Product Description
Describes the ancient myths and legends of the tribes of Africa, and their association with spirits and religious deities. The book deals in detail with the meaning of these primitive beliefs, and with the narrative tradition in which they have been handed down. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Putting the Light on the "Dark Continent"
Part of the "Library of the World's Myths and Legends" series, this book was done by an author familar with both African culture and world mythology so it does a wonderful job exposing the oft-overlooked myths and legends of sub-Saharan Africa. I make a point of saying that because everything north of the Sahara (including Egypt) is excluded from this book. Instead, the focus is on the related themes running through indigenous traditions. Lavishly illustrated with masks, ceremonial objects, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, wooden figures, amulets, Bushmen rock paintings and so forth, this is a wonderful little book to look at. The introduction does a good job of showing how diverse Africa is, both in terms of geography and in terms of ethnicity.

The first couple chapters are devoted to the Supreme Being (as indigenous African culture was monotheistic), including a widespread belief that some action of man caused this Supreme Being to withdraw from the world. The myths and legends of different groups are given, revealing both similarities and differences. From there it goes to examine myths of the creative ancestor figures and beliefs on the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Both are central to African beliefs, and are somewhat connected as people are believed to continue their involvement with the community after death as ancestor figures eventually to be reborn. These are very sophisticated ideas common throughout the coninent and again, numerous myths and legends are given. One particular myth that shows up here are the various myths about the origin of death.

The next couple chapters examine more social aspects of mythology in African life, taking a look at oracles, divinations, magic, witchcraft, monsters and secret societies. These are things which take an active role in community life (whether it was to help the community as oracles and secret societies did or to harm it as witches and other monsters did), and the book is full of depictions of ceremonial objects such as masks, divination tablets, diving rods, vessels for making offerings, bullroarers and so forth. Both magical practices and specific myths related to them are observed, giving the reader a clear idea of how the practices related to a mythical past and connected the practicioners to the creative ancestors. This is followed up by legends involving historical events including Osei Tutu and the golden stool, tales of old Ifé and Benin, Kikuyu myths of Mt. Kenya, the~ mystery of Great Zimbabwe and even stories about the first ecounters with Europeans, amongst other things.

The book closes out with numerous well known African animal tales, including numerous tales of Anansi the spider trickster of the Ashanti. He then mentions how aside from African influences travelling to the Americas and even Europe, other mythologies have influenced Africa; Islamic tales such as the 1,001 Nights in Muslim communities (especially in the north and the east), Indian tales like the Pancha-tantra and Jataka along the coast, Portuguese stories in Angola and Mozambique and even Grimm's Fairy Tales in some schools. He finishes by stating the importance of recording African myths to provide insight into the indigenous religious views of the African people, and ultimately I think that this book is a decent introduction to just that. Its certainly worth picking up, if only for a general review of African mythology and it's major themes. The nice thing about this is that it doesn't focus too much on one particular group or another. You can find tales from the Pygmies, Mbundu, Hausa, Swazi, Zulu, Chaga, Malagasy, Venda, Dogon, Songhai, Shona, Dahomey, Igbo and many others besides in this book. Sierra Leone is given as much attention as, say, the Congo or Kenya. So ultimately this is a wonderful little book if all you want are comparative myths and legends of sub-Saharan Africa.

Every paragraph is interesting
The African continent of course is huge, and therefore it is not surprising that the number of ideas, works of art, and customs is overwhelming and would take any one person many decades to sort through. This book gives a brief sampling of these, with particular attention paid to the lands south of the Sahara desert. The author concentrates his attention on this part of Africa, for he reasons that it is this part that was shielded from European and Middle Eastern influence, due to the difficulty of crossing the Sahara. The reader learns of the Bushman, who were at the Cape of Good Hope when the first Europeans arrived, the Pygmies, and the Hamites, the latter being the group most strongly influenced by Islamic and Arabic traditions. It is primarily the Negro population of this geographical region though that the author concentrates on in the book.

As the author points out, one troubling feature of African mythology is that they did not usually write anything down, but instead passed on their stories orally. The author blames this lack of written word on the geographical isolation that discouraged its spread. But he also points out that the absence of writing was also a characteristic of ancient American civilizations and the ancient Britons and Teutons. The author therefore relies on the research and recordings of modern African scholars who painstakingly wrote down the stories told them by the various peoples.

