iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

In this week's MA essaypisode, we tackle the Negative Mother Archetype with a speculative reading of the Fulbe Njeddo Dewal myth. Read here: substack.com/@mythologica...

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The Caregiver Archetype in African Myth and Folklore

The Negative Mother: A Speculative Reading

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

ICYMI: the latest installment of the MA series on Jungian Archetypes in African myth and legend.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Hi Friends! ICYMI, we're two essays deep into June's exploration of the Caregiver (Mother & Father) Archetype in African Myth and folklore. Read here: mythologicalafricans.substack.com

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Hi friends! MA’s been silent but not absent while I caught up with life. We rounded up the exploration of the Magician archetype and moved on to the Sage.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Keeping up with MA? We’re two episodes and one reflection deep into April. The latest here: substack.com/@mythologica...

substack.com

The Magician's Shadow

Defining evil in the African context

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

New Month, New Series, New Episode! For the month of April, we’ll focus on the Jungian archetype of the Magician.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Hello Friends! We close the series with a short reflection on what this might all mean for us as people living in today’s world of chaos and contradictions. youtu.be/S2PwqpTTo7A?...

youtu.be

The Ruler Archetype in African Myth and Folklore

YouTube video by Mythological Africans

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

New week, new episode! This week, we linger in that sliver of space where the perception of “good” or “bad” rulership bends to the will of the beholder. youtu.be/GUWmY4wXvCQ?...

youtu.be

The Ruler Archetype in African Myth and Folklore

YouTube video by Mythological Africans

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

New Episode! I examine archetypal symbols, patterns and motifs from the story of Chief Shemwindo, a case of bad rulership from the legends of the Nyanga of the DRC, and then reflect on how this ties to the persistence of bad rulership on the continent in current times.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

ICYMI! New episode tomorrow ✨

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Sundiata is to Mali’s Manding people what Arthur of Camelot is to the British. His legend is rich in archetypal symbols and he is one of the continent’s embodiments of a courageous hero who became a beloved ruler.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

ICYMI New episode tomorrow!

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Week 2 of our exploration of Jung’s Archetypes in African myth and folklore. Still laying the foundation here but don’t miss it! mythologicalafricans.substack.com/p/who-is-a-p...

mythologicalafricans.substack.com

Who is a person?

On Jung and some African conceptions of personhood

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

The Mythological Africans Podcast is back with our first episode of 2026 and some exciting news: you can now listen to MA podcast episodes on YouTube! Head over to YouTube to catch up on past episodes (all 90 of them!). While you're over there, check out the Deep Dive series!

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Hi friends! MA is back from break so regularly scheduled programming starts with the first podcast episode next Sunday, and the January reflection this month. MA’s focus this year will be on the “mindscapes” of African myths and folklore (since we did landscapes last year).

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Closing out 2025 with the final installment of the MA Essay series. TL:DR Us Black/African must shake off the culture-wide aversion to vigorously challenging authority figures.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

The average human in the modern context is largely cut off from deep and transformative relationships with land forms. But what does it mean to be in relationship with a land form? And what could this mean for us present-day Africans? open.substack.com/pub/mytholog...

open.substack.com

Tishuash

...the pleasure of remembering things that are past

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Happy New Year folks! The horrors persist but so do we ✨

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

We continue our reading and discussion of Ibrahim al Koni's “The Bleeding of the Stone” in this week's episode.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

What's new on MA this week? The first podcast episode from our reading of Ibrahim al Koni's "The Bleeding of the Stone".

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Weekend Bonus: MA October-November recap and plan for what remains of the year.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

To end our 2025 exploration of land form mythology and folklore from the African continent, we'll be reading “The Bleeding of the Stone" by Libyan author Ibrahim al Koni.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

It's a weekend which means a new episode on the MA podcast! This time, we delineate creation myths from foundation legends and then reflect on why these origin stories matter so much.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

New episode 🚨 Listen here: open.substack.com/pub/mytholog...

