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Africa
Explore myths, traditions and legendary beings grouped under Africa.
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Nyokon
Nyokon is a name sometimes presented in English-language lists of African mythological beings, but its identity and cultural origin are uncertain. There is no widely recognised, pan-African tradition centred on a deity, …
Nyonye Ngana
Nyonye Ngana is a little-documented figure associated in some modern accounts with Bantu-speaking traditions of Africa, where she is usually described as a female water spirit or water goddess. The available information …
Obambou
Obambou is a name associated with a frightening spirit or revenant in traditions linked to Gabon and the wider region of Central Africa. Accounts in English-language folklore collections often describe the Obambou as a b…
Obassi Nsi
Obassi Nsi is an earth-associated deity in accounts of the traditional religious world of the Efik people of southeastern Nigeria. The name is commonly presented alongside Obassi Osaw, a sky-associated or heavenly deity.…
Obassi Osaw
Obassi Osaw is a supreme divine figure associated with the traditional religious thought of the Efik people of southeastern Nigeria, especially the Cross River region. He is commonly described as a sky or heavenly deity …
Odomankoma
Odomankoma is a creator figure in Akan religious thought, especially associated with Fante traditions of Ghana. The name is also used in some Akan contexts as a title or descriptive name for the supreme divine power. Dep…
Ofo
Ofo is a sacred symbol of authority in many Igbo communities of southeastern Nigeria. Usually represented by a carved staff, rod or branch, it is associated with legitimate leadership, ancestral presence, truth, justice …
Oghene
Oghene is the name used for the supreme deity in several traditions of southern Nigeria, especially among Urhobo and Isoko-speaking peoples of the Niger Delta. In these contexts, Oghene is generally understood as the cre…
Ogo
Ogo is a primordial figure in some recorded traditions of the Dogon people of Mali, in West Africa. He is commonly associated with Yurugu, the “Pale Fox,” a rebellious and incomplete being whose actions introduce disorde…
Omumborombonga
Omumborombonga is best known as a sacred or primordial tree in traditions associated particularly with the Ovaherero people of Namibia and neighbouring parts of southern Africa. It is not usually described as a human-lik…
Pemba
Pemba is a figure associated principally with Bambara, or Bamana, and other Mandé traditions of West Africa. In accounts of Mandé creation, Pemba is a primordial being linked with the earth, seeds, cultivation and the im…