...the stories are good, a lot of killing in here. Some stories are a bit repetitive and it took me a long time just to get through less than half. I suppose the Trickster stories were my favorite, because I always enjoy a good rogue-character who thinks his way around obstacles...though again, these are pretty bloodthirsty for the most part. I don't think I'll wind up finishing the book.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems I'll always be reading this books as it is among the few that reside in near permanence on my night stand. Am particularly fond of the "trickster" tales.

[Sergiy · Rating 4 out of 5]

good starting point for African myths, I now have a better idea of which specific mythology I want to delve into more deeply.

[Megan Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was looking for Zulu mythology and it sadly only had a little.

[Cain S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is misleading as not all tales here are origin, or creation, myths. Many are legends of origins of various African ethnic groups. An excellent, entertaining read nonetheless.

[Selin Apaydin · Rating 3 out of 5]

ig i was disappointed that all the stories were like 1 page and told really dryly but like it’s a barely-500 page collection of stories from an entire continent edited by a white guy so like maybe i shouldn’t be surprised

[Brandon Clarke · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is interesting, but so damn dry and boring. I honestly just need to read Credo Mutwa's book, because at least there is passion behind the words, and not just a bland retelling of mythological stories. I learned a lot in here, but my soul got sucked into a vacuum of boredom.

[Ajayi Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

i want to read book?

[James Dumas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rich collection of ancient African tales. Some bizarre, some hilarious, some deeply moving, each reflecting the complex mythologies and histories of Old Africa.

[Adam]

Lots of fun stories in here, and also some boring ones, and some peculiar ideas about anatomy

[Lulu]

Retelling