Africa is huge and varied, and so is its mythology.

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 Though the creator god is repeatedly seen as having withdrawn from the world, people often have a very direct and intense relationship with demigods, ancestors, and bush spirits.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.

This book examines the central themes of African mythology-the creation, gods and goddesses, trickster tales, animals, monsters, heroes, and mythical rulers-and shows how some motifs recur throughout the corpus of myths. It also looks at how African myths are becoming better known because of writers and filmmakers, particularly from the Black diaspora, who draw on this rich heritage for inspiration.

This introductory guide to African myths will allow you to do the following:

• Learn why the original creator decided to withdraw from Earth.
• Find out how ancient Egypt had several different creation stories, depending on which god was in ascendancy at the time.
• Read about the medieval African emperor said to have been the richest man in history.
• Find out where Br'er Rabbit really came from.
• Check out how Anansi the Spider gained ownership of all the stories in the world.
• Get to know Oshun, the Yoruba river goddess, and how she arrived in Latin America.
• Learn about Haile Selassie, the emperor who brought Ethiopia into the League of Nations, and how he became a living god to Jamaican Rastafarians.
• Understand how Voodoo (Vodou) grew out of traditional West African religion.
• Enjoy some laugh-out-loud tales of tricksters and their wiles.
• And so much more!