A culture of course needs more than just verbalization to express its ideas and moods. To capture and sustain an idea in time without writing, one can use art, particularly in paintings and sculpture. The author argues that African art is deliberately expressive and was employed to symbolize the life in every aspect. Interestingly, the author holds that African proverbs and myths expressed joy in life and human activity. Calling it a 'world-affirming' philosophy, in which life on earth is thought of as good, despite human suffering. The Africans were surely correct about this. Absolutely for sure.

The reader will also learn that nearly all African peoples believe in a supreme being, who created all things. Some of the names of this being include Mulungu in East Africa, Leza in central Africa, and Nyambe in the west. And the author points out, interestingly, that very few temples were built to the "supreme" god, while places of worship were built for the lesser deities and ancestors. "God is too great to be contained in a house" say the Africans. Also interesting is that the Africans did not have a god of Sun, for such a god was not needed: there is plenty of sun in Africa. In some African myths, god created the earth in four days, a fifth day being reserved for worship. God also created a mountain with the power of speech, so as to allow the people to hear the divine voice and laws. Dreaming was considered a gift from God, and it functioned as a sequence of messages from God. But witchcraft was believed in also, with women again being the chief practioners.

Man was not the first to create fire, say some Pygmy legends. Rather, it was chimpanzees who first possessed it, and a Pygmy stumbled across their fire accidently and wearing a long bark-cloth, caught it on fire and ran for home. Thus the origin of fire for man.

The god of some African myths used to live on Earth, but left due to some human fault. Others speak of a Golden Age, in which god left willingly. God leaves paradise, and not the humans, for some of the African legends. Also, death was not considered natural in some African myths. It got its start from a dog or a chameleon. The author gives several other fascinating accounts of the African conception of death, including a story very similar to Pandora's Box. Curiosity in many cultures is considered the origin of all evil and suffering, unfortunately. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Covers many different groups
I had a look at several books from this series in the reference section of my library. The information from all meshed with that I found in other sources. It's all introductory material, as would be expected from such a series, but there was information given for many different groups, rather than focusing only on the most well known cultures.

I don't recall now whether or not the entry Lion included information about the Egyptians as I made notes on what I didn't already know, but three other groups were also mentioned.The entry Leopard also had similar substance.

These would provide a good starting point for further research. ... Read more

Product Description
In this remarkable book, Clyde Ford restores to us the lost treasure of African mythology, bringing to life the ancient tales and showing why they matter so much to us today.

African myths convey the perennial wisdom of humanity: the creation of the world, the hero's journey, our relationship with nature, death, and resurrection.From the Ashanti comes the moving account of the grief-stricken Kwasi Benefo's journey to the underworld to seek his beloved wives.From Uganda we learn of the legendary Kintu, who won the love of a goddess and created a nation from a handful of isolated clans.The Congo's epic hero Mwindo is the sacred warrior who shows us the path each person must travel to discover his true destiny.

These and other important African myths show us the history of African Americans in a new light--as a hero's journey, a courageous passage to a hard-won victory.The Hero with an African Face enriches us all by restoring this vital tradition to the world.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Required Reading
Should be required reading in our schools. Mr. Ford has written an enlightening book that answers the many questions pondered by americans of African origin. So many things explained prompted me to write "The Aha!" in the margin. Superb work. Thank you.

A superb piece of non-fiction
This is an excellent book. I'd give it 100 stars if I could. Like another reader wrote, I wish I had found this book sooner. Every African and African-American should read this book. Thank you so much, Mr. Ford. I'll keep my review simple because I could go on forever. This book puts African myths in their rightful place: as legitimate, awesome, powerful stories that explain the human condition and our connection to the creator. All myths sprang from the African ones and Ford does a masterful job in explaining why myths are important to our lives today.

An Essential Book
I've read this book twice and will probably read it once more, because I learn something new with every reading.This is such an essential book for understanding not only the importance of myth, but Africa's far-reaching contribution. Ford's book traces the genesis of myth and belief systems and shows an evolution that not only surfaces in other cultures, but even in the bible.A masterful documentary that takes us all on a hero's and heroine's journey

All God's Children
Increasingly, happily (albeit painfully)the new question for modern man and woman is "Am I my black brother's (sister's) keeper?"Conversely, "Am I my white brother's (sister's) keeper?" Theanswer is a resounding "Yes!".This book is a tremendouscontribution toward the fulfillment of that Dream, toward a universalPhiladelphia (phila = love; delphia = brother): the City of Brotherly Love,genuine agape, Unconditional Agape.

