World Mythology · Unit 12

African Myths

Anansi, the orishas, creation stories and epic griot tales

Africa is not one tradition, and this unit treats it as the many it is - Yoruba, Akan, Malian and others, with the trickster and the water spirit as figures that recur across several.

It covers Anansi the spider, the Yoruba orishas, creation stories, Mami Wata, and the griots whose profession was to carry epics like Sundiata's across centuries by memory.

This unit breaks down into 19 short steps and 113 questions, starting at difficulty 2 and building to 4. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps: 19
Questions: 113
Difficulty: 2-4

What this unit covers

Yoruba Orishas
Anansi the Spider
African Creation Stories
Griots and the Epic of Sundiata
Mami Wata and Water Spirits

Where this fits

Independent. The trickster material connects to Myths of the Americas.

Where people slip

Anansi stories travelled with enslaved people to the Caribbean and the Americas, where the character survives under new names. The transmission is documented, not speculative.

How the unit is structured

African Myths runs as 19 short steps that unlock in order. 14 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 2 and climb to 4 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 19 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 113 in the unit altogether.

African Creation Stories

Fact or fibLevel 2
1. Many African traditions honour ancestors as an active part of family life.
Answer: True
True. Ancestors are remembered, consulted and cared for in many African cultures.
Fill the blankLevel 2
2. In several African stories, a slow ____ was sent with a message about life and death and arrived too late.
- chameleoncorrect
- elephant
- eagle
- fish
The chameleon carried the message of life but was overtaken by a faster animal with the message of death.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
3. In the Yoruba creation story, what was scattered on the water to make dry land?
- Sandcorrect
- Ash
- Grain
- Salt
Sand was poured onto the water, and a hen scratched it out into land.
Choose all that applyLevel 3
4. Which features appear in many African creation stories? Pick all that apply.
- A supreme creator godcorrect
- Helper spirits or lesser godscorrect
- Animals playing key partscorrect
- A written holy book from the start
A supreme creator, helper spirits and animals with key roles are common features.
Put in orderLevel 3
5. Put the Yoruba creation story in order.
Answer: A chain is lowered from the sky -> Sand is poured onto the water -> A hen scratches the sand into land -> Ife becomes the first city
A chain is lowered, sand is poured, a hen spreads it, and Ife becomes the first place.
Sort into groupsLevel 3
6. Sort each tradition by the region of Africa it comes from.
Answer: Yoruba = West Africa; Akan = West Africa; Zulu = Southern Africa; Maasai = East Africa
African traditions differ sharply by region.

Anansi the Spider

Fact or fibLevel 2
7. Anansi stories travelled to the Caribbean and the Americas with enslaved West Africans.
Answer: True
True. Anansi appears in Jamaica and beyond, sometimes as Aunt Nancy.
Fill the blankLevel 2
8. Anansi had to capture a python, a leopard and a nest of ____ to win the stories.
- hornetscorrect
- parrots
- fish
- monkeys
Hornets were one of the four impossible catches the sky god demanded.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
9. How does Anansi usually win against bigger and stronger animals?
- By being clever and trickycorrect
- By being the strongest
- By flying away
- By buying their help
Anansi wins by being clever and using tricks rather than strength.
Picture questionLevel 2
10. 🕷️ Which famous African trickster is this creature?
- Anansicorrect
- Sundiata
- Shango
- Mami Wata
The spider stands for Anansi, hero of countless Akan tales.
True or falseLevel 2
11. Anansi stories began with the Akan people of Ghana.
Answer: True
True. Anansi tales come from Akan tradition in modern Ghana.
Choose all that applyLevel 3
12. Which animals appear as tricksters in African traditions? Pick all that apply.
- The spidercorrect
- The harecorrect
- The tortoisecorrect
- The whale
Spider, hare and tortoise are all classic African tricksters.

