Abassi

Creator god of the Efik people in Nigeria. Following his wife Atais instructions he made the first man and woman and placed them on earth with the order not to work or have any children. When, eventually, they broke the order Atai killed the man and woman and created strife and fighting between their children.

Abuk

According to Dinka mythology, Abuk is the first woman. She is the patron of women and gardens, and her symbol is a small snake.

Adroa

God of the Lugbara people. Adroa has two aspects: one good and one evil. The creator of Heaven and Earth. He appears to those about to die. Adroa is depicted as a tall, white man with only half a body - one eye, one arm, one leg, one ear.

Adroanzi

The children of Lugbara god Adroa . They dwell near large trees, rocks and streams. The Adroanzi are fond of following people at night. If the person does not look back, they will be safe. If the person does look back, the Adroanzi will kill them.

Agé

Dahomey god of the wilderness and animals. Often worshipped by hunters.

Agwe

The mother of the sea. Affectionate and nurturing to humans who honor her.

Aha Njoku

Goddess of yams and the women who care for them. Worshipped by the Ibo tribe of Nigeria.

Aja

Forest Goddess of the Yoruba people. Teaches the use of medicinal herbs.

Ajok

God of the Lotuko tribe of Sudan. Has the power to raise the dead, but due to a bad experience vowed never to do so again.

Anansi

Trickster god of the Ashanti people. Created the sun and moon, and instituted the succession of night and day. He is the intermediary for the god of the sky Nyame. He brings rain to stop the forest fires and is in charge of the extent of floods. He taught man to sow grain and till the fields. His mother is Asase Ya.

Arebati

Sky and moon god of the Pygmies of Zaire. He created the first man from clay and brought him to life. He is referred to as afa or father.

Asa

God of the Akamba people of Kenya. A strong yet merciful lord and god of sustenance and consolation. He helps when humans can't. Asa is also known as Mwatuangi, "distributor", Mulungu, "creator", and Mumbi, "fashioner".

Banga

Ngbandi people of Zaires' god of fresh waters.

Bomazi

Ancestral deity of the Congo.

Buku

West African sky god.

Bumba

Creator god of the Boshongo of Zaire, who vomited up the sun, earth, and all living creatures including man.

Cghene

Supreme god of the Isoko of Nigeria. Considered too remote from people to be worshipped.

Chiuta

Rain god of the Tumbuka, considered the supreme god of the tribe.

Chuku

Supreme god of the Ibo peoples, all good comes from him. The creator god, he also brings the rains which make the plants grow. His wife is Ala and his symbol is the sun.

Da

Great serpent god of the Fon peoples in Dahomey. He is the son of the supreme god Mawu. He supports creation with his giant coils, 3,500 above the earth and 3,500 below.

Deng

Creator, rain, fertility, and sky god of the Dinka tribe. His mother is the goddess Abuk.

Domfe

Kurumba god of rain, water and wind. He gave the first seeds for food plants to man.

Dongo

Songhai god of thunder.

Dziva

Creator Goddess of the Shona people in Zimbabwe. Generally benevolent, but also has a terrible aspect.

Edinkira

Tree Goddess.

Egungun-oya

An aspect of the Yoruban Goddess of divination.

Enekpe

Goddess of the family and guardian of destiny.

En-kai

Rain god of the Maasai of East Africa. En-kai, a remote deity, is Parsai, "the one who is worshipped", and Emayian, "the one who blesses".

Eseasar

An earth Goddess. Wife of the sky god, Ebore.

Eshu

Yoruba god of beginnings, doorways and crossroads. He rules the opportunity and potentiality of a situation, and the risks and rewards inherent in it. also known as Exu (Brazil), Eleggua (Cuba),and Esu (West Africa), is the owner of every road of life.

Faro

Sky and water god of the Bambara people. He became pregnant by the rocking of the universe, and he gave birth to various twins, the ancestors of the human race. Faro gives water to all living creatures, and taught mankind the use of words, tools, agriculture, and fishing. The omni-present spirits serve as his messengers and representatives. He is continually reorganizing the cosmos. Returns to earth every 400 years to verify that everything is still in order.

Gamab

The bushmen call him Gauna and among the Khoikhoi he is known as Gaunab. God of fate and the master of life and death. The supreme deity of the Haukoin people of southern Africa. He shoots arrows from the high heavens at Earth, and those who are hit must die.

Gbadu

Goddess of fate among the Fon people. Gbadu is the daughter of Mawu the supreme goddess of the Fon.

Gun

Fon god of iron and war. He is a son of Mawu and Lisa, and the twin of Xevioso.

Gunab

The Khoikhoi god of evil.

Gunuko

One of the principal deities of the Nupe of Northern Nigeria.

Heitsi

Khoikhoi god of the hunt. He has cycles of death and rebirth.

Huntin

A Xhosa tree spirit.

Huve

Supreme god of the Bushmen.

Imana

Creator God of the Banyarwanda people.

Jok

Creator god of the Alur tribesmen of Uganda and Zaire. He is also known as Jok Odudu, "god of birth".

Kaang

Creator god of the African Bushmen. He is the maker of all things and is responsible for all natural phenomenon. He is part of all things but especially the mantis and caterpillar.

Kaka-Guie

Protector of men and god of death and the afterlife among the Baule Negroes of the Ivory Coast. He is present at all funerals and guides the departeds soul to the afterlife. His representation is a buffalo mask which women may not see. The punishment for breaking this taboo is death.

Kalunga

Originally the ancestral god of the Lunda people of Angola, Zaire and Zambia. Later he became the supreme being, a god of the sky and of creation. He is all-knowing and all-seeing, and a righteous judge of the dead whose decisions are characterized by wisdom and compassion. He is also the god of the sea, where the dead dwell.

Khonvoum

Hunter god of the Pygmies. The creator of mankind and the jungles. He is responsible for assuring that the sun will rise each day. He carries a bow made of two snakes that appears to be a rainbow to men.

Kombu

Creator god.

Legba

He is a Yoruba god of destiny. The first to be invoked since he holds the key to the gate separating the realms of the gods from those of man. He appears as a poorly dressed old man but is very strong. He is known for his intelligence, cunning and knowledge of all the languages of man. He is a trickster.

Leza

The creator god of the Central African people. He is the supreme god and gave the people their customs. He is also a sky god, responsible for rain, thunder, and wind.

Lisa

Fon god of the sun, sky and power. Husband of Mawu.

Mami Wata

African deity of the water and of excess, she is seen as both a mermaid and a beautiful woman walking the streets of modern Africa. Mami Wata is described as having long dark hair, very fair skin and compelling eyes. She loves all things expensive, modern and beautiful. Mami Wata's colors are red and white.

Massim-Biambe

Omnipotent creator god of the Mundang people of the Congo.

Mawu

Supreme deity of the Fon people. She created the universe. Her husband is Lisa.

Mbaba Mwana Waresa

Goddess of the Zulu people, who gave mankind the gift of beer.

Mbomba

Creator god and ancestral deity of the Mongo people. He is master of life and death. The sun, moon, and man are his children. He is also known as Nzakomba.

Minga Bengale

Shongon god of hunters, who taught mankind how to make nets.

Mugasa

Sky god of the Bambusi people of Zaire. Associated with the moon.

Mugasha

Bazabi god of water. He is the son of Wamara.

Mukuru

The ancestral god and creator god of the Herero bushmen of Namibia. He shows his compassion by providing the rain, caring for the elderly, and healing the sick.

Mulungu

The creator god in eastern Africa, from Kamba people in the north to the Zambesi people in the south. Many peoples, such as the Nyamwezi of Tanzania, worship him as a sky god whose voice is thunder.

Musso Koroni

Goddess of discord and disorder among the Bambara people. She is the daughter of the Voice of the Void, and wife of Pemba.

Nana Buluku

Supreme god of the Fon tribe. He is the father of the twins Lisa and Mawu.

Neiterogob

Earth Goddess of the Masai.

Nyalitch

Supreme god of the Dinka. God of the sky and rain.

Nzame

Supreme god of the Fan people of the Congo

Obassi

Supreme deity of the Ekoi and Ibibio of the Niger Delta.

Obatala

One of the major deities of the Yoruba people. With his brother Odudua he forms the primordial pair of gods. He is the creator of the human body in which his father Olorun breathes the soul. He is the sky-god and god of the North, and the first Orisha to be created. He helped to create humans.

Odudua

Yoruba god of the South. Brother Obatala. He is a son of Olokun and Olorun.

Oromila

God of divination of the Benin people.

Oshunmare

The rainbow serpent of the Yoruba people. The counterpart of the Dahomean Aido-hwedo.

Pamba

The creator deity of the Ovambo people.

Quamta

Supreme god of the Xhosa people of South Africa, a people of the Transkei. Quamta is worshipped at stone mounds to which one stone is added by each worshipper.

Raluvumbha

Supreme god of the Baventa of Transvaal in S. Africa.

Ryangombe

Baziba god of cattle. He is the son of Wamara.

Shakpana

Angry god of the Yoruba, who inflicts man with pox and madness.

Shango

God of thunder and ancestor of the Yoruba. He is often depicted with a double axe on his head (symbol of thunder) and six eyes. His symbol is the ram and his colors are red and white. Shango (Xango) has three wives: Oya, who stole Shango's secrets of magic; Oschun, the river goddess who is Shango's favorite because of her culinary abilities; and Oba, who tried to win his love by offering her ear for him to eat. His symbolic animal is the ram.

Tore

Wood god of the Pygmies of Zaire. He is patron of the hunt and lord of the animals. He manifests as storms and hides in the rainbow.

Tsui

Khoikhoi god of rain, thunder and sorcerers.

Umvelinqangi

Creator god of the Zulu. He manifests as thunder and earthquakes.

Unumbotte

Creator god of the Basari of Togo.

Wele

Supreme god of the Kavirondo (Vugusu) in Kenya. Manifests as two personalities: Omuwanga, the gentle 'white' god and Gumali the 'black' god of misfortune. He first created the heavens, the sun and the moon, and the other celestial bodies. Finally he created the earth and mankind.

Woto

Shongo god of fire.

Xevioso

The Thunder pantheon of Dahomey. This is the So (the deity of Thunder) of Xevie, a small settlement in southern Dahomey, where the principal shrines of the Thunder gods are located.

Yangombi

African god of creation.

Yansan

Yoruba deity of the wind.

Yemaja

Mother Goddess of the Yoruba. Goddess of birth and fertility, and worshipped primarily by women. She is the daughter of Obatala, and her brother is Aganya.