In this weeks reading, we learned about the origins and some of the stories of African spirits that fit in well with the stories we have read so far about mermaids and other natural spirits. For this reading, I found a lot of it interesting but I want to focus my close reading on the story of Aganju and Yemaja. The idea that so many different gods came from Yemaja, especially considering she is the “mother of fish”, is such a fascinating concept. I would have thought that her extremely traumatic experience with her son Orungan would lead to death and destruction, but instead, it led to creation. From her came fifteen gods that provide, whether it’s water, air, natural resources, or food. When reading the story, I thought it was comparable to the story of Jesus Christ. He was brutally sacrificed for the betterment of humanity. Although the intention wasn’t necessarily the same, the outcome basically is the same, humanity gets “saved” whether it’s from being given more resources to live, or to avoid Hell.

The fact that these Gods are still worshiped is a beautiful teller of how much respect African culture must have for nature. In the previous story of “African Mermaids and Other Water Spirits”, we learn a lot about the beliefs that are still extremely prominent in Africa. Although tribes preside in areas that are not close to each other, they share a love and respect for nature which has “remained strikingly relevant” (3) throughout the generations. People believe in spirits that provide, and avoid building where Mermaids have been thought to potentially seen to live. I think that faith is the best thing that people can have in respect to nature. Faith teaches people to live a certain way, and when people believe something hard enough, they are willing to set aside their wants and needs for the greater good of their faith. By faith being intertwined with nature, people show more respect to it, as we have seen in this reading. This makes me wonder why people do not treat nature better despite it being such a prominent concept in almost every religion.