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Home , African philosophy, Cosmogony, Deus, Reality

Vol. 6(2), pp. 9-14, February 2014 DOI: 10.5897/IJEAPS11.060 International Journal of Educational ISSN 2141-6656 © 2014 Academic Journals Administration and Policy Studies http://www.academicjournals.org/IJEAPS

Review

Myths in African of

Jones M. Jaja

Institute of Foundation Studies, Rivers State University of and Technology, P. M. B. 5080, Port Harcourt, .

Accepted 4 January, 2012

Myths are accounts of the origin of societies and not to rationalization but often used by historians and in their quest to study African ; for it is only thus that we can comprehend the various aspects of the continent’s history and . This paper examines the critical understanding of African , the place of African and the significance of myths in the reflection of African .

Key words: Myths, communalistic, , earth and .

INTRODUCTION

Philosophy as a discipline is the reflection of mankind on Philosophy is actually a personal reflection about all the and institutions guiding their . aspects of reality. It is an exercise in which one tries to Philosophy as Staniland (1979:3) defines it is “the give to the from his or her own standpoint criticism of the ideas we live by”; it is the criticism of the given the prevailing circumstances and environmental ideas and material inventions that a particular society influences. Philosophizing in the experience of the originates for administering itself. traditional African takes the character of critical reflection It is important to emphasize that philosophy ideals with of the African understanding of reality and world view. culture met in the descriptive sense but in the critical and Myths, proverbs therefore become the major prescriptive sense. Where the anthropologist celebrates sources of African philosophy (Jaja, 1995:28). More so, culture, the improves it. It is this critical myths encode the traditional settings of the African and of philosophy in relation to culture that informs their system. ’ conception of philosophy as the habit of However, ardent critics of myths have branded them searching for alternatives. The critical of pre-philosophic, irrational and devoid of authenticity. This philosophy in relation to culture can be explained more paper shows that myths are constructs meant to interpret aptly with the clarification that Staniland gave. According reality. They portray the African way of thinking and as to her, philosophy is a critical enterprise. She explains vehicles for preserving and transmitting valued that by philosophy critical, she does not mean the of philosophical and moral . negative destruction of culture, she explains: By criticism I of course mean not negative appraisal; but rational, impartial and articulate appraisal, whether Generally, a myth is a story which is believed to be true positive or negative. To be critical of received ideas is and has its origin in the far distant history of a accordingly not the same thing as rejecting them; it people. Alagoa (1978:9) argued that they are historical consists rather in seriously asking oneself whether the transmitted orally by processes peculiar to in question should be reformed, modified or each community. Myths are man-made stories that conserved, and in applying one’s entire intellectual and explanatory functions in the African understanding of imaginative to the search for an answer reality. The Encyclopedia Britannica defined myth as;

(Staniland, 1979:4). … a story handed down in oral form from our forefathers

E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: 08033168998, 08056049778.

