Gods and Ancestors: Mythic Tales of Nigeria_by Bukar Usman
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Gods and Ancestors: Mythic Tales of Nigeria is the fourth book of the Dr Bukar Usman-edited Treasury of Nigerian Tales (TNT) series. Unlike Books 2 and 3 which jointly featured 1,700 popular fictional folktales, this slimmer book is loosely non-fictional. It contains tales of history – history of creation and its aftermaths, of ancient settlements, ancestral mores and taboos. In this book, there are no outright fairy tales or fables even though most of these primarily orally-generated tales are of anonymous authorship. But so sure of their facts are some of the narrators that they even volunteered their names!
There is, however, no denying the fact that all of these 213 mythic tales squarely belong to the oral repertory. But they are much closer to reality than the ordinary folktale. Indeed, many are closer to fact than fantasy; and the pantheons of this collection showcase familiar gods at whose shrines some readers of this book might have in reality trembled or worshipped. You will also encounter in this authentic cultural collection the sometimes disagreeable but inevitable interaction between folklore and history, including history of contemporary settlements and social groups.
Like its earlier-published fictional complements, A Selection of Nigerian Folktales: Themes and Settings and People, Animals, Spirits and Objects: 1000 Folk Stories of Nigeria, this assemblage is very fascinating. Peopling the indigenous legends and traditions of this anthology are historic and pseudo-historic beings, supernatural characters, and gods so undeniably relevant today that some states of Nigeria are named after them! This is a book to cherish for the imagination and wisdom of its contents and for the meanings they hold for the present.
There is, however, no denying the fact that all of these 213 mythic tales squarely belong to the oral repertory. But they are much closer to reality than the ordinary folktale. Indeed, many are closer to fact than fantasy; and the pantheons of this collection showcase familiar gods at whose shrines some readers of this book might have in reality trembled or worshipped. You will also encounter in this authentic cultural collection the sometimes disagreeable but inevitable interaction between folklore and history, including history of contemporary settlements and social groups.
Like its earlier-published fictional complements, A Selection of Nigerian Folktales: Themes and Settings and People, Animals, Spirits and Objects: 1000 Folk Stories of Nigeria, this assemblage is very fascinating. Peopling the indigenous legends and traditions of this anthology are historic and pseudo-historic beings, supernatural characters, and gods so undeniably relevant today that some states of Nigeria are named after them! This is a book to cherish for the imagination and wisdom of its contents and for the meanings they hold for the present.
