We are at the end of our month-long series about the intersection of mythology, folklore and psychology in the African Context. But it wouldn’t be much of a series about mythology, folklore and psychology if we didn’t discuss the denizens of the spirit world as understood and experienced across the African continent and so that is what we will end our exploration on.

I decided against including a folktale in this episode, choosing instead to share this MA Twitter thread about what might be thought of as “fairies” in African mythology and folklore.

When I first researched and shared this Twitter thread, I remember being blown away by how the effect many of these creatures and entities (especially some of the malevolent ones) have on humans might as well have been lifted out of a psychiatry text book. At the same time, other descriptions reflected the awe and wonder which African people have experienced as we encountered new people, creatures, situations and ideas. The descriptions of how to move through relationships with these different spirits also reveal much about how people perceive themselves and their place in the world.

The truth is, no matter what western psychiatric and psychological theories say about mental illness, genetics and chemical imbalances in the brain, no matter what Christian, Muslim and other spiritual philosophies posit about angels, demons, and other such entities, there will always be a distinct and autochthonous African way of perceiving these phenomena.

I hope we continue to draw inspiration and insight from the stories that are available about them to step out from under the shadow of fear and aversion that usually hangs over it all so we can better understand and come up with more compassionate and effective ways of dealing with things.

References

- Bourguignon, Erika. “Introduction: A framework for the comparative study of altered states of consciousness.” Religion, altered states of consciousness, and social change (1973): 3-35.

Can’t Get Enough

The Ultimate List of MA Mythology and Folklore Threads on X/Twitter.

Meanwhile…

The Watkins Book of African Folklore (…or The Mythological Africans Book) is out!

The Watkins Book of African Folklore contains 50 stories, curated from North, South, East, West and Central Africa. The stories are grouped into three sections:

* Creation myths and foundation legends

* Stories about human relationships and the cultural institutions they created

* Animal tales (with a twist…the folktales are about some of the most unlikely animals!)

I thoroughly enjoyed digging into the historical and cultural context out of which the stories, their themes, and protagonists emerge. There is something for everybody!

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