Myths And Its Creatures

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We often hear stories of mythical creatures through movies or stories told to us by our elders, parents and acquaintances.

Stories about mythical creatures in my country are mostly told by our parents and elders. When I was much younger I would listen intently to these stories and sometimes wished to at least witness one of them for myself.

The most common ones are stories about witches. I once heard that our great grandfathers would marry many wives thereby having a polygamous family and sometimes one or more of these wives might end up being “witches*.

Their target is said to be the children of their co-wives, especially when those wives have lots of male children. Since there is likely to be disparity when it comes to the issue of inheritance should the husband have many, the “witches” would kill off their co-wives male children by submitting their souls into their witch coven. Then it is said that the children would start falling ill and all treatment would prove abortive. The witches would keep sucking the blood of the children tillage they die. Then the witches would end up sharing the body of the child for consumption.

I also heard of a mythical creature named “the gnome” (bush baby). It is said to be a toddler who goes about crying in the night holding a golden mat. The mat is said to be a gateway to riches and power for anyone who has it in their possession.

Men, most especially, are always said to always go in search of this gnome, looking for various ways to get the mat from the gnome. It is also said that getting the mat isn't easy as the person would have to engage the gnome in a serious battle and If successfully taken, the person would become very wealthy.

The only thing the person has to face afterwards is the wailing of the gnome around their surroundings for days as it will keep coming around crying and looking for the person who took its mat. I could remember how I would wish to be able to come across the gnome and get the mat so I can also be rich and powerful.

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Another mythical creature I heard about are Wraiths. The Living Wraiths are commonly heard of in the Yoruba traditions. They are said to be incarnated beings, who died in one place and went on living elsewhere. They also end up having families in their newfound places with wives and children since some people do give birth out of wedlock.

My aunt once told me a tale of someone who got married to a living wraith in their hometown. It is said that the “wife” of the man kept asking to meet his family so they could all get to know one another but the man kept promising to take them but he never fulfilled the promise.

In cases where their partner is very persistent and insists on meeting their families, they would resort to lies that would make their partner drop the subject.

It is also said that once these living Wraiths sense that someone who knew them in their former life is around them, they disappear to avoid discovery, leaving behind the life they've built to go elsewhere and start all over again. They are said to do this because they had lived an unfulfilled life before their death.

Some of these tales and stories are terrifying yet intriguing for me as I do wish to see at least one of them for myself but I am yet to come across any for now. Maybe in the nearest future sha 🤪

Thank you for reading.

This is my entry to the FebruaryInleo prompt for Day 3.

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