Yoruba Myths
By Ulli Beier
1980
First Published
4.33
Average Rating
98
Number of Pages
This collection of myths – some of them simple, strong pieces of narrative, others mysterious, poetic and often amusing – illustrate the religion and thought of the West African Yoruba People. Interspersed with drawings by Georgina Beier of Yoruba motifs and collected and translated by authors and artists long-familiar with Yoruba culture, the myths are compiled and introduced here by Ulli Beier, who himself holds two Yoruba chieftaincy titles. Some are creation these explain the division of the original God into the many orisha, or gods, and the development of their various functions. In the folk- or trickster-tales the orisha often assume different personalities whose actions and their consequences reveal the Yoruba wisdom and customs. This book makes the myths of an orally transmitted religion available as literature to Nigerian school children, who are often unfamiliar with their traditional mythology. It will also strengthen English interest in original African literature.
Avg Rating
4.33
Number of Ratings
21
5 STARS
57%
4 STARS
29%
3 STARS
10%
2 STARS
0%
1 STARS
5%
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Author
Ulli Beier
Author · 4 books
Taken from the back of The Origin of Life and Death: African Creation Myths (Heinemann, 1966): "ULLI BEIER is an associate professor in the Department of Extra-Mural Studies of the University of Ibadan. He is the editor of Black Orpheus, author of several books on African art and literature, including African Mud Sculpture, and one of the founders of the Mbari clubs in Ibadan and Oshogbo. He likes translating poetry from Yoruba and German."
