The topic of the spirit world is one filled with great mysticism, misconceptions and superstition. Different peoples from the continent believe in different spirits and have various views on how the world came into being. Alongside the different beliefs, many scholars have offered their insights on the African spirit world and their views on why things are the way they are.

Perhaps Fidelis Igbege Ajah and Dr. Utre Eno Iwara explain it best in their paper Spirit Being In African Indigenous Religion: The Mbembe Perspective. The paper states that the concept of spirit occupies a vast space in African indigenous religion. “It comprises the Supreme Being, the divinities, ancestors and other innumerable lesser spirits. African traditional religion had absolute dominance in the African soil before the advent of foreign religions particularly Islam and Christianity into Africa, though, this trend has changed.”

Dr. Christa Clarke from The Metropolitan Museum of Art detailed, “Most traditional religions in Africa have developed at the local level and are unique to a particular society. Common elements include a belief in a creator god, who is rarely if ever represented in art, and directly approached by worshipers. Instead, the supreme deity is petitioned through intermediaries, or lesser spirits. These spirits may be related to the natural world and have control over powerful natural phenomena.” Clarke added that religious practice in Africa centres on a desire to engage the spiritual world in the interests of social stability and well-being.

In discussing The Holy Spirit and the African Spirit World, A. Anderson adds to this philosophy by stating, “For this reason the traditional person turns to someone nearer home, someone more easily related to, more easily understandable, someone one can argue with, plead one’s case with, and even scold. And so the African turns to the ancestors, and sometimes to nature spirits.”

Why Is African Spirituality So Misunderstood?

Following on from this, Anderson asserts there is a direct relationship between theism and the spirit world of traditional Africa. For the most part God is unknown, and no relationship exists with him. However, the ancestors are known and the strong community and family relationships are unaffected by death.

However, they clarify that apart from the near-common eligibility requirements known in Africa for an ancestor, some African cultures recognize ancestors soon after their funeral rites are concluded, while others allow longer time to elapse. This is why an ancestor is also seen not only as a dead father or mother but as one from whom a person is descended and who is usually more remote in the line of descendants than a grandparent.

The spirit world is steeped in many aspects of day-to-day life such as community and leadership. Leadership in Africa is inextricably connected to the spirit world. Leaders may be chosen through elections or other human processes, but ultimately, they are seen as appointed by God. Leaders may base their decisions upon science or intuition, but ultimately, they let themselves be inspired by revelations from the spiritual realm.

In his research on African leadership and the kind of reality of the spirit world, Hermen Kroesbergen, states, “From the common African perspective, the spirit world, whether it is Christian, Muslim or traditional in nature, determines who will become a leader, and the spirit world inspires what this leader should do. In these two ways, the spirit world is even more important for African leaders than for European or American leaders.”

There is always a growing interest in what these spirits look like and there have been many descriptions of them, with many being depicted as shapeshifters. In 2019, Zambian multimedia platform Kabumba embarked on a project called Akantunse. 

This project covered the following figures:

1) The Nyau was a masked brotherhood of the Chewa speaking people. Nyaus are an initiate conduit of life, death belonging to a secret brotherhood within Chewa societies found in Malawi, Eastern Zambia, Western Mozambique, and areas where Malawians migrated to in Zimbabwe. These young men are often seen at important ceremonies performing ritualistic dance. The Nyau beliefs include communication with those who are dead, or their spirits, calling this act ‘pemphero lalikulu’ (‘Great Prayer’). During performances and rituals, Nyau masked dancers are believed to be the living embodiment of various ancestral spirits. In recent years, the Nyau tradition has developed and becoming more modern with new masks being created which do not represent spirits but rather everyday items.

2) Makeda — who according to lore and legend — was the mysterious and majestic Queen of Sheba and also the beloved of King Solomon of Israel. According to Abrahamic text, she was a wealthy and unnamed queen of the land of Sheba who had heard of the great wisdom of King Solomon of Israel. Shortly after her visit, Queen Makeda and King Solomon had a son together, Menelik I — he would later become the first Emperor of Ethiopia. Stories of Makeda, Bilqīs, or the Queen of Sheba remain amongst the most fertile cycles of legend across East Africa and the Middle East today.

3) Yumboes were a kind of fairy-race in the mythology of the Wolof-Lebou people on Goree Island (Senegal, West Africa). They were described as being a generally benevolent, protective, and hospitable race of fairies who enjoyed hosting human guests at their large and magical feasts. They were also believed to be no more than 60 centimetres tall, with silver hair and shimmering skin. Yumboes are also known as Bakhna Rakhna which literally means ‘good people’. Interestingly, Goree island is also home to the horrific House of Slaves (and it’s Door of No Return) which served as a final exit point for slaves from Africa during the transatlantic slave trade. Yumboes are said to have occasionally and mysteriously helped captives and would-be slaves escape snatchers and find their way back home.