10 Int. J. Educ. Admin. Pol. Stud.

which explain reality, and beliefs and further which philosophy or science plays an important part serve as of nature events such as creations, constantly seek their completion and are in a permanent origin of things, history of a race or a people (1133). dissatisfaction with the results of their findings. They live in history and are oriented. Myth corresponds to This shows that myth is not just a product of human , philosophy to the discovery of history. imagination but a direct expression of reality. Anyanwu Myths are seen as vehicles conveying certain or (1987:241) citing Houndtonji says that “man cannot live truths about man’s in his encounter with the without myths”. The is quite obvious: man is a created order and its relation to the super-sensible world. being that cannot bear to live with certain questions For Abanuka (1994:45), myth tells of the super human unanswered that is why he sits down to formulate myths experiences of the community. Myth exposes the that to make those questions answerable. Thus man is a man’s misfortunes on earth as well as his hardships are myth-making animal (Anyanwu, 1987:280). Some thinkers attributed to disobedience to the divine commands and have rightly observed that myths are pre-philosophic in moral codes of the as a point in his . nature; that philosophy started where myths stopped, Generally, myths contain three kinds of stories namely, which presupposes that philosophy has its roots in myths stories of origin, explanatory stories and didactic stories. (Jaja, 1994:125). Each of these stories is meant to explain a particular It is pertinent to point out that myths are results of the . Myth is not an intellectual or of “thou” and are often founded upon an an artistic imagery but living chronicles in the of original experience that reaches beyond the sensorial Africans. They contain and express the history, the and rational, but they are not illogical. They are mostly culture and the inner experience of the African himself. susceptible to rational analysis and logical . Africans use myths to explain how things came to be An analysis of many myths as shown here shows that through the efforts of a being. It is concrete actions of and heroes often presuppose a keen and expresses life better than abstract can do. analysis of given circumstances and are based on It is indeed surprising that up till this age (2011), some rational decisions (Kirk, 1974:60). It can be argued that scholars still doubt the existence of African philosophy. some myths represent complex logical systems which are The reason being that some philosophers having different from those which are usually found in contem- basically studied treated African porary western societies. Nevertheless, according to a philosophy from a typical western standpoint. It is common view, there is a radical separation between necessary to remind this class of scholars that in mythos and , between myth and philosophy. Myth is traditional there are individuals who are capable of associated with the mysterious and illogical, and critical coherent and independent thinking. This school of philosophy with the rational and logical (Apostel, 1981). thought is the philosophic sagacity. Myths are part of a way of life and state precedence and Philosophic sagacity retains the basic tenets of the models for human actions, but they do not seek to professional school. However, unlike it, it is an exposition explain them on a rational basis. Myths use images, of the wisdoms and beliefs of the individuals who have philosophy, concepts. Philosophy asks generalized not been schooled in the formal educational system. It questions, relies on systematic reasoning, and rejects the consists of wisdoms and views of those who are supernatural explanations of the world, but mythological professionally trained philosophers that is neither society; are unsystematic and deal with the sacred classroom – taught nor self taught. A can be a very (Apostel, 1981). formally educated and literate person (Oruka, 1995:177) Myth is a wholeness attained to the world as a whole philosophical sagacity is an expression of the view that because those who live in myth and are guided by it are amongst the various African communities, exists engaged on many different planes with the whole of individuals who despite the fact that they have not had which the myth is an integral part. By teaching man and the benefit of having contact with the so-called Aquinas by regulating the way of his living in devotional Russell all western philosophy (such as ) are engagement with the whole and by gradually disclosing nevertheless, critical independent thinkers who guide many layers of its meaning, myth reveals the knowledge their thought and judgment by the power of reason and of the whole. But the knowledge of the whole is not inborn rather than by the authority of communal merely theoretical. It is not merely a partial, intellectual consensus (Oruka, 1990:16). knowledge, but it embraces the whole of life. Myth The professional school had also produced profes- reveals the knowledge for which philosophy in a proper sional philosophers with Eurocentric standpoint. Some of sense looks. But it does not disclose this knowledge those scholarly works are as follows: Onyewuenyi I.C. without appropriate devotional engagement. Myth is (1986) African origin of Greek philosophy. Owerri-Nigeria. completed already at the beginning, whereas philosophy Black Academic Press Bodunrin P.O. (Ed) (1985) philo- seeks to be completed at the end. Mythical societies live sophy in Africa. The Ife-Nigeria: University of Ife press; in eternity rather than in historical time. The societies in Bodunrin P. (1981). The question of African philosophy,

