Mythological Africans Podcast

Outside of specific institutions and contexts, you’ll probably not find much about African Rainforest Hunter-Gatherers or Forest People of Central Africa in regular African history books, except may be as players in some bigger political event. This speaks to just how much the people and their history have been neglected. What is known about them usually references their skill as hunters and their...

Hello Friends! In this week’s episode, we look at two prevailing dispositions many Africans have toward the trees and forests of the African continent: fear and love. We come from the forest. No one should tell us not to enter the forest. The forest is everything to the Baka. The forest for the Baka is a source of life. It gives us food: honey, fruits, wild tubers and wild game. It is also our pha...

Proverbs. The palm oil with which words are eaten. Those nutrient rich word pellets which have sustained community life across the continent and the world, probably from as far back as humans learned to use language. Proverbs summarize, often in metaphorical, witty, and rhythmic fashion, the morals, wisdom, truths, or traditional views of a group, storing and transferring ideas. This is why recent...

Welcome to the very first episode of MA 2025! If you are a longtime friend, thank you for sticking with Mythological Africans all these years. If you’re new, welcome to the community! Mythological Africans (or MA) is a corner of the internet where we talk about mythology and folklore from the African continent, using the stories and ideas to make sense of the world we live in. In this episode, we...

Overview 44 episodes, about 12,000 downloads, and over 3,000 new friends, subscribers, and followers from across the world! I can’t express how grateful I am for your time, your attention and above all your support throughout this year. Listen to catch snippets from my favorite five episodes from 2024, and get the 411 on the plan for next year. Featured Episodes Featured Essay Meanwhile… Sale ends...

We ended last week with the tragic fall of Nsa’gu, Fon of the Bamum people in Cameroon, to the Nso. In this episode, we delve into the Bamum side of the story which culminates in Nsa’gu’s fall in the 1800s and Njoya’s rise to power and rule which extended into the 1900s. In keeping with history and tradition, sibling rivalries and succession battles abound! Can’t Get Enough? Medou Mgbara by the la...

But First…You Were Promised Discounts! The Watkins Book of African Folklore is on Tertulia ! Pro-Tip: If you create an account and join the Tertulia co-op, you get 50% off your first book, up to 20% off all books, and free shipping. Pretty sweet, huh? It only costs $25/year after your free 30-day trial and you can cancel anytime! Back To Regularly Scheduled Programming We’ve spent the last couple...

This episode is brought to you by another instance of my brain refusing to give me peace until I worked out a puzzle it threw at me. Last week, we talked about the case of the AmaNdebele of South Africa and the Ashanti of Ghana who have versions of a birthright theft story very similar to that of Jacob and Esau in the Bible. My maniac of a brain has been digging up similar stories of dramatic reve...

Have you ever stopped while reading a folktale and wondered where you’ve seen the story before? In this week’s episode we look at a folkloric account from the Ndebele of South Africa and the another from the Ashanti of Ghana which have striking similarities to a biblical account. Mythological Africans is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a...

If you know anything about Mythological Africans, you know we love folktale retellings around here. My first book, The Runaway Princess and Other Stories , is a collection of prose and verse retellings of folktales about girls and women from across the continent. I think retellings create space for us to see from other perspectives, especially those of individuals, communities or ideas which, hist...

We travel to Morocco today to meet Fritla the donkey and his owner who just can’t catch a break. References * Koudia, Jilali El, et al. “A Donkey Named Fritla.” Moroccan Folktales , Syracuse University Press, 2003, pp. 135–37. JSTOR , https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt20wf357.34. Can’t Get Enough? * More Moroccan Folktales ! Meanwhile… You already know “ The Watkins Book of African Folklore” or the “My...

Proofreading has turned my brain to mush, so there will be no scripted narratives this episode. But if you like kitties and want to hear me wax poetic about my upcoming book , stick around! Meanwhile… You already know “ The Watkins Book of African Folklore” or the “Mythological Africans Book”, is now available for preorder ! Click image for preordering options! Can’t Get Enough? African Myths of O...