4) Oshun, who in Yoruba mythology, is the Orisha goddess of love, beauty, luxury, fresh waters, and statesmanship. Fondly referred to as the mother of all sweet things, she is often depicted in honey-yellow or gold, while holding a mirror up to herself in admiration. The legend of Oshun is native to the Yoruba people of South-Western Nigeria. It was also believed that Oshun once lived a mortal life, and that during this period she was elected as the first female Iyalode. An Iyalode is a high-ranking female chieftain in traditional Yoruba states. There are many versions of Oshun, but in each one she is assertive, stylish, ambitious, motherly, and a primordial womanist. Her story is just one of the many shining examples of ancient African systems that champion equal opportunity and the vital role that women play in the success of communities. Oshun was one of the few major inspirations for Beyoncé's album Lemonade and the song Black is King.

5) The charming, cunning, and mischievous Anansi who was a trickster spirit of the Akan people and often acted on behalf of Nyame, the sky god. He is depicted as possessing great intelligence and charisma. Amongst many other things, Anansi is attributed with the original stories for both wisdom and jealousy. Anansi is often depicted possessing special abilities such as the power to make rain, shapeshift (usually into a spider), and superhuman strength. In West African and Caribbean folklore Anansi was often celebrated for his cunning wit and penchant for turning the tables on his very powerful enemies. Many enslaved Africans carried these stories across the Atlantic with them, drawing inspiration from them, and converting Anansi into a symbol of slave rebellion. Anansi was such an integral figure during these resistance movements that many escape routes and strategies were named after him for example the ‘Anansi Tactics’ that were employed by networks of rebellious and enslaved Africans on Caribbean plantations at the height of the transatlantic slave trade. 

6) Yemaya (Yemoja in Yoruba) — the Yoruba Orisha or Goddess of the living Ocean — is considered the mother of all and is often depicted as a mermaid or moon goddess.Yemaya belongs to an ancient pantheon of gods and goddesses native to the Yoruba people of South-Western Nigeria. As the Yoruba origin myth goes, there was a time when Yemaya was heavily pregnant. When her water finally broke, she gave birth to 14 Yoruba gods and goddesses, as well as all the rivers, and all mankind. She was therefore regarded as the patron god of all womanhood — protector of women, custodian of childbirth, a healer, and keeper of sacred mysteries.

7) Nyami Nyami is believed to have been the god of the Zambezi Valley and the Zambezi River before the creation of the Kariba Dam. According to legend, Nyami Nyami (sometimes known as The Great Mudzimu) was the chief god of the Tonga people of Southern Zambia (and a small fraction of Northern Zimbabwe). He was believed to be a paramount source of protection and sustenance. Dwelling in the heart of the Kariba Gorge, Nyami Nyami’s wife travelled to answer the petitions of their people one day. Foreign men arrived and began to build a wall — this would later become the Kariba Dam. It is purported that Nyami Nyami took great offense to the strain on his people and was deeply hurt by the subsequent separation from his wife — both a result of the construction of the Kariba Dam. For these reasons, he is traditionally believed to have been responsible for the several deaths and catastrophic floods that brought the Kariba construction to a halt and near end. 

8) Obayifo is a vampire-like mythological creature of West African origin that first appeared in the folklore of the Ashanti (of present-day Ghana).

Obayifo were also known as Asiman by the Dahomey people (of present-day Benin) and were also considered a kind of sorceress. In Ashanti, folklore Obayifo are very common and may inhabit the bodies of ordinary people. They were described as having shifty eyes, being obsessed with food, and when travelling at night they were said to emit a phosphorescent light. The Obayifo are also believed to have enjoyed fruits or vegetables and to have particularly enjoyed destroying cocoa crops with blight. 

9) Dzivaguru is the creation goddess credited with designing and nurturing. She is believed to be the mother goddess of the Shona-speaking people of Korekore in Zimbabwe. Dzivaguru’s story answers fundamental questions about nature such as why we have day and night or rain and drought. Said to have ruled both heaven and earth, Dzivaguru is depicted as wearing goatskins, beautiful flowers, and bearing a cornucopia of magical substances. Her sacred creatures include a pair of mythical golden sunbirds, probably modelled after swallows. She was said to have lived in a beautiful palace by a sacred lake near Dande in the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe.

These vivid modern day depictions of legendary African figures certainly opened up a deeper interest in Africans to know more about the legendary figures that make up our culture. This project also showcased the power of multimedia, (the Akantunse project also includes an EP) in telling our own stories and bringing our histories to life. 

African culture is rich with many legendary figures. We should carry on the tradition of telling stories and bringing them to our everyday conversations. As the adage goes, ‘you can’t know where you’re going, if you don’t know where you’re coming from.’

Rising Stars: The Growing Digital Landscape Of African Astrology