West+African+Sin+and+Punishment

West African Sin and Punishment Written By: Margaret Gazaryants

Background Information In African mythology it is never based on one specific area or tribe, it covers a large mass of land,it also covers many tribes,languages,cultures.Such tribes like Abalyia, Agni, Akamba, Alur, Ankore, Asante (Ashanti), Baga, Baila, Bambara, Bantu, Banyarwanda, Banyoro, Barotse, Basuto, Baule, Baventa, Benin, Botswana Bushmen, Bushoong, Dagamba, Damara, Tonga, Tunbuka, Upoto, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zambesi, Zulu,and many more. In African mythology, there is little interactions with the gods and humans, it is believed that even the smallest involvement with gods can cause mass destruction in the area it was cause in, or it can also make matters worse. African mythology leaves the people and heroes are to defend for themselves, but it was always believed that the spirits of many previous ancestors had roamed in the storys and help people out of messy situations



How the Sins are made and how the Punishment is chosen.

In African mythology the sins of an man or woman are mainly offensive to the gods, in the mythology a god has a choice to help a group of people or smite them, as long as the decision is a good one, the gods will not have to appear in a trial called the Final Court Appeal, it is where gods call upon other gods and ancestors who have failed. The men and woman must suffer for their and the gods mistakes, and try to receive an explanation from the Great Disposer Of All. If a man or woman makes a mistake it may be the gods responsibility to try to fix it, unless the man or woman make the same mistake again and again then its a shame upon the ancestors and family that was included in the mistake even if they did not want to be part of any of it.



Several Stories of Sins and the outcomes of them, their Punishments. ​ When God Sends Men Food One day the people of Ila of Zambia, asked the gods to send them grain for food, told them to take charge for the care of the harvest. Once the corn was harvested and gathered, they all sat down and ate. The men were very greedy at that time and they ate all through the day, even in the morning and late at night, since the decided that since they were all full and they thought that since there was too much food that it would never be gone because it was too much to eat, so the men decided to burn the rest of the food. But then they realized that sooner or later they would be hungry again, in which that happen. So they went back to the gods and asked for more food because they burned all of theirs, the god told the men that they we foolish and silly,so the god gave them fruit, but the men made the same mistake again and thought that they could trick the gods, but now because of this mistake men are now known to be greedy and foolish. ​ ( The Sin of the story is that greed can overturn any man when someone gives them something, the Punishment is now that men suffer the name of being foolish and greedy.)

The Girl Who did not Listen Long time ago, there a man and women who got married and bore a child, and named her Ngoza, one day her mother snet Ngoza to go dig the peanuts in the field, and that she would find some //mandolo, which was a sweet peanut that had evil forces that haunted that part of the land. Her mother told her not to eat them, so she did find some of those peanuts, and she was very hungery, so she ate it. WHen her mother called her home she told her to close the door all the way so no hyenas came come inside. But she was very hungery, so she forgot to close the door all the way, and hyenas came inside. They ate Ngoza, then her mother came in and the hyena ate the mother, but then the father realized that the mother and daughter never came back from the house to the fields, so he came inside and saw that there were hyenas, he killed them and mourned over the deaths. ( The Sin of the story was disobeoying your elders, the Punishment was the deaths in the family.) //

The Woman Who had a Perished Life There once was an old women who was born in a rich family, but had hard life, the God Leza, smote the entire family, the mother and father had died when she was a child and left her as an orphan, she grew up with her relatives, who died also. But in some way she got married but alas, the husband died also, after they bore children, the children had gave the old woman grandchildren. But Leza, struck her family again, all her children died and even her grandchildren. When she had nothing else to lose the old woman had died herself and returned with her family .( The Sin of the story was that never expect something will always be given to you even if your born in a rich family, the Punishment is what comes around goes around)

Bibliography

Book Sources:

Myths of the World, Legends Of Africa, Written By:Mwizenge Tembo African Mythology, Written By:Geoffrey Parrinder

Websites For Pictures: [] [] []

Website For Information: []