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

If you were raised Christian like me, your head probably threatens to explode at the idea of more than one version of a creation myth. In this episode of the Mythological Africans podcast, we take a break from stories to put some context around variations in mythological and folkloric accounts.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

Underground emergence creation myths might reference historical memory of our cave dwelling past. They may also be symbolic, referencing an understanding of life emerging from buried seed, cocoon or womb. In this week's episode of the MA podcast, we hear some African perspectives on this myth type.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

For the month of November on the Mythological Africans podcast, we will be taking a closer look at African creation myths. We’ll also probe, lightly as always, at what they reveal about what the people who believe in them understand about the forces and processes that move and organize their world.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

The Maasai struggle to retain access to their ancestral lands is known, though perhaps not as much as their iconic imagery. In this week’s MA podcast episode, we hear some stories the Maasai tell of their land and examine what they reveal about their relationship with the place they call home.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Ghana's fishermen sing to thank the ocean for a bountiful catch, to encourage each other, and to comfort themselves as they brave the unpredictable waters. This week on the MA podcast, we examine how traditional coastal Ghanaian beliefs inform fishing practices.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

In the MA September retrospective, I reflect on the commonalities in how storytellers, seers, healers and other keepers of the mysteries in traditional African societies use myths and folklore to mold personal and communal narratives, excavate hidden desires and intentions, and orchestrate change.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

The MA Podcast has spent most of 2025 on African geomyths and their impact on culture. When I read this story of how the Chonyi (Kenya) successfully safeguarded the integrity of their ancestral caves, I knew I had to produce an episode about it! mythologicalafricans.substack.com/p/saving-the...

mythologicalafricans.substack.com

Saving the Kilifi Caves

When culture and heritage wins

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Hi friends! Back from a small social media break with MA September updates. We took a break from landscapes to explore mindscapes. Mythology and folklore have a long history with psychology. After the intro episode, this September series focused on three phenomena which occur across the continent.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

In part 2 of the MA August African Urban Legend Series, we go to my hometown Buea, 🇨🇲. What happens when a world famous racing event takes over the home of a territorial mountain god? Listen now on Substack and everywhere else you get your podcasts! mythologicalafricans.substack.com/p/efasa-moto...

mythologicalafricans.substack.com

Efasa Moto and the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope

We’re discovering African urban legends this month on the Mythological Africans podcast.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

For the month of August, the Mythological Africans podcast will focus urban legends about African geographical landforms. We start with what might be the most popular African urban legend of all time: the story of Nyaminyami and the construction of the Kariba Dam.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

This was such a lovely conversation with Mandile Mpofu! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! The featured Wahungwe (Zimbabwe) creation myth is one of my favorites! www.landlockedmag.com/stories/the-...

landlockedmag.com

The Enchanting Worlds of African Folklore, Revived | Landlocked

Drawing largely from accounts by European researchers and missionaries, Helen Nde retells folktales from across the continent. Among them, a creation myth from the Makoni district.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

In the final episode of the Mythological Africans podcast Lake Victoria series, we discover the stories of women who come from the lake, and then round things up with some lake-related sayings and proverbs. mythologicalafricans.substack.com/p/the-endles...

mythologicalafricans.substack.com

The Endless Waters

Hello Friends!

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

July on the MA Podcast is focused on the folklore of Lake Victoria. Discover the fascinating stories of strangers who come from the lake to change communities for ever!

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Hello friends! On MA this week, we sauntered into July with a reflection on Nėku, the Mende (Sierra Leone) conception of the emergence, pathway toward, and the eventual culmination of the admirable. Enjoy! substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

Nėku

Beauty as a process in July

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

MA’s second quarterly essay for 2025 is a reflection on the joys and frustrations of curating African folklore.

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Reposted by Helen Nde

Basil Wright @kobanya.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

Whoops I fell asleep. Here you go! bsky.app/profile/hm-n...

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

All caught up? Join us this June as we sail up the Nile, learning the lore of this great river from the various peoples whose lands it runs through.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

May, on the MA Podcast, was a strenuous but exciting trek north through the Saharan desert, charting the North African mythical landscape.

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Time for a break, friends. You can sign up for the newsletter to receive updates on MA Podcast episodes ✨ substack.com/@mythologica...

substack.com

Mythological Africans | Substack

Exploring African mythologies, spiritualities and cultures

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Hey Everyone, quick update to say The Watkins Book of African Folklore is now available in South Africa 😊 You can order from Takealot. It will be shipped from the US, though. Buy here: www.takealot.com/the-watkins-...

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Helen Nde @hm-nde.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

New Episode 🚨 Around 9:30 pm on the night of Thursday August 21st 1986, a muted roaring sound arose near Lake Nyos in Cameroon’s North West region. In its aftermath there was a strange eerie silence. When dawn came, almost every living creature in the area lay on the ground. Dead. What happened?

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