As many of you may know, we’re one day away from the American presidential elections. It’s certainly one of those election cycles where it feels like the choice of whoever wins will reveal something about the soul of this country. If you’re a student or lover of myth and folklore, you know there is something mythological about moments like this . Whether its birds or animals or trees or a chief wi...

I have had the most amazing time over the last six weeks sharing about the women credited with founding some of the African continent’s peoples. I especially enjoyed last week’s episode about Tenemba who I’d never met before! We wrap up the discussion today with one more story: the extraordinary Wahungwe Creation Myth. Why extraordinary? Well, first, there’s the fact of the male moon. This, as it...

Modern African political establishments are so dominated by men, it might be hard to believe that many African peoples trace their origins back to women. We’ve spent the last couple of weeks discovering some of these remarkable women and the matrilineal legacies they left behind. We continue, in this episode, with the story of Tenemba and the foundation legend of the Gelwar clan of the Serer (Sene...

If you’re a longtime follower of Mythological Africans, you know I absolutely LOVE when African people use mythology and folklore from the continent as inspiration for creative endeavors. In this week’s episode, we read a poetic rendering of the Ganda (Uganda) foundation legend written by Ugandan poet Y. B. Lubambula. We also discover the striking art of Ugandan artist Gloria Ssali whose work focu...

By some accounts, legendary Somali queen Ebla Awad, better known as Arraweelo , was a man-hating, ball-busting, devourer mother. In others, she was a visionary leader who took matters into her own hands and did the necessary to secure a better future for her people. Her story is the classic case of men usurping power from a powerful woman, found among many traditional African communities and in In...

Mythological Africans is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. In last week’s episode, we got to know some women from African folklore who are credited with founding their clan or peoples . The phenomenon is well-documented across the continent which is hardly surprising: traditional African societies were a mixed bag...

We’re back from last week’s brief hiatus and just in time to continue the exploration of how mythology and folklore shows up in modern African literature. In this week’s episode, and possibly for the next couple of weeks, we’ll be exploring the very interesting phenomenon of the women founders of certain groups and clans on the African continent. We’ll start with an account of the Akan foundation...

We continue with the topic of folklore in modern African literature this week with “Tribal Scars and Other Stories”, a collection of short stories by Senegalese film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and author: Ousmane Sembène . The collection was originally published as  “Voltaique” in French in 1962. It was translated to English and published again in 1974, and has remained a classic text...

Africanfuturism, Africanjujuism, Afropantheology… How do we describe those works of African literature which weave in aspects of the supernatural in everyday life? We’ve spent quite a bit of time this year talking about such works and the plan is to do more of that this month. That’s why I figured, in this episode, we should take some time to reflect on how to contextualize these stories because,...

Hello Friends, We close out the month with another foray into the landscape of folklore and place, this time with the Gikuyu (Kenya) account of how Kere-Nyaga or Mt. Kenya came to be. This topic has been on my mind quite a bit recently. When you read mythology and folklore, you get a sense of the kinship people across the world have always felt with the natural world. You also get a sense of what...

Hey there friend! We return to normal programing this week with more folklore in modern African literature. The late Congolese author Sony Labou Tansi ’s Life and a Half is a book to be experienced so I doubt this podcast episode will do it justice. But if you are a fan of the gory, the weird and the wonderful, you should listen to this episode and definitely read the book! Meanwhile, have you hea...

That’s right! The Watkins Book of African Folklore is OUR book folks. It is the MA Book because, quite frankly, I couldn’t have written this book without your curiosity and interest, your gifts and donations, or the trust so many of you have put in MA to share information that is as accurate as possible, with an eye toward honoring the dignity of the stories of African peoples. We did it together,...

Picture this: you’re neck deep in a collection of African folktales or commentary written by some 19th century ethnographer when, suddenly, you find yourself faced with a block of Latin text. Curious… I’ll admit, the first time I encountered this phenomenon, it didn’t even register past the archaic English and prejudice that are the hallmark of so many books from those eras. I was raised Catholic...