The discussions here on Water Mythologies and folklore are not to denounce a religious faith. It is simply to show folk and mythological similarities between both continents. We should be more aware of the importance of Folk and Mythology in our cultural identities. Lastly, Folk and Mythology play key vital roles in Cultural diplomacy and the ability to attract others.
“Consider this before the system of writing.........
What did people have to express fears and desires of the collective?”
Folk and Mythology is the genesis of human existentialism.
Where do we come from?
I have answers and questions behind my answers. People, the rabbit hole goes very deep.
The Folk and Mythology in our cultures are the very threads on the loin cloth we tie on our waist and chest. They are part of our cultural and physical DNA.
Mythologies come from our uninterrupted imagination of the “other” in our spaces. Our mythology plays into our psychology as people and as a collective. The archetypal events before I go further, I should take the time out to ask for forgiveness from the my mother’s God, Mount Fako
This is Carl Jung, he is the father of Jungian psychology. In all that brilliance, he was part of a group of psychologists that needed to study primitive psychology. Just google it “Primitive Psychology and Carl Jung”. The term archetypal events or the word is something he coined and redefined.
Archetypes events are universalisms shared throughout the world, take a look:
Archetypal events:Birth, Death
Archetypal Figures: God, Devil
Archetypal Cultural examples: Creator, Lover.
Why do you think names like this resonate with you “Zeus, Odin and Jupiter?” but you have a blank slate with “Ala, (Not Allah, take the H out), Nyame, Leza, Olorun” or “Izanagi, Inari, Izanami, Kagutsuchi”
*Anime and Magna fans, Do those names sound familiar?
Did you say those names with no difficulties?
That is the influence of Japanese Soft Power known as Cool Japan in conversations of Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy.
“So without further ado before:
The Ark, A man and his survival in a great fish, I present to you Mer-Ladies that hail from Africa and Asia.”
First, I present to you Mami Wata! I call her Liengu and she is known throughout Bantu coastal-cultures and the diaspora as many names.
Mami Wata, where do we start with this mer-lady? My mother’s people call her liengu la Mwanja. She is considered one of the greatest deities of the earth. However, this mer-lady is viewed in extremes throughout Africa and the diaspora:
*She will kill you and there are no questions on the subject
* She will love you unconditionally only if you kill someone as a sacrifice
But her believers say you will have no issues if you abide to certain rules:
*Worship her, provide food, monogamous sex and spoil her with gifts.
In return: She will offer you riches beyond belief, wellness, life riches and fulfill all your sexual desires.
She is described as half woman and the lower half is up for debate. This lower half can be: Fish, Serpent or Manatee. The snake around her neck allows her to see your future.
Mami Wata is able to come on land as woman or man and this is where she gets her children. Mami Wata is barren so her followers are her children. So does this mean, “She has sex with her children”? Oh you think that is disturbing, simply take a look at the Greeks start with Zeus!
“Mami Wata owns her sexuality un-apologetically. I know this might be shocking but Africa as a continent also happens to have views on the female body that have nothing to do with pain and horror. The vagina and its pleasures are also enjoyed and celebrated in our stories!”
Water is sacred in African culture, it is where we have seen sorrow, it is where we have drunk for our thirst, it is where we have bath and it is where some of us believe we return. It makes sense that an aquatic spirit would be born from this and we shall call her Mami Wata to be honored at her home and across the diaspora.
“Ningyo”
This mysterious beauty from the country of Japan. Her true beauty requires you to look closer and admire. This mer-lady is known as the mysterious Ningyo.
“Bantu folk, I never wrote nyongo abi? Her name is ningyo. It is pronounced just like you thought it sounded.”
She is half ape and half fish. I was told of her during my visit to the Tsukiji Fish Market. She was a fisherman’s nightmare and dream all at once. If you catch her and don’t put her back in, she will destroy your whole village. But if you eat her, you will be healthy, beautiful and live a long life. I was told it was not immortality, just a long life.
See you next Mul-day, I will discuss Water scarcity! You did not think a Mami Wata like me would not speak of my water ???
Hopefully you shared this story with your loved ones and laughed on your stories of Mami Wata......
“2016 -Anime Industry reported profits of $1.76 billion dollars towards the Japanese Economy.”