A monumental work
Clyde W. Ford helps us to connect to African mythology on so many levels.It is encouraging and illuminating to finally see African mythology treated in the manner that it deserves:as vital as those of any other culture. He demonstrates the importance of myth for centering our lives andproviding focus for living.His discussion of the meaning and role of mythin the preface is worth the price of the book alone. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection of fascinating and revealing tales captures the sprawling diversity of African mythology. Four hundred alphabetically arranged entries touch on virtually every aspect of African religious belief, from Africa's great epic themes (dualistic gods, divine tricksters, creator gods, and heroes) to descriptions of major mythic systems (the Dogon, the Asante, and the San) and beyond.Scheub covers the entire continent, from the mouth of the Nile to the shores of the Cape of Good Hope, including North African as well as sub-Saharan cultures. His retellings provide information about the respective belief system, the main characters, and related stories or variants. Perhaps most important, Scheub emphasizes the role of mythmaker as storyteller--as a performer for an audience. He studies various techniques, from the rhythmic movements of a Zulu mythmaker's hands to the way a storyteller will play on the familiar context of other myths within her cultural context.An invaluable bridge to the richly diverse oral cultures of Africa, this collection uncovers a place where story and storyteller, tradition and performance, all merge.Amazon.com Review
There's no Zeus with his thunderbolt or Thor with his hammer; but in Harold Scheub's A Dictionary of African Mythology, there is Kibuka, who shoots arrows from clouds, and Tanit, mother of the universe, with her spear. From over 10 years of living in Africa, Harold Scheub has combed oral and recorded traditions to deliver a treasury of African mythology. Scheub focuses on the art of the storyteller, presenting stories that animate the peoples that tell them. You'll find the full range of archetypal figures here and see how mythic scenarios can vary from region to region. There are the rain-stones from God; the crocodile women; and Wuni, the god who destined men to always have to chase women. Scheub ties the stories together by locating common themes and provides an immense bibliography, along with cross-referencing by culture and country. Africa is not often on our mythology radar, but Scheub demonstrates that the continent's traditions are every bit as colorful and transformative as the myths of other world cultures. --Brian Bruya ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Essential Guide to African Mythology
Most people today are familar with the mythologies of Greece, Rome, Egypt and possibly the Norse, but how many people can name people or places from sub-Saharan African mythology? Despite the continuation of many indigenous religions in Africa, to say nothing of the proliferation of African religions in the New World (such as Voudon, Santeria and Candomble), few people know much about the gods, heros and legends of Africa.

Set up as a dictionary, with entries in alphabetical order, this book is starts to change some of that. After a short introduction that explains the background of African myths and the storytelling traditions, this book goes on to give hundreds of different African myths. Each entry explains the myth and gives a story, along with the culture group and what country or country the story comes from. Included are countless important stories from across the continent, taken from everyone from the Zulu of South Africa to the Berbers of Morocco. Tunisian stories of the Arab hero Abu Zayd are included, alongside the Khoi story of how Heitsi-Ebib parted the waters and how the Egyptian sun god Ra created the world. Yoruba stories about Shango, the Orisha of thunder and lightning, stand beside tales of the epic Swahili culture hero Liongo. There are entries about Abuk, the first woman to the Dinka of Sudan who caused the fall of man, and entries about the Mpaca forest spirit of the Nyanga from the Congo and the Hausa folklore about the bull who supports the world on his horns.

Hundreds of different stories from across Africa are included, mostly focusing on gods, spirits and culture heros. Scattered throughout the book are a couple of essays about African storytelling traditions, and some traditional African proverbs (both in the original languages and translated into English). There are also some pictures of African art, and a map. A very thorough work of scholarship, as could be seen from the bibliography (which includes sources for each story). Even better, the end includes an index which lets you search for myth by country and culture, so if you want to find something from, say Cameroon or perhaps the Tutsi people, you can easily find it by going to the index. There is another appendix which includes myths sorted by category, such as creation myths, myths of seperation between man and god, and myths of the origin of death. This is great if you ever want to do a cross-cultural survey of myths.

