Underground emergence creation myths might reference historical memory of our cave dwelling past. They may also be symbolic, referencing an understanding of life emerging from buried seed, cocoon or womb. In this week's episode of the MA podcast, we hear some African perspectives on this myth type.

For the month of November on the Mythological Africans podcast, we will be taking a closer look at African creation myths. We’ll also probe, lightly as always, at what they reveal about what the people who believe in them understand about the forces and processes that move and organize their world.

The Maasai struggle to retain access to their ancestral lands is known, though perhaps not as much as their iconic imagery. In this week’s MA podcast episode, we hear some stories the Maasai tell of their land and examine what they reveal about their relationship with the place they call home.

Ghana's fishermen sing to thank the ocean for a bountiful catch, to encourage each other, and to comfort themselves as they brave the unpredictable waters. This week on the MA podcast, we examine how traditional coastal Ghanaian beliefs inform fishing practices.

In the MA September retrospective, I reflect on the commonalities in how storytellers, seers, healers and other keepers of the mysteries in traditional African societies use myths and folklore to mold personal and communal narratives, excavate hidden desires and intentions, and orchestrate change.

The MA Podcast has spent most of 2025 on African geomyths and their impact on culture. When I read this story of how the Chonyi (Kenya) successfully safeguarded the integrity of their ancestral caves, I knew I had to produce an episode about it! mythologicalafricans.substack.com/p/saving-the...

Hi friends! Back from a small social media break with MA September updates. We took a break from landscapes to explore mindscapes. Mythology and folklore have a long history with psychology. After the intro episode, this September series focused on three phenomena which occur across the continent.

In part 2 of the MA August African Urban Legend Series, we go to my hometown Buea, 🇨🇲. What happens when a world famous racing event takes over the home of a territorial mountain god? Listen now on Substack and everywhere else you get your podcasts! mythologicalafricans.substack.com/p/efasa-moto...

For the month of August, the Mythological Africans podcast will focus urban legends about African geographical landforms. We start with what might be the most popular African urban legend of all time: the story of Nyaminyami and the construction of the Kariba Dam.

This was such a lovely conversation with Mandile Mpofu! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! The featured Wahungwe (Zimbabwe) creation myth is one of my favorites! www.landlockedmag.com/stories/the-...

In the final episode of the Mythological Africans podcast Lake Victoria series, we discover the stories of women who come from the lake, and then round things up with some lake-related sayings and proverbs. mythologicalafricans.substack.com/p/the-endles...

July on the MA Podcast is focused on the folklore of Lake Victoria. Discover the fascinating stories of strangers who come from the lake to change communities for ever!

Hello friends! On MA this week, we sauntered into July with a reflection on Nėku, the Mende (Sierra Leone) conception of the emergence, pathway toward, and the eventual culmination of the admirable. Enjoy! substack.com/home/post/p-...

MA’s second quarterly essay for 2025 is a reflection on the joys and frustrations of curating African folklore.

ICYMI

Whoops I fell asleep. Here you go! bsky.app/profile/hm-n...

All caught up? Join us this June as we sail up the Nile, learning the lore of this great river from the various peoples whose lands it runs through.

May, on the MA Podcast, was a strenuous but exciting trek north through the Saharan desert, charting the North African mythical landscape.

Time for a break, friends. You can sign up for the newsletter to receive updates on MA Podcast episodes ✨ substack.com/@mythologica...

Hey Everyone, quick update to say The Watkins Book of African Folklore is now available in South Africa 😊 You can order from Takealot. It will be shipped from the US, though. Buy here: www.takealot.com/the-watkins-...

New Episode 🚨 Around 9:30 pm on the night of Thursday August 21st 1986, a muted roaring sound arose near Lake Nyos in Cameroon’s North West region. In its aftermath there was a strange eerie silence. When dawn came, almost every living creature in the area lay on the ground. Dead. What happened?

In “Legends of the Earth: Their Geologic Origins”, Geologist Dorothy Vitaliano asserts that the lack of widespread catastrophic flood myths from the African continent is one reason why people who study such things question the plausibility of a global flood as described in the biblical account.

But they won’t end up translating in parliament, they will sell trinkets on the beach and get laid quite a bit to be fair. African potential is wasted because we value things only accessible to those who already have them and not the talent among those who don’t.

It affected how potential is judged, what criteria should I apply for employment etc in a mostly under educated informal space where valuable Human Resources go to waste. I know several illiterate people who can speak three African and three European languages flawlessly.

Not because education is bad but because it created a false sense of importance among elites that contradicted the traditional values promoted by the same leadership. In Senegal people are verbose to the point of incoherence but think they sound smart when they are because that’s the standard

If we look at how countries developed or didn’t since, these remained the staples of leadership and literature that grew increasingly disembodied from the masses and youth, especially young men. And it promoted a class distinction that ended up harmful imo.

Whether they applied those values or used them as smoke screens a little bit of both as usual, but these leaders emerged at the same time as Achebe and Wa Thiongo etc. In literature they are very much the archetype of male post colonial literature. Cultural but political. Academic to a fault.

Good on her to mention Senghor’s repressive tactics which unfortunately don’t stop there, but as I read this I think of two things: a-that these leaders were more reflective of what French colonial education promoted. The philosopher president. Good schools, “breeding” political favor & there you go

"As independence movements swept across the continent, the architects of these movements paid close attention to crafting cultural narratives which highlighted the best of their traditional cultures." - @hm-nde.bsky.social watkinspublishing.com/the-curious-...

Do you know the one about how earthquakes are caused by a giant who holds up one end of the earth reaching out to embrace his wife who holds up the sky? Talk about tectonic touch 🥹😍🥰

New Episode Alert 🚨

ICYMI

In the mid 1990s, nearly seven decades after its first publication in 1921, Mokran Fetta (a Kabyle student studying in Germany) translated and published German ethnologist and archaeologist Leo Frobenius’ “Volksmärchen der Kabylen” (Kabyle Folktales).

ICYMI

Places with distinctive geographical landforms have a way of carving terrains of their own on the psyches of the people who live near them. In this week’s MA Podcast, we discuss why it is important to study and understand the stories we have told about the land on which we live.

One of my mutuals was looking for a book on African folklore, but I can't remember and can't find your post using the search so uhhh hopefully you see this lol

#MultilingualCritical By @hm-nde.bsky.social

BOOK REVIEW The Watkins Book of African Folklore by @hm-nde.bsky.social Published by @watkinswisdom.bsky.social Reviewed by @folkloringpodcast.bsky.social "Meticulously researched and academically presented" Full review on the Folklore Podcast site www.thefolklorepodcast.com/watkins-book...

Here is a review of @hm-nde.bsky.social fabulous new book. Spoiler alert - read the book for sure! #folklore #africanfolklore #myth #booksky #fairytaletuesday

In the first of this year’s Mythological Africans Quarterly Essay series, we look at what folk medicine might still have to offer.

Doesn't this look absolutely GLORIOUS?

From my review of @hm-nde.bsky.social book: "Though the author explores these connections and concepts in a far reaching and scholarly manner, her writing style is efficient, so the reader never gets bogged down in excessive detail." It should be out shortly. #folklore #africanmyth #mythologymonday

New Episode Alert! 🚨 This week: - A tragic historical account of the felling of two great Baobab trees in Lokoja (Nigeria) - From Baganda (Uganda) folklore, why the African Tulip’s tree’s flowers are flame red - Very light speculation about the true symbolism of the Basotho tree, Koumongoe

The final episode about trees and forests in African folklore on Sunday March 30 will be a round up of other arboreal friends and fiends from the continent’s folklore. You’ll meet Koumongoé, the Milk tree from Sotho folklore (which I’d bet my cats is symbolic for something quite different 🤔).

New Episode Alert! As some of you may know, Friday March 21st was International Forest Day. This year’s theme “Forests and Foods” emphasizes the relationship between forests and the global effort against hunger. To commemorate that, we talk about some food giving trees in African folklore. Enjoy!

Finally! @hm-nde.bsky.social I bought this through a local company not Amazon! I’m so excited!

Yes Indigo which is a chain in Canada Ships and does store Pick up. Highly recommend for a Canadian option.

Sloooooowly working my way through the backlog of things I want to read/watch/listen to, and I’m so glad this episode was at the top of the list!

IT'S HERE!!! 🐍 Now I just need to track down @hm-nde.bsky.social and get it signed!

On March 6th, I had the immense honor and pleasure to sit down for a book talk with Dr. Falami Devoe. We read and discussed some stories from the book, and shared our thoughts and experiences on why mythology and folklore matters today. You can now watch a replay of the conversation on YouTube.