African Gods

Spanning the countless tribes and nations, cultures and ethnic groups of Africa, and its vast diaspora, its gods are equally as vast. Many being connected by overarching cultural similarities. And, many not being connected at all, numerous pantheons fall into this group.

There are several African deities such as Orishas (from Yoruba religion) and Loa (from Haitian Vodu).

Egyptian pantheon

Starting with the omnipresent Atum, who travelled the vast darkness and created all, the Egyptian pantheon is full of various beings wielding domain over the forces of nature and mankind. Such as the sun-carrying Ra, the all-seeing Isis, sparrow-headed Horus, Jackal-head Anubis, the wicked Seth and many more, they are famous for their animal heads, and prehistoric ambiance and aesthetic.

Many deities of Nubia and the Kushites would also fall into the pantheon of Egypt, from time to time.

West African pantheons

Many of the tribes of western Africa share similar cultural traits between each other. Specifically, a singular god who created a pantheon of spirit/deities to act as the connection between him and humankind.

In the Yoruba (southern Nigeria) religion of Ifa, the creator god Olodumare birthed the Orishas to be his aid in helping mankind. Led by Obatala, they control various aspects of life and nature. With twelves main Orishas who take humans in as their children, there are said to be millions of orishas. While, in the beliefs of Benin, as well as the greater diapora of Vudoun, Gan Met created the world before creating the loa or Vudu to be his intermediaries with humans. In Haitian beliefs, these loas are broken into the families of Rada spirits, Ghede spirits, and Petro spirits.

Wakandan gods

In the Marvel Comics, the fictional nation of Wakanda worship deities from many differing tribes within their nation. The Jabari Tribe, worship a gorilla god called Ghekre from the Baoulé people (Ivory Coast), Previously, the tribe worship Ngi from the