All in all, this is an essential book for anyone interested in mythology and storytelling, especially in the context of Africa. While it is far from being a comprehensive guide to African myth, if such a thing is even possible, it does give a very good survey of pan-African mythology, and it makes it easy to search myths by theme, culture/language group and country. That makes it a great starting point and source of reference, even if it doesn't incldue every single African myth. So do yourself a favor and check this book out. It will certainly expand your cultural knowledge, which is a good thing. ... Read more

Product Description
A rich, unique anthology of retold fables from Africa

Gathering a wide range of traditional African myths, this compelling new collection offers tales of heroes battling mighty serpents and monstrous birds, brutal family conflict and vengeance, and desperate migrations across vast and alien lands. From accounts of the inventive wiles of animal-creators and a community forced to flee a giant crocodile to the heroic story of the cripple Sunjata who rose to found an empire, all the narratives here concern origins. They offer a kaleidoscopic picture representative of the rich cultures and societies of the African continent: the ways of life, the peoples—from small hunting bands to great empires—and the states that have taken shape over many generations and environments. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

CREATION AT ITS BEST!
This body of work gives the reader an excellent view of the myths of creation from differents cultures in the African Continent. It contains a variety of stories of the begining of the world and creation of mankind. But it all culminates to a main agreement that it all began in Africa. It also reveals the mutual concept that man and all living things on Earth were created by a supreme deity. A must read book for all.

Comprehensive treatment - & a great read!
Stephen Belcher has put together a superb collection of myths of origin from all four corners of the African continent, the cradle of humankind. More thorough treatment, even more enjoyable narrative style than that which he displayed in the delightful essays he contributed to the earlier Oral Epics from Africa (African Epics Series) assemblage, this work benefits from Belcher's uniform editorial hand, keen eye, broad vocabulary and sense of humor.Highly recommended to anyone interested in Africa, comparative literature, oral storytelling, roots culture &/or pre-radical philosophy.A great read, a great gift for anyone curious about our earliest guesses at the origin of life. ... Read more

Product Description
Captured here in one illuminating volume, African myths reflect the creative traditions of hundreds of tribal groups and reveal fascinating perspectives on nature, humanity, and the divine, as well as on the origin and destiny of the world. Each of these tales depicts a close relationship with the land and a deep interest in the spiritual realm. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

writing style gets in the way...
overall, the collection of myths is well done, but the retelling of them suffers. in looking for books of myths, it is difficult to encounter actual retellings (many mythology books lean more towards theoretical analyses)... as a teacher, i am collecting myths for students, and was disappointed that some rather good stories in this book were made incomprehensible or confusing by the writing style.

in some stories, for example, it is said that "the only thing existing was Nmbutu, his daughter, and a great river. Nambate the magician passed their way and... " ... ummm, where did this other guy come from? i appreciate that myths are not eld to rules of logic, but these sorts of confusing elements really appear to result from poor writing.

even more dissapointing, when the stories appear to come to a climax or ending, the writing style goes completely flat and fails to communicate any sense of impact through the myth. they simply seem to trail off, leaving a reader wondering what the point of the myth was.

so, in the end this book fails to communicate the spirit and vigour that lies within these myths. ... Read more

Product Description
This beautifully illustrated title introduces readers to the imaginative and exciting world of African mythology. The story of creation from the Yoruba of West Africa, the tale of Anansi the spider from the Ashanti of Ghana, and the Story of the Dog and Jackal from the Bushongo people of Zaire provide suspense, action, and extensive information about the cultures and animals these myths discuss. ... Read more

Product Description
Anansi the spider is a trickster.In this West African myth, Anansi must outsmart the powerful and dangerous creatures of Africa to become the owner of all the stories in the world. ... Read more

Product Description
Mythologies offers illuminating examples of the workings of myth in the structure of societies past and present--how we create, use, and are guided by systems of myth to answer fundamental questions about ourselves and our world.

Almost all of Mythologies, originally published as a two-volume cloth set, is now available in four paperback volumes. These volumes reproduce the articles, introductory essays, and illustrations as they appeared in the full Mythologies set, and each includes a new Preface by Wendy Doniger.