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in philosophy Vol. 56; Marrow, L. (1992), the idea of and disclosure of the African as a being in the African African philosophy: A critical study of the major orien- world. Through this knowledge or disclosure of himself tations in contemporary African philosophy. Ibadan. and his world by critical reflection, the African grasps Molecular publishers. Veren, P.D. (1980) philosophy and reality that is to say attains the about man and the an African culture. Cambridge University Press. Apostel, in its entirely. L. (1981) African philosophy myth or reality? Gent: Story- In words African philosophy is essentially an Scienta and Eboh, M. activity, a systematic and coherent inquiry into African experience and how an African conceives and interprets the world, in the words of Etuk (1993:63). What is African Philosophy? It is the application of the philosophical tools of analysis, Indeed, that African philosophy exists is manifestly criticism and to the problems of Africans in all obvious. There is however some confusion as to its aspects of life. nature; this has made the comprehension of African These views of African philosophy to a large extent re- philosophy more problematic. To ease the problem echo Oruka’s (1990:13) claim that African philosophy is a Russell (1974:14) opined that “to understand an age or a way of thinking that is uniquely African and which nation, we must understand its philosophy”; conversely, radically avoids the European of thought; it is he observes that the circumstances of men’s do communalistic. much to determine than philosophy. Unfortunately however, researchers in the History of We need to understand the history of the intellectual African philosophy notice that while there exists a draught of literature on the history of African philosophy processes and ideas generated in Africa, the culture, th th history and experience of the people, to appreciate and down the ages, same cannot be said of the 19 and 20 connect to the African intellectual explanation and reality centuries. of existence. Attempts made so far on writing aspects of the history African philosophy therefore is the reflection based on of African philosophy have focused largely on the the experiences of ancestors. It is the intellectual contemporary era. History of African philosophy is taught development, the how and why they think in a particular in the University of Ibadan, Department of History. The way in a particular period. It is the socio-cultural and course begins with a brief introduction while covers economic of the people. philosophy in Traditional Africa (Jones, 2010). Amongst African philosophy is the circumstances and the African philosophical ideas are those of Ikwame environment that have shaped the lives and conditioned Nknush, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Leopolel Senghor etc. An of the ideas of the Africans. No wonder, that Sogolo examination of the History of African philosophy (1993:6) argued that “traditional African philosophy is encompasses other socio-political and economic thought communalistic… It is a body of thought attributed to the of the people. community rather than to individual”. Furthermore, even published works on the history of It is taken to mean a world-view (Weltanschauung); a African philosophy tend to also concentrate on the recent way of life, that is the fundamental beliefs of the African past. The point being made here is that a large chunk of about life its origin and end, the and the entire the history of African philosophy has not been written. reality. It is the identified way of life which is specific to The vast pre-colonial era and the intellectual ferment of the African. the period are yet to be given adequate attention by African philosophy is the reflective inquiry into the scholars. In fact the history of African philosophy in all its marvels and problematic that confront one in the African ramifications, even , have received world, in producing systematic explanation and sustained little or no attention but that does not in anyway imply that responses to them (Iroegbu, 1994:16). it is non-existent. Indeed it is this issue of existence that Its subject is, African reality, African experience informed Makinwe’s statement: and how the African understand and interpret these experiences. So much debate had regard over the existence or non- Momoh (1998:40) states that African philosophy is: existence of African philosophy that one may be tempted African or on reality (Being) and the to think that perhaps what is known as African philosophy Universe which is made up of things like God, gods, life, is more than a controversy about whether or not life after death, , , society, man, there is indeed an African philosophy (Makinwe, ancestors, heaven, hell, things, institutions, beliefs, 1989:89). conceptions, practices, etc. The philosophy of Nyerere, the Uganma and all it On his part Okolo (1990:10) opined that African stands for cannot be non-existent. Uyaama is a concept philosophy is: from the Swahili word meaning “-hood or brother- hood. It is essentially a rural development policy/ philo- A path to a systematic coherent discovery and discovery sophy on economy, politics and the involvement of the

12 Int. J. Educ. Admin. Pol. Stud.

citizenry and their reactions to the socialist programmes. important as the in deciding the . Given this It sought to restore the egalitarian and humanistic scenario, we can deduce that Myths bring to light the past of traditional African to modern Tanzania. It experiences of the people and from there the present was with the Arusha declaration of 1967 that the United African philosophy sees an avenue for philosophizing. Republic of Tanzania formally out on the path of Uduigwomen (1995:40) observed, in African epistemo- and self-reliance (Gabriel and Jaja 2000). logy, myths serve as a means of acquiring and trans- Nyerere described his Ujamaa (communities) as a group mitting knowledge, for knowledge has a prominent place of who will live together in a village and will work in the African . It enables the African to recollect past on a common farm for their common benefits. He hoped activities of men and societies which make it possible for to create village settlement where individuals would live the individual or societies to orientate themselves aimed and work collectively. and bewildering currents of the society. Similarly, Leopold Sada Serghor’s Negritude is an There have been disputes and disagreements as to the African philosophy that projects the Africaness in being role and place of myths in African philosophy. Some have black. It is a self affirmation of black people or the argued that myths cannot be regarded as philosophy affirmation of the values of civilization of something because they obviously fall short of empirical verifiability defined as “the black world”. It is a revolt against the and logical consistency, but Horton, (1987:100) de- historical situation of French and racism bunked this and admitted myths and into the (Fanor, 1991); it was derived from “Niger” meaning general corpus of experience which is capable of exhi- “black”. Applied to a black person it has come to be biting a logical and consistent structure. charged with all the weight of racism to the point that the Similarly, if African philosophy is a reflection on African insult ‘Sale Negree” (dirty regret) would be almost experience and myths are stabilizing factors to African repugnant (Casaire, 2004). experience; it then follows that African philosophy is a Aime Cesaire Senghor's associate confessed how critical reflection on myths as stabilizing factors. So the angry they were too by the word. He argued,…I confess critical analysis and the of the relevance of that I do not always like the word Negritude even if I am myths proverbs, folklores, etc. would go a long way in the one, with the complicity of a few others, who inculcating in Africans the habit of critical reflections on contributed to its invention and its launching” adding that, issues bordering on life (Jaja, 1995:29). still, it corresponds to an evident reality and in any case Myths are the essential and ready tools for thinking and to a need that appears to be a deep one” (Casaire, 2004). communicating in African philosophy. Through their On his part Senghor has insisted that negritude has a meaningful and communicative features, myths exhibit philosophical content, and “the sum total of “the values of and enhance the coherence, stability and continuity of the civilization of the Black world”, thus implying that it is an society. They play the role of literature and fill the lacuna , an aesthetic, an or a politics. created by lack of literature on past history and Having examined some major ideas in African supplement the oral culture of African experience (Jaja, philosophy, let us briefly examine the use of myths in 1995:28). Myths connect the past with the present. The African understanding of reality. vestiges of what truth is in African epistemology are traceable to mythological depositories and other con-

The use of myths in African understanding of reality ventional values. Hence myths serve as sources of truth. Some myths are authoritative and appear to have a Myths play a very important role in the African under- compelling force of obedience on the people. standing of reality. African philosophy cannot operate in a Myths also play an important role in the moral vacuum; therefore myths provide the necessary analytic of the society. Generally, is regarded as and for an authentic African a form of moral goodness. The of beauty and good- philosophy. They provide the solid foundation on which ness is mostly couched in myths. In with this, African philosophy hinges (1994:119). One must note African aesthetic value is circumscribed in moral beauty. that they are the fertile ground for African philosophizing. This is epitomized in myths in African culture which They constitute expressions of the inner side of focuses on values, , attachments, loyalties, - individuals and their relationship with others, nature and fulness, diligence and other social and religious virtues with the supernatural. It is the philosophical reflections of (Jaja, 2001:99). A few examples will suffice. the people in past, preserved and handed down to African vision of the universe is entrenched in various society through myths; if indeed the past is unintelligible creation myths, which basically serve etiological pur- and conveys meaning only in the light of the present, poses. They thus explain how and why the different then myths convey meaning only when they establish a natural phenomena came into existence, the forces coherent relationship between the past and the present. behind their perfect working and the relationship that The reason is quite simple. A people’s world view can- existed and still exists between man and the creator God not be studied in isolation of their past and the past is as and the universe. Articulations on African may

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differ from one locality to another; they varyingly depict act of appeasing the Creator emerged. Relation to this is God as the Supreme Being and that He created what the fact that it was man who distorted the original cosmic comprises the universe, and that after creating the and to correct this, he developed certain universe God dwells in it and sustains its inhabitants. religious practices to placate his creator. This speaks of God’s imminence. And for the African, According to the Ibibio an ethic group in Akwa Ibom that is reality incontestable. State of Nigeria, the most dominant feature in human According to Yoruba myth, God dwelt in the sky existence is the belief in the Supreme self-begotten being (heaven) which was quite low. Men originally went freely called Abasi-Ibom. Abasi in this means “a divine to Him to tender complaints and He responded sponta- being who always and will always be forever, while Ibom neously. However, it is related that, after sometime and refers to the limitlessness and infinite nature of this being. due to the disobedience of man, God withdrew and It is further held that Abasi Ibom created two offsprings separated from the world He created and was no longer namely: Abasi Enyong (male) with dominion over the sky bothered about it. Instead, He sent His ministers, the (Enyong) and whose offspring include the sun, thunder divinities endowing them with various responsibilities. and lighting, the second offspring of Abasi Ibom is Abasi- This explains the concept of a transcendent or withdrawn Isong (female), with control over the earth (Isong) and God. God withdrew without informing his people. This is whose offspring include Nedem in charge of the waters the idea of Deus Absconditus (or Deus otiosus or Deus and Ekpo in charge of the bushes. remotus). Africans also see man as the center of the The Ibibio believe that this high God (Abasi-Ibom) universe. Every other thing was created for his use. He is created all things including Indemo to whom he also the being that exhibits the absoluteness of God”. gives charge of the different aspects of human affairs. We may now look closely at the of some Thus, there is Ndem Isong (fertility ) to look after African societies to illustrate our point. Among the Igbo, land fertility; Ndem Udua (market deity) to protect the the Supreme deity to whom all power of creation is interest of traders; Ndem Ikot (farmalan deity) who is credited is known as Chukwu, Chiokike or Chineke. supposed to dwell in the farmland to look after the growth According to Nwala, the cosmogony of the Igbo is based of the crops. on a which views Chineke as self-creating; that According to Udoidem, Abasi Ibom having created has always been, will always be. Chukwu, the everlasting Himself, caused the sky (enyong) Isong (earth) and deity, created the universe which includes the sky Inyang Ibom (the waters) by mere verbal command. At (Eluigwe), the heavenly bodies, the earth (Elu-uwa) and the time of creation the earth and the sky were separated the spirits and earthly creatures. entities that got struck together to satisfy their natural The myth has it that Chukwu is symbolized by all or sexual desire. However, conflict later resulted between anyamvii, which is believed to be the source from which them and the sky moved away. It is reported that all other reforms of life radiated. The first man that was separation must have been caused by the earthy kids created was known as Ife-nta, meaning junior light. This who normally rub their dirty oily hands on the face of the name places man very close to Chukwu (i.e. Sun, the sky after eating and thus forced the sky to move great light). Man is thus, “is” next to God in order of things upwards. in the universe. Furthermore, the first to be created was To effect the separation, Abasi-Ibom sent a giant with obo-omananya. Other creatures that God made are an axe to force away the sky from the earth. The Ibibio animals, plants and spirits. All these creatures enjoyed an still hold that despite this separation, the conflict between initial harmony with God. It should be stated that certain the earth and the sky persists and this is manifested in events were responsible for the distortion of this original the alternation of days and nights. Night reflects when the cosmogonic harmony. In the first place, the Supreme earth has overpowered the sky, while ‘day” reflects the deity granted man too much freedom in terms of action, reverse. and man abused it and this led to quarrels, acrimony and From the foregoing, we have shown that myths confusion among the created . For instance, the represent the African spirit and the African view of reality. myth has it that there was constant quarrel among Therefore for African philosophy to be authentically women and the careless use of kitchen utensils, African, it must operate within the conceptual framework particularly the pestle which was constantly hitting at the of myths which represent the African reality and they are sky, the original abode of God. Chukwu was annoyed authentically African in nature. The use of Eurocentric and thus the sky eventually moved away from the earth. yardstick to judge African philosophy is unacceptable and From the myth, we can learn the following. In the first immoral. The fact that African societies were pre-literate place, there is the acknowledgment of a supreme deity does not negate the existence of a truly African with power of creation and control over what he has philosophy based on the environment, experience and created. Furthermore, man is very crucial in this creation. culture of the people. It is worthy to remember that even Man misused his initial freedom and restraint has to be in Greece, the of philosophy was preceded imposed. It was on the basis of this that and the by the rationalizing and systematizing of myths, such as

14 Int. J. Educ. Admin. Pol. Stud.

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