Yelena, Niki,

1
African Mythology

• By
• Yelena, Niki,
• Neha, Natalie,
• and Natasha

2
Yoruba Religion

• Is a major African religion, based in Nigeria
• Over 25 million Yoruba people
• One overall god
• Other gods are the Irunmole and the Orisha
• Respect ancestors
• Sprit lives after death and reincarnates in blood
  relatives
• Moments in life can be predicted

3
African Gods Introduction

• Many different gods each have different roles.
  African gods are similar to Greek gods. They have
  emotions and act human-like.
• With that said Lets meet the top 11 gods of
  African Mythology!

4
Olorun

• Top God
• God of the sky, peace and justice
• Creator of the Earth and humans
• Father of two Odudua and Obatala
• Favorite Color White

5
Olokun

• Oloruns brother
• God of the Sea
• Possibly a sea goddess
• Married to Olorun

6
Bumba Obtala

• God of vomit and creator
• Had a stomach ache for centuries
• Threw up the world and creatures on it

• Creator god of humans
• Loved wine
• Made humans when under the influence of alcohol

7
Shango Eshu

• God of thunder
  
• Fourth king of Yoruba
• Colors Red and White
• Likes to party and feast

• Trickster god of decisions and choices
• Offers advice to those in need
• Owns the roads of life
• Has a sense of humor

8
Orishas Yemaya

• Guardian spirits under control of Olorun

• One of the Orishas
• Mother of water and childbirth

9
Anansi Elegua

• Spider god
• Creator god created sun and moon
• Sneaky, Trickster, Sly

• Provides more opportunity second chances
• Trickster can make some choices seem difficult

10
Orunmilla

• One of the Orishas
• Spirit of Wisdom Divine
• Makes Prophecies
• Has his own priests
• Equipped with divination chains

11
African Gods Family Tree
OLORUN OLOKUN
ODUDA OBATALA AGANJU
OBATALA
ORUNMILA
ORUNMILA
YEMAJA ORUNGAN
SHANGO OSHUN OYA OBA
KEY BLUE male PINK femaleD
OKUN
SHAKPANA
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Important Cities
Ife- First city in the world. The spot of land
Obtala (aka Odudawa) landed on Prosperous and
religious center Important center of art and
culture Oyo- Shango ruled here Prosperous and
powerful empire (partly because of appearance of
horse) Benin- Brass casting techniques from Ife
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Creation of the Universe

• Most important things, like religion, are at
  center of their life
• The most important god, Oluddumare, created a
  force for each gender.
• Oloddumare said that Olorun was female
• Nana gave birth to two eggs named Mawa and Lissa.
• They created Oshumare the rainbow serpent.
• Irunmole then created the universe and the gods
• The Orishas created spiritual leaders

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Creation of Life and Land
Life or no life? Land or no land? The choice was
Obtalas! How Obtala Created Land and Animals on
Earth
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Yoruba Destruction Myth
??Irunmola and Oloddumare debate on expanding
the universe ??Oloddumare agreed, adding there
must be something to hold the entire universe
together ??Oshumare (Rainbow Serpent) was created
to hold the universe together ??However, when
Oshumare gets hungry and starts eating his own
tail, the world will become uncreated, falling
apart
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PB wiki
In order to collaborate and improve our rate of
success we used a website called PB wiki to share
the information we found.
http//hydeafricamythology.pbwi
ki.com/
17
CreditsUnknown. African. www.purgingtalon.com/n
lm/worldmyth/african.htm (7 February
2006)African Myths. African Myths.
Microsoft. Unknown. 2 February 2006.
ltwww.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/KimMcKeever/Student_Proj
ects/Webpages/myths.htmlgt.Unknown. African
Mythology. www.pantheon.org. /areas/muthology
/africa/african/Articles.html (5 February
2006).DeFusco, Mathew. The Yoruba.
www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/landow/post/nigeria/ Yoru
bamf.html (26 Feb. 2006).Elaine, Judith.
African Gods and Goddesses. www.africanenza.com/
africangod.html(12 Feb. 2006).Horton, Hal.
Yoruban Religion and Myth. www.thecore.nus.edy.
sg/post/nigeria/Yorubarel.html (16 Feb.
2006).The Gods of Africa. African Mythology.
Godchecker Inc. 04 November 2005. 5 February
2006. ltwww.godchecker.com/pantheon/africa_mutholo
gy.php.gtWest African Mythology. Windows to
the Universe. Window Team. 28 March 1997. 5
February 2006. ltwww.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link
/mythology/African_culture.htmlgt.Yoruba
Mythology. Yoruba Mythology. Wikipedia. 24 March
2006. 16 February 2006. lten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yor
uba_mythologygt.Unknown. Yoruban Religion Its
cosmology and mythology. www.mythome.org/yorubarel
igion.html (16 Feb. 2006).Ifa Religion. IFA
Religion, Yoruba Religion, Babalawo. New Orleans
Mystic. 11 March 2006. lthttp//www.neworleansmisti
c.com/services /santeria/ifa.htmgt.Also
thanks to . . .Mrs. Miller!