This volume gathers eighty articles on mythologies from around the world.A section on the Americas and the South Pacific covers myths of native Americans, from the Inuit to the Mesoamericans, about such topics as the cosmos, fire, and the creation of the world.Essays on African mythology range from the 266 basic signs of West Africa to themes such as twins, the placenta, and masks.The final section, covering Celtic, Norse, and Slavic traditions opens with an overview of the Indo-Europeans and concludes with an essay on the religion and myths of Armenia. ... Read more

Product Description
Oral and Written Expressions of African Cultures challenges the traditional view of exotic and atavistic Africa with a balanced examination of the continent's realities and challenges. It shows how oral and written expressions capture the complexity, concerns, dynamism, challenges and ingenuity of African masses. It brings together twelve scholars from different academic backgrounds who draw from the rich repertoire of music, poetry, literature and the media in the continent to unearth the underlying socio-cultural, economic and political factors that shape African societies in the twenty first century. These scholars discuss issues ranging from political manipulations of popular music in Kenya and Argentina, the role of print media in the democratization process in Nigeria, motivations of "vulgar poetry" in South Africa, contemporary gender issues in the Islamic Republic of Sudan, the perseverance of aspects of African cultures in Puerto Rico, misrepresentations of Africa in Rene Maran's Batouala, the function of "lowbrow fiction" in Apartheid South Africa, female African authors' techniques to counter male dominance, to HIV/AID and the cultural taboos associated with the disease in southern Africa, among others. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection of African myths includes stories representing Uganda, Yoruba, Togo, Zulu, Ashanti, Chagga, Hausa, Swahili, Nigerian, Bambara, Kono, Congo, Sotho, and Mende cultures. The myths cover the themes of creation, death, tricksters, right and wrong, how and why, and gods and mortals. Included is a map of Africa showing geographical locations of the stories' origins, vocabulary previews, lists of characters, and a commentary on each story. The reading level is 6th grade, with an interest level of 6th -12th grade. It is geared for low reading level, high interest for older students. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Emphasis on Vocabulary Building & Cultural Context
Retold African Myths is superior to many of the books of African myths that I have read.For one thing, it clearly gives the tribal/country's origin of each story and has a map in the front where each story's origin is clearly shown.Included are myths which represent Uganda, Yoruba, Togo, Zulu, Ashanti, Chagga, Hausa, Swahili, Nigerian, Bambara, Kono, Congo, Sotho, and Mende cultures. The themes covered are creation, death, gods and mortals, tricksters, how and why, and right and wrong.Each story includes a vocabulary preview with definitions, a list of main characters with brief descriptions, and a commentary which explains the historical and cultural context. Intended for high interest, low reading level, the book is written at 6th grade level, but is earmarked for 6th-12th grade students.The cover and layout are very appealing.A great resource for the history or language arts teacher. ... Read more

Product Description
African Religions and Philosophy is a systematic study of the attitudes of mind and belief that have evolved in the many societies of Africa. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

African Religions and Philosophy
Excellent book and gives you a complete overview of African Religions, rituals and beliefs.Great writing and easy to read.

An early sympathetic treatment of African religiosities
John Mbiti's volume, African Religions and Philosophy, is a classic in the study of African religiosity, as well as the field of religious studies. Published originally in 1969, the work is an attempt to discuss the theology and religious practices of sub-Saharan Africans. At the start, it must be noted that Mbiti himself is not only a scholar of religion, but is also himself a parish minister, thus he not only a scholar but also a practitioner as well.

This book is often cited for its scathing deconstruction and refutation of racist anthropological work that had up to that point been the main systematic effort to `understand' African religiosity. No less than Molefi Asante, in his significant anthology of African Intellectual and Cultural History, excerpted most of Mbiti'sfirst chapter, which contains his well-known critique.

The goals of Mbiti's book are threefold: to refute previous racist scholarship, to highlight the continuity of African forms of religion with other forms of human religiosity, and to establish the diversity of African religion from other forms of religiosity.

To accomplish these goals, Mbiti establishes two fundamental concepts in African religiosity: "God," and Time. The term God is not significantly explored at the outset, except as a stand-in for a "supreme Being" in terms largely familiar to Europeans and Americans. Time, on the other hand, is discussed as a facet of African linguistics. By analyzing verb tenses from different language groups, Mbiti claims that African forms of time are different than other human concepts of time, such as linear ones. Ultimately, Mbiti establishes two kinds of Time- Sasa, and Zamani (Swahili). Sasa is understood as "small time," or time that is centrally located close tothe present moment. Zamani, in contrast, is "Macro-Time," or time that takes place distantly from the present moment.