Griots and the Epic of Sundiata

Build the sentenceLevel 2
13. Build a sentence about African storytellers.
Answer: Griots keep history in song
Griots keep the history of their people in song.
Fact or fibLevel 2
14. African epics were often performed with music rather than simply read aloud.
Answer: True
True. Performance, song and drumming carry the stories.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
15. Which great West African epic tells of the founder of the Mali Empire?
- The Epic of Sundiatacorrect
- The Odyssey
- The Ramayana
- The Kalevala
The Epic of Sundiata tells how Sundiata Keita founded Mali.
Odd one outLevel 2
16. Which of these is NOT from African tradition?
- Yggdrasilcorrect
- Anansi
- Mami Wata
- Ogun
Yggdrasil is Norse. The others are African.
Fill the blankLevel 3
17. The golden stool is a sacred symbol of the ____ people of Ghana.
- Ashanticorrect
- Zulu
- Maasai
- Dogon
The Golden Stool holds the soul of the Ashanti nation.
Put in orderLevel 4
18. Put the story of Sundiata in order.
Answer: A prophecy foretells a great king -> The boy cannot walk -> He rises and is sent into exile -> He returns and founds Mali
A prophecy comes, the child cannot walk, he rises and goes into exile, then returns to win Mali.

Mami Wata and Water Spirits

Choose all that applyLevel 2
19. Which of these are African water spirits or gods of water? Pick all that apply.
- Mami Watacorrect
- Yemojacorrect
- Olokuncorrect
- Anansi
Mami Wata, Yemoja and Olokun all belong to the waters.
Fill the blankLevel 2
20. African traditions carried across the Atlantic still honour orishas in Brazil and ____.
- Cubacorrect
- Norway
- Japan
- Ireland
Cuba, Brazil and Haiti all keep African religious traditions alive.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
21. What is Mami Wata often shown holding or wearing?
- A snake, and sometimes a mirror
- A spear and shield
- A drum and flute
- A plough and seeds
She is usually shown with a snake, and often with a mirror and comb.
True or falseLevel 2
22. Water spirits are important in many African traditions because rivers and lakes give life.
Answer: True
True. Rivers bring water, fish and trade, so they are treated as sacred.
Fact or fibLevel 3
23. Haitian Vodou draws heavily on traditions from the kingdom of Dahomey in West Africa.
Answer: True
True. Many of its spirits and rites have Dahomean roots.
Match the pairsLevel 3
24. Match each tradition to the place it took root.
Answer: Candomble = Brazil; Santeria = Cuba; Vodou = Haiti; Ifa = Nigeria
African religions travelled with enslaved people and took new forms.

Yoruba Orishas

Fact or fibLevel 2
25. Africa has one single mythology shared by every country.
Answer: False
False. Africa holds hundreds of peoples and languages, each with their own traditions.
Fill the blankLevel 2
26. In Yoruba belief, the supreme creator above all the orishas is ____.
- Olodumarecorrect
- Anansi
- Nyame
- Amma
Olodumare, also called Olorun, is the supreme being.
Match the pairsLevel 2
27. Match each orisha to what they are linked with.
Answer: Shango = Thunder and lightning; Ogun = Iron and tools; Oshun = Rivers and love; Yemoja = Motherhood and water
Each orisha has a clear area of power in Yoruba tradition.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
28. What are orishas in Yoruba tradition?
- Powerful spirits with their own areas of lifecorrect
- Kinds of drum
- Royal titles
- Types of mask
Orishas are powerful spirits, each linked to parts of nature and human life.
True or falseLevel 2
29. The Yoruba people live mainly in Nigeria and Benin in West Africa.
Answer: True
True. Yoruba tradition comes from that region.
Type the answerLevel 2
30. Which orisha is the goddess of sweet rivers, love and beauty?
Answer: Oshun
Oshun is linked with rivers, honey and fresh water.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 12 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

Build the sentence
Choose all that apply
Fact or fib
Fill the blank
Match the pairs
Multiple choice
Odd one out
Picture question
Put in order
Sort into groups
True or false
Type the answer

Practise African Myths

113 questions across 19 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

Play this unit

Read about African Myths

Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.

Who Is Anansi? The Spider Who Bought All the Stories in the WorldAnansi is the trickster spider of West African folklore, who won the world's stories from the sky god. Where he comes from and how he crossed the sea.September 14, 2026 · 5 min read

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