African Urban Legends Finale

We end our August discovery of African urban legends this week. In the first episode, we heard the story of the showdown between Nyaminyami, the beloved and fearsome spirit of the Zambezi River and the engineers building the Kariba Dam. In the second episode we talked about the case of Epasa Moto, the territorial mountain god of Cameroon’s Bakweri people, and the annual Mount Cameroon race. In that episode, we also broached the topic of why urban legends, especially those which derive from folklore, come to be. Additionally, we talked about the impact of their existence, for better and worse. In this week’s episode, we revisit the theme of the creation and impact of urban legends based on oral traditions, with a focus on trees.This week’s episode is inspired by this post on X/Twitter. I’m dubbing this episode the yapping episode because it is going to be a very short, lighthearted, and general commentary on the topic. I’m still recovering from a two-week long family vacation and so I’ve not had time to dig deeper or script things out.Can’t Get Enough? Revisit Some Episodes on Tree FolkloreMeanwhile…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!Mythological Africans is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Mythological Africans at mythologicalafricans.substack.com/subscribe