This is more of a general question but I would love to learn about Igbo gods and goddesses and I was just wondering if you yourself or anyone here knows anything about that and has sources for it!
Thank you so much
The origin of the Igbo people is rooted in their culture and religion, which involve the worship of deities like Chukwu, Ala, Chi, Amadioha,
There are more than 100 gods, both small and big, in Igbo Culture, but for some reason, most people don't know anything about them, except…
The essay explores the belief in spirits and ancestral spirits in Igbo mythology, highlighting their roles and interactions with the living.
Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of Igbo heroes, deities, creatures, folktales, and myths, including Chineke the creator, Ana, Igwe,
OOOOOOH see I'm more familiar with the Orisha of the Yoruba, so this is a first for me to see the divinities of the Igbo! I'm very intrigued, I love to see it.
Tag game post and shameless advertisement for my incredibly skilled, talented artist and friend, Nick @quinthebard - you're tagged, btw! 🌟
Tempest “Genie” Eugenia Valourheart
As many of you already know.
But what I haven’t shared... is that for the past 300 years, her family has adopted conventional Faerûnian names to better navigate the political world of Baldur’s Gate. Their Katashakan names and heritage are closely guarded secrets, known only within the family. They conceal their origins to protect both themselves and the wider world from the entity lying dormant in their bloodline - a curse inherited from the ancestor who bound himself to an evil purpose and became the instrument of a civilisation’s downfall.
Tempest no longer uses Eugenia, the name given to her at birth. As a Sorceress Adept of the War Wizards, she was required to choose a new name during her proving - one that reflects her combat abilities while obscuring her identity from enemy eyes. The Cormyrian Royal Mages deliberately recruit those without strong family ties, shaping them into instruments wholly devoted to the cause and loyal to the throne.
Inyazi
Her Katashakan name, meaning “lightning” and inspired by the Xhosa & Zulu languages: Unyazi. It is a common practice for the Valourhearts to give their scions names associated with the sky.
Inhliziyo Yonyazi
And, authentic to D&D tradition, Tempest also has a true name - one never meant to be spoken aloud: Inhliziyo Yonyazi, meaning “Heart of Lightning” (Zulu/South African origin). If that doesn’t have destiny written all over it, I don’t know what does.
"Roro" inyoni yezulu
The storm entity dormant within her heart is called Roro, an Easter egg referencing Ororo Munroe. Roro is one of the divine inyoni yezulu (Xhosa/Zulu origins: "bird of the sky"). The storm eagles: rulers of the skies, also known in shamanic tradition as Children of the Sky Mother.
Thank you for tagging me, @saylofwaterdeep & @ceremorph0sis!
(Honestly wasn't sure if I would do this again, but here it is!!! Part one is here, Part two is here.)
Abiku (Yoruba, Nigeria)
"Born to die", Abiku are tree (specefically Iroko & Baobab) spirits that incarnate themselves as human children, only to die before puberty. And they do this again, and again, and again... if that sounds familiar, it is because Abiku are the Yoruba counterpart of the Igbo Ogbanje spirit. Unlike Ogbanje, Abiku do not seek to intentionally bring pain to their human mothers... except when they do. Additionally, Abiku are extremely associated with monkeys. According to legend, a pair of monkeys began stealing food from a farm. The farmer killed them, unaware of the magical powers that monkeys have (source: am a monke, trust me bro). The ghost of the two monkeys became abikus, reincarnating themselves as the twin children of the farmers wife only to die after a few years, and again, and again, and again... it was only after the farmer stopped killing other monkeys, per the advice of a local Babalawo, that the abiku twins stopped dying young, growing up to be humans with the powerful mystic abilities that all twins have (source: am a twin, trust me bro).
Eloko (Mongo, DRC)
The line between ghost and living monster in folklore all over Africa is seemingly nonexistant, a motif that repeats itself in the Eloko. The Eloko (plural: Biloko) are kind of dwarf-like being that dwell within the Congo rainforests, and they are the spirits of the ancestors who live in the forest. Biloko are also maneaters that like to target the wives of hunters who follow after their husbands into the bush. Biloko have grass for hair, bulging eyes, mouths that can open wide enough to swallow a person whole, long and razor sharp claws, are dressed in forest leaves, and carry magic bells that hypnotize people. If you hear the sound of a bell while within the rainforest, do not dare go near it. If Biloko had any memories from their previous life, they are long gone by now. All that remains is their grudge against the living...
Emere (Yoruba, Nigeria)
Another west african spirit that incarnates itself as a human child, Emere set themselves apart from both Ogbanje and Abiku in that they do not die young. Instead, Emere children have the ability to travel between the material world and spirit world at will, like a child that vanishes and comes back without telling theur parents where they have gone. Emere have intense spiritual powers, even stronger than witches, and are naturally extremely beautiful. Emere incarnate themselves because they want the best of both Heaven and Earth. Despite that, they give unconditional support to Heaven while on Earth, and are smart enough to hide their goals. But like other spirit children, Emere do die early. Graduations, Weddings, the birth of their first child, Emere's last day on Earth are always their happiest moment.
Mmuo (Igbo, Nigeria)
Brits have Fairies, Japanese have Yokai, and the Igbo tribe of Southeastern Nigeria have Mmuo (which can be translated as either 'spirit' or 'ghost'). While the word Mmuo includes all supernatural entities in Igbo culture, such as the extremely powerful and worshipped Alusi, it is more common for Mmuo to only be used for lesser spirits. Ancestor spirits, Nature spirits, and stranger beings are all called Mmuo and they can be good, evil, neither or all. What truly sets the Mmuo apart from other spirits is that they openly interact with humans during Masquerade festivals (called Mmanwu).
The Ajofia is the Mmuo of the Evil Forest, a kind of community graveyard where evil doers are allowed to rot above ground which prevents their body from returning to the Earth Mother's womb. The Ajofia spirit appears as a 10 foot tall mass of black hair billowing smoke covered in animal skulls, human masks, and living bugs. Despite the fear it inspires in people, it is a noble spirit of justice that doesn't hesitate to punish the wicked and is respected by the community.
The Mgbedike is a spirit associated with war, bravery, and men. They appear as a beastial man with bull horns, sharp teeth, and other intimidating features. Their dance during the Mmanwu is fierce and aggresive.
The Agbogho is the spirit of maidens, representing with the Igbo femminine ideal (Note: all of the masquraders in a Mmanwu are men, including the Agbogho). They appears as a beautiful, pale (cuz ghost), young woman, and perform a graceful dance that emphasizes their legs.
The Ijele is the king of the Mmanwu, appearing as a tower that 45 different Mmuo dance atop as it closes the Masquerade festival, and it has the power to bring good harvests and draw in evil doers with it's magic mirror before punishing them.
Hi. Not sure if you've answered this before, but do you have a list of books to recommend on fairytale/mythic analysis?
So I finally have a real response to this question, but it's LONG, be warned:
First, it depends what you want to get out of your folklore study, what lens you'd like to use for analysis. And second, it's important to know that the practice of folktale analysis has changed over time, especially in the last ~15 years or so as the scholarly consensus has evolved toward decolonization.
For example, the common historical starting place was Bruno Bettleheim's The Uses of Enchantment. Candidly, I haven't read it yet for a few reasons: 1) It focuses fairly exclusively on Western European fairy tales like those of Grimm, Basile, and Perrault. 2) It assumes the primary audience for such tales are children. 3) It's a white man's perspective, and there are already enough of those to go around. That said, it's considered a foundational text for folklore study, so I'll probably get to it eventually. There are some modern authors who might be considered scholarly successors of Bettleheim, like Maria Tatar. I haven't read her books yet but I know she's also a powerhouse of Western fairy tale analysis.
Some other popular perspectives include the works of Carl Jung and his protégés in psychoanalysis, Marie-Louise von Franz and Erich Neumann. These are wonderful sources for learning about depth psychology and the universal unconscious which causes certain motifs to recur in storytelling across the globe and over centuries. Another popular author in this field is Robert Bly, who dove deeply into the concept of the Shadow as it appears in folk tales.
But for me, my favorite sources have been a collection of feminist authors who were active in the late 80s and early 90s, notably Barbara Fass Leavy and the incomparable Clarissa Pinkola Estes. While their work is pretty firmly grounded in second-wave feminism and therefore not very intersectional as we understand it today, they were the first to begin exploring interpretations of folk tales outside of a patriarchal context. I personally refer to Leavy's In Search of the Swan Maiden and Estes' Women Who Run With the Wolves more than any other books.
A lot of the most current perspectives are only accessible via blogs, like Jeana Jorgensen AKA The Foxy Folklorist, who often explores fairy tales through a Queer lens. Another brilliant voice working today is Helen Nde of Mythological Africans, who is doing the long-overdue work of decolonizing African folklore.
And while all these sources will help you develop a framework for analysis, still one of the best things you can do is read the tales for yourself. One of my favorite series is that of Heidi Anne Heiner of Sur La Lune Fairy Tales, who has amassed impressive collections of folk tales of the same type from around the world, making comparison easy. She also provides excellent footnotes that offer context to the versions and translations she's selected, and every tale has a source.
Outside of that, I like to read regional collections from indigenous scholars and native speakers: some editors will even include a copy in the original language along with the English translation, thus allowing others to "check their work." One of my favorite folkorists like this is Inea Bushnaq, who collects Arab folktales and again provides accessible cultural context. It's important to remember that most oral folktales which are now available in English were first recorded by colonizers, so the versions we have may be edited, mistranslated, or even maliciously altered to suit Western tastes. This is why seeking out versions from actual members of indigenous communities is critical.
Right now, I'm reading The Japanese Psyche: Major Motifs in the Fairy Tales of Japan by Hayao Kawai, and I'm next going to try Oral World and Written Word by Susan Niditch. I tend to just go where the spirit moves me, journal a bit, go down a research rabbit hole about a particular topic... it's fun. But whatever you're looking to get out of your folk tale study, rest assured you will never run out of material!
