Fourth culture:
Ananse The Spider (Ghana)
Kweku Tsin and the dragon.
Why the Moon And Stars Receive Their Light From the sun.
In this Tale Anansi and his son, Kweku Tsin go hunting in the forest. After his father had gone missing for an hour he calls out to him, in hope to guide him back. But, a terrible dragon appears, and he goes to hid in a cave. He comes up with a plan to escape by means of a ladder to the heavens, a fiddle and some bones. He ascended the ladder with a dragon in pursuit each time the dragon neared he would either throw a bone or play a tune, and the dragon would descend back to earth to dance or eat a bone. He repeated the process until he got to the heavens. Once there he was reward for his wisdom and bravery by the gods. They made him the sun, his father, Anansi, the moon, and his friends the stars. He was to supply them with light.
In this Tale Anansi and his son, Kweku Tsin go hunting in the forest. After his father had gone missing for an hour he calls out to him, in hope to guide him back. But, a terrible dragon appears, and he goes to hid in a cave. He comes up with a plan to escape by means of a ladder to the heavens, a fiddle and some bones. He ascended the ladder with a dragon in pursuit each time the dragon neared he would either throw a bone or play a tune, and the dragon would descend back to earth to dance or eat a bone. He repeated the process until he got to the heavens. Once there he was reward for his wisdom and bravery by the gods. They made him the sun, his father, Anansi, the moon, and his friends the stars. He was to supply them with light.
Wahungwe (Zimbabwe)
This myth began with a being named Maori who created Mwuetsi was man and was also the moon. Maori put Mwuetsi at the bottom of the ocean along with a ngona horn filled with ngona oil. Mwuetsi was unsatisfied with the water. In one version Mwuetsi complains to Maori to let him live on earth. In another version Mwuetsi takes initiative and swims up to the shore himself. Once Mwuetsi lived on the land, he realized quickly he was lonely and bored because there was nothing but rocks on earth. In response to Mwuetsi's complaints, Maori sent him a wife, the morning star name Massassi. On Mwuetsi and Massassi's first night together he jumped over a fire separating them and impregnated Massassi with a ngona oiled finger. The next morning she gave birth to all the trees and plants of the earth. Mwuetsi and Massassi lived together happily and productively the two years they were allowed together and then Maori took her away. Mwuetsi cried for eight years after. Mwuetsi pleaded to Maori again and he sent him a second wife named Morongo. Mwuetsi soon realized that Morongo was not like his first wife. Every morning Mwuetsi had intercourse with Morongo and in the morning she gave birth to various creatures. On the fourth morning Morongo gave birth the human children. Maori told them that the earth was complete and to stop sleeping together, but they defied him. In one version Mwuetsi raped Morongo. The next morning she gave birth to violent creatures and the last, a snake, came out and bit Mwuetsi who later died. In the other version, they defied him together and the next morning she gave birth to violent creatures such as: lions, leopards, scorpions, and snakes. Morongo later deceived Mwuetsi and slept with a snake. When Mwuetsi tried to have intercourse with Morongo the snake bit him. His children later strangled him and buried him along with Morongo and the horn filled with ngona oil (Leeming, 271).
This Myth is show characteristics of both 'Ex Nihilo' and World 'Parent Creation'. Maori came from nothing and created man and woman along with earth from nothing. From there, Mwuetsi and his wives becomes the world parents by giving birth to all living things on the earth.
This Myth is show characteristics of both 'Ex Nihilo' and World 'Parent Creation'. Maori came from nothing and created man and woman along with earth from nothing. From there, Mwuetsi and his wives becomes the world parents by giving birth to all living things on the earth.
The Golden Chain (Nigeria)
The Golden Chain is a story of creation. It tells of a time before people were created and how they came into creation. There was life, but only in the sky with superior beings. There was a supreme being over all others, and they lived in a place pretty much like the “Garden of Eden”.
Olorun, who was the head king allowed one of the Orisha’s to explore beyond their home
in the sky. It appeared to be a vast empty ocean below the mist in which they
lived. Obatala, the Orisha that was allowed to leave the mist and explore,
prepared himself with things to take below.
He was told he would need a gold chain long enough to reach below, a snail's shell filled with sand, a white hen, a black cat, and a palm nut, all of which he was to carry in a bag. In doing this, Obatala was trying to create the perfect image of their land in the sky, with
the land below.
Obatala descended below the sky and began dropping the items he
gathered from above. He noticed his image in a body of water, and made an image
just like him. He then drank wine, and became intoxicated, as he was still
creating images, but those images were distorted. Due to Obatala being
intoxicated, he made images like him in his distorted state of mind, and not
perfect like the Orisha’s in the sky. Overall, the theme behind this story
represents the creation of Earth, by the influence of God in heaven.
Olorun, who was the head king allowed one of the Orisha’s to explore beyond their home
in the sky. It appeared to be a vast empty ocean below the mist in which they
lived. Obatala, the Orisha that was allowed to leave the mist and explore,
prepared himself with things to take below.
He was told he would need a gold chain long enough to reach below, a snail's shell filled with sand, a white hen, a black cat, and a palm nut, all of which he was to carry in a bag. In doing this, Obatala was trying to create the perfect image of their land in the sky, with
the land below.
Obatala descended below the sky and began dropping the items he
gathered from above. He noticed his image in a body of water, and made an image
just like him. He then drank wine, and became intoxicated, as he was still
creating images, but those images were distorted. Due to Obatala being
intoxicated, he made images like him in his distorted state of mind, and not
perfect like the Orisha’s in the sky. Overall, the theme behind this story
represents the creation of Earth, by the influence of God in heaven.
(Senegal)
The Serer creation myth tells the story about the creation of the Universe and Earth. The Serer
creation myth was developed from serer oral traditions, religions, legends, and cosmogonies.
The Serer people are from Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania, which is where these stories are
told. In the beginning the phases were created in the universe and Earth. The deep sea waters
of the underworld; the air which included the higher heavens, i.e. (the sun, the moon and the
stars). creation of primordial trees (they had names likes Somb, Nqaul, Nquƭ, etc. that were
attributed to them by this culture of people); and the creation of the animal world"Mbocor"
(which means "The Mother") of all animal except the Jackel. Earth was created last and formed
long after the creation of the first three worlds. The supreme deity was Roog, the creator and
designer of the Universe and led to the formation of the heavens, earth, and sea. He created
human beings (female and male) all through a gesture phase paired with divine placenta. The
first female human Roog created name was YAAB. The first male Roog created was YOP.
These were the first humans to walk the earth. There were many gods, goddesses, and Pangool
(the Serer saints and ancestral spirits represented by snakes). The Serers people are linked to the
first trees created on earth.