Aspects of Nigerian Myths, Legends and Chronicles

Abstract

This is an introductory essay on Nigerian myths written by the author to introduce a historic collection of hundreds of Nigerian myths, legends and chronicles collected from different parts of the country and published as an aspect of his massive Treasury of Nigerian Tales (TNT) series. The stories introduced here are all mythic in orientation and include clan or settlement chronicles, tales related to rituals and traditional religious practices, narrations about epochal historical events, origin and cosmic tales, creation tales, tales about legendary heroes and heroines, tales that explain the origin and nature of the world, and tales about the exploits of the gods. This expository essay is divided into the following parts: introduction, definition, functions and features of myth, myth and history, special audience and narrators, classification of Nigerian mythic tales, and conclusion. The collected and discussed mythological tales are 213 in number.