Yoruba Mythology

The first major work of Yoruba mythology, retelling hundreds of traditional tales of the Oriṣa, Yoruba Heroes, and Ijapa from West Africa, Cuba, and Brazil. Yoruba mythology is sacred to the religion and culture of the Yoruba people of West Africa and millions in diaspora in Brazil, Cuba, and beyond. A primarily oral tradition, its stories revolve around Olodumare, the Supreme Being and the source of all creation, and a vast number of divinities, or Oriṣa, who govern all aspects of human life and nature, including Eṣu (communication and chaos), Ọrunmila (wisdom, order, and divination), Oriṣanla (creation and purity), Ṣango (lightning, royalty, dance, and drumming), Ọya (storm winds and change), Yẹmọja (motherhood and rivers/oceans), and Ọṣun (love, fertility, and sweet water).

Yoruba Mythology is, to date, the most comprehensive published collection of more than 300 myths of this ancient, profound, and beautiful storytelling tradition. Authors Ayodeji Ogunnaike and Oludamini Ogunnaike are uniquely qualified to impart these stories, having spent decades learning, collecting, and studying them. Many are remembered from their own childhood, told regularly to Yoruba children by way of instruction on behavior and navigating the world around them, while many more are the result of yearslong research and encounters with practitioners and elders in and from Nigeria, Cuba, and Brazil.

Alongside the myths of the oriṣa, the Ogunnaikes also include dozens of myths of more cultural significance, such as the founding of Yoruba kingdoms, stories of heroes and other powerful beings, and classic fables. A final section is dedicated to the beloved Ijapa, the Yoruba trickster tortoise whose cunning and greed always land him in trouble, but who, through his antics, creates not only belly laughs, but also valuable lessons about honesty, perseverance, and character. The book is made complete with stunning and distinguished art by Data Oruwari, whose passion and precision brings the myths and characters to life in a stunning fashion that evokes the traditional depictions of the Oriṣa in West Africa and the diaspora.

A gift to both those familiar to Yoruba culture and religion and those who are encountering them for the first time, Yoruba Mythology is an important and long-awaited contribution to the mythological canon.