This all stands in contrast to notions of time familiar to Europeans and Americans, such as past, present and future. By marking out two distinctareas, God and Time, Mbiti sets the stage for an analysis of religion in terms of ontology (or metaphysics) and human experience. Along with Mbiti's assertion of Africans as totally culturally enveloped in religion, this also sets the stage for extensive cultural analysis.

In the next few chapters, Mbiti then presents a theological discussion in terms that would be familiar to any Western scholar of religion. He analyses categories such as the "Nature" of God, the "Works" of God, God's relationship to the natural world, God's manifestations in ritual, and the existence of "Spirits" or lesser divinities. In each case, Mbiti's goal is primarily to illustrate that the "God" of the Africans is the same as elsewhere, although the African's experience of "God" is unique, and to some degree conditioned by different tribal influences.

After this discussion, Mbiti then discusses the African view of "man." This is because a theological anthropology (or a 'cosmic' view of humanity) becomes necessary to fully understand African religion. Thus, Mbiti proceeds to analyses African life in terms familiar to any Western anthropologist: "Ethnicity", "Kinship," "Birth," "Puberty", "Death," and "Afterlife." In each case, Mbiti begins be describing the African human experience. Then he illustrates the mythologizing aspects of African cultural life that make experiencesreligious as well as anthropological.

Mbiti's method is clearly a reaction to the racism of earlier anthropology, and constitutes a theological apologetics for African religions. In unpacking the relationship between ontology and human experience, his method is also closely related to the school of Religionswissenschaft (History or Phenomenology of Religion) on the rise at this time in the field of Religious Studies.

His work clearly has value and represents an important aspect of Africana religiosity. Nevertheless, his work suffers from difficulties. His use of European categories and assumptions causes problems in his analysis. For example, he assumes that the African practice of assigning names for "God" is a form of simple predication the same way such names are employed in Christianity and Islam. Names for `God' simply signify different names for the same being---Mbiti acts as if names predicate one ultimate subject, rather than possibly positing multiple subjects.

Even more problematic is his effort to take concepts, such as creation ex nihilo, and fit Nuer descriptions of Creation to this model. His emphasis on being and supremacy makes notions of mystical power and process, common to many African forms of religiosity, difficult to address. Often his terms and categories are so loaded with Christian assumptions that it takes a great deal of effort to read them out of the accounts that he gives.

Another issue that should be raised with regard to Mbiti `s text is his synchronic treatment of African religiosity and philosophy. Although Mbiti does acknowledge that African religions have undergone change over time, his treatment of these religions is largely based on his ownresearch, and the tone of the book suggests that change is not much of an issue for Mbiti.

Excellent resource for scholarly study
Mbiti expounds several key themes of importance to a new or experiencedstudent of African Religion and society.Particularly, Mbiti conciselyexplains the interwoven nature that exists between the various religions ofdifferent African people and everyday life.

I highly recommend this workto any person interested in learning more about the role of religion inAfrica. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An amazing collection of mythology
I suppose that some of the work in this book, one of a 13 volume set written between 1916 and 1932 (reprinted in the 1960s, has been changed by more recent scholarship, but there is still nothing to equal this fantastic achievement. The set includes not only the more familiar myths such as Greek and Roman, but pretty well succeeds in its goal to include all of humanity. The text is extremely detailed but very readable; none of the turgid prose so often associated with academia. The volumes contain numerous illustrations, both in the text and as plates (mostly black & white.)
One of the most useful parts of the set is the final volume, an extremely detailed index, which allows the reader to pursue a theme, or even a topic as specific as the significance of belts, across all the volumes.The individual volumes do not have their own indices, but the tables of contents are fairly detailed.The books appear to have been issued without dust jackets.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent resource!
This is a great resource for those studying African culture.It is also an enjoyable read for anyone who enjoys poetry and prose.

The Best Book Ever!
This is the best book ever because my great uncle wrote it! Thats so cool! ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of myths shaped by the cultures and beliefs of Africa, featuring creator gods, tricksters, shape-changing animals, and heroes who overcome unthinkable hardship. ... Read more