West African (Ashanti / Dahomey / Igbo)

Beyond the Yoruba tradition (covered separately), West Africa hosts dozens of rich mythological systems. The Ashanti (Asante) of Ghana venerate Nyame, the supreme sky god, and tell the stories of Anansi the spider — a trickster figure whose tales traveled to the Americas through the slave trade and survive as 'Anancy stories' in Jamaica and the American South. The Fon people of Dahomey (modern Benin) developed the Vodun spiritual system — the origin of Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo — with a complex pantheon including Mawu-Lisa (the creator duality), Dan (the cosmic serpent), and Legba (the divine trickster and guardian of crossroads). The Igbo of southeastern Nigeria honor the Alusi — nature deities and ancestral spirits — along with Chukwu, the supreme creator, and Ala/Ani, the earth goddess whose authority governs morality and fertility. These traditions share deep structural similarities while maintaining distinct identities, and all remain actively practiced today.