INTRODUCTION

German Philosopher George William Frederick Hagel said Africa “has no historical part of the world; it has no movement or development to exhibit.” The formation of this idea was the absence of Europeans in Africa to write down African history prior to colonization. According to Hegel, history starts with writing. This misconception of lack of African history prior to colonization still colors how the west views Africa.  The reality is the history of Africa, as the West knows it, is the history of Europeans in Africa. Social Darwinism, or prejudice as historical knowledge, has consumed the western image of Africa. 

It must be stated, Africa is not a country, it is a continent with 54 countries and one sovereign nation, each with unique histories, languages, religions, customs, and society. The history of Africa is far from homogonous. Any perceived homogeneity is an illusion created by the western history of Africa, that history of Europeans in Africa. It is unlikely that early Europeans knew the difference between the religions and customs of those they colonized.

Africa is framed through the stereotype of a third world country. A country that is poor with starving people. A country without technology or proper education. Or it is viewed as a vast savannah and people living side by side with native animals in the wild. What is not acknowledged is through the decolonization process, Africa has rejected most Western ideas. Choosing, instead, to build it's nations with as little western influence as possible. Naturally, the west views the lack of western industrialization as "primitive" instead of an alternate way of life. This is where African speculative fiction comes in as both a reflection and a commentary on African societies.

Indigenous African speculative fiction writers explore what the African world would be if it were not for European colonization. They start with a pre-colonial Africa and imagine, or reimagine, what life and society would be like had it not been sidetracked by colonization and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. They envision a place of indigenous religions and magic, how technology would advance with sole reliance on solar power. What a future might look like if Africa were viewed as equal to the west. This is something different from Wakanda and Black Panther. Black Panther is a western and white creation, despite Black authors such as Nnedi Okorafor and Ta-Nehisi Coates currently writing the comics. It is western centered and the west often offers help, in the form of Iron Man, to the "disadvantaged" Africa. This western genre of Black speculative fiction is known as Afrofuturism. Indigenous African speculative fiction and by extension Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism are African centered without the influence of the west. It often relies heavily on different types of African folklore.

It is time we moved away from the history of Europeans in Africa. It’s time to move away from the stories of colonization and learn about the people who were colonized and their unique histories. Studying Africanfuturism and indigenous speculative fiction writers can help us do this, as these works are infused with the folklore of Africa and its countries. There is more African literature than Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a book about the repercussions of colonization or The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta, the story of the hardships brought to women through colonization.
Indigenous African speculative fiction introduces the reader to the folklores of Africa. Sunyi Davies Okunbowa teaches us folklore's part in history through the jalis and the importance of oral traditions, traditional African medicine, the funeral rights given to the chieftains in Benin and the caste system found in more than 15 African countries. He introduces readers to the mythical creatures straight out of folktales. Tendi Huchu teaches the reader about the folklore and history of music in religious ceremonies and of communicating with the ancestors. Namina Forna introduces the folklore behind the bundu ceremony, its influence on one’s place in society, and how it perpetrates purity culture.

These are just a few examples. These stories not only give us an insight into the history of African countries untainted by the west, but how their societies work and the folklore that binds the societies together. These stories teach us empathy for others who may not be like us. They give us a different perspective of the world and most importantly they teach us about people we share the world with who have been pushed aside by western history.

This purpose of this website is to introduce folklore, talk about why it is important both in a general context and as it applies to African culture, and introduce indigenous African speculative fiction and examine how it uses African folklore.