Category: | Our Mythical Childhood Survey

Daniel Orowole Olorunfemi Fagunwa

Forest of a Thousand Daemons: A Hunter’ Saga [Ògbójú Ọdẹ nínú Igbó Irúnmalẹ̀]

The novel opens with the narrator’s encounter with Akara-ogun, the great hunter of the village. Worried that he may die at any moment and that the world might forget him, the hunter asks the narrator to pick up his pen and write down his hunting story. He opens up by talking about his immediate family and his name, Akara-ogun (Compound-of-Spells). Because he has wronged God by getting married to a witch, a spirit is sent to kill him but it spares him and asks him to kill his witch wife. No(...)

literary

YEAR: 1938

COUNTRY: Nigeria

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythical creatures Mythology

Ba Venyuseh

How Jumneh Came Into Existence

In the beginning, a God called Mphih lived in the celestial realms with his three children – Yondoh, Tih and Jumneh. However, these children quarreled often and made his home too rancorous and tense for his liking. So as soon as Yondoh, Tih and Jumnehcame of age, he decided to separate them. He divided the world into three parts and asked each child to choose its part. Yondo chose the trees and Tih chose the streams. Jumneh also wanted the stream and would not settle for any other thing. I(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythology

Soliey Mbezenyuy

Kilankenyuy, the Giver of Children

Kilankenyuy in Lamnso literarily means “the stone of God.” It is also the name that the Nso people give to the God who gives children.Many years ago, the benevolence of the gods in giving humans wonderful, resourceful and creative children was already known by humans. So they were expected to regularly offer sacrifices to Kilankenyuy, the stone of God, for different reasons, especially for the gift of creative and successful children. The early fathers were quite conscious of this ve(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin

Peter Tamukong

Mijini

Once upon a time, The Akum people were living together with Mijini in Widikum.Mijini was the greatest deity and the sole protector of the Akum people.This did not, however, prevent friction with other groups in Widikum.The prevailing tension forced them to leave Widikum.But on leaving,They left behind their major deity.As they were approaching this land,Mijini suddenly joined them.The people started offering sacrifices to Mijini. (Narrator turns round to see whether everybody is attent(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin

Soliey Mbezenyuy

Myth of the Origin of Lake Wasibe

A long time ago in the days of the forefathers, the chief priests from all the communities in Banso gathered at the king’s palace to offer their usual annual sacrifices to the gods. After some rituals and incarnations had been performed, the Gods revealed to them to perform subsequent rituals in the motionless waters in Wasibel. The chief priests and notables were confused, because there was no such water in Wasibel. They offered more sacrifices to the gods for them to reveal the exact loc(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin Sacrifice

Eleanor Zofoa

Myth of the Origin of the Babungo People

So many years ago, Babungo was only a dense forest with a lake in the middle, and no signs of human settlement. The lake, which was later named Lake Forghai, gurgled and roared for a few minutes and after roaring, people (two brothers, their uncle, their wives and grandfather), as well as a white goat, came out of it. The entire area was strange to them but, even so, they really needed a place to settle. Before they came out of the lake, the Gods of the lake told them to take the goat along, and(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin

Eleanor Zofoa

Nä’Si

So many years ago, there was a certain queen in Babungo called Nä’Si who liked eating sugar cane very much. In fact, it was said that she was always eating sugar cane and people could swear on their lives that they never met her not eating sugar cane. Whenever she was going to the farm she would get enough sugar cane to take her to the farm and back. While the other queens and women in the community farmed other crops like beans, corn and cocoyam, she would do same but would always ad(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Goddess Gods Gods and mortals Mythology

Pierre Nyobe

Ngok Lituba and the Tree of Rejuvenation

“Ngok Lituba” is a pierced stone of eight hundred meters high situated at Nyanon, a village near Edea, Cameroon. It is in the forest, close to where part of the Sanaga River flows.In the beginning, the living God, Nyambe, created all the forces. He created geniuses, spirits and the first human couple. In creating the forest, he also created that stone Ngok Lituba. This pierced stone has a tunnel. Nyambe was living in joy with his people in the tunnel. The first children were born fro(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Death Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin

Musi Seth Pie

Nongu

Many years ago, the entire community of Bafanji used to fetch potable water from Ndawi*. One day, a child was drowned in Ndawi and the river was desecrated. The Gods of Ndawi were not happy. All those who went there to fetch water after the tragedy died mysteriously around the banks of the river. It was a pregnant woman who went to Ndawi naked and in tears, begging the Gods of Ndawi to have mercy on them. The Gods were weakened by the spirit of the unborn child in the woman’s womb, and req(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin

Jose Alfonso Ocampo Ruiz , Martin Powell

The Adventures of Hercules

In five comic book chapters, Martin Powell tells the story of Hercules and his adventures through the medium of a comic. With a page-length section ‘About Hercules’ prefacing the comic, the story is focussed on the retelling of Hercules’ adventures by a sixth-century Ithacan man to his grandchildren. The first chapter, entitled ‘Son of Zeus,’ details the vanquishing of the seemingly invulnerable Nemean Lion by Hercules and then the subsequent second labour, the(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Alcmene Artemis Cretan Bull Deianeira Eurystheus Gods and mortals Hera Heracles / Herakles Hercules Heroism Hippolyta Hydra Iphitos Love Nemean lion Nessus Olympus Omphale Pholus Zeus

Rose Nanje Mande

The Bakundu Creation Myth

In the beginning, Obase (God) created Kongwe Mountain. Since he was alone, he created the great Botu tree, which he planted on the Kongwe Mountain to produce all the species of things on earth. The branches of the great Botu tree brought forth the various creatures that exist in the world today. One of the branches brought forth the human race, another cats, another dogs, the cows, the water bodies, the rocks and every other thing that exists.The branch that brought forth humans further forked i(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin

Robert Ba Ndangho Fomunyang

The Bali Creation Myth

In the beginning, Nikob (God) created the world and left it empty for a relatively long period of time. One day, he spread seeds of trees everywhere on earth. The trees grew so fast into different types and sizes. Among the so many types of trees Nikob created, there were some that were special. There were not only colossal and strange, with big as well as small roots but they were also rare to find. Nikob lived in these huge trees throughout and regularly studied the atmospheric temperature unt(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin

Patricia Miles

The Gods in Winter

The Gods in Winter draws on the retelling of the myth featured in Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which recounts Persephone’s abduction by Hades and the establishment of the seasonal cycle. While searching for her beloved daughter, Demeter disguises herself and takes on the role of nursemaid to the child of the royal family of Eleusis. Miles’ text alludes to these events taking place in 1970s England, witnessed by the Brambles, an ordinary, middle class family with a scientist father, teach(...)

literary

YEAR: 1978

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Demeter Eleusis Gods Gods and mortals Hades Homeric Hymn to Demeter Persephone Underworld

Aloys Nkong Kima

The Gods’ Plum Tree

There was a woman in Bioleh whose name was Nkeng. She was commonly called Anyinkeng because she was a mother to twin children. She was married to a man called Kang, and the names of their twins were Ngenyi and Asonganyi. Anyinkeng had a younger sister who came to babysit the twins at birth. At that time, the Nweh people were living eternally on earth. There was no form of illness nor death in the village.In the village, there was a special plum tree reserved only for the Gods of the tribe. It wa(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mortals and Immortals Mythical places Mythology

Philip Loh Dzadjih

The Origin of “Efiehnstemseh,” The Great Cave of Drums in Kedjom

Long long time ago, in Kedjom Ketinguh an extraordinarily beautiful girl, Shembom, was born to the Fon (or King). He named her Shembom, meaning the work of the Gods. As Shembom grew up, she became even more and more beautiful. Even as a girl, many families started competing for her hand in marriage. Her parents, however, rejected these offers. They wanted their daughter to grow up and choose a husband for herself among the most handsome men in the village. Eventually, two Gods fell in love with (...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin

Lawrence Teneng

The Orign of Eternal Death

Long, long time ago,People used to die and come back to life.Life by then was eternal. There was resurrection after death, Old people died and came back young. (The audience interrupts),“What do you mean by dying and coming back young?”(Narrator continues), “Have you ever seen a snake, and what happens to it? At old age, it sheds the old layer and becomes young.” The period of death, was the period for the old to shed off their old coats and become young ag(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Death Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin

Gabriel Sira

The Wife of God

About a thousand years ago, the god of creation, Boumvouboum, together with his wife and the entire community, sent one of their daughters to the earth to find out how humans were reproducing their progenies. They had just noticed an exponential growth in the human population given that before then, humans were few and their lack of belief led to frequent deaths. So they chose to send their daughter to be born into the family of a very young couple. As a result, this couple gave birth to two chi(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon

TAGS: Gods Gods and mortals Mythology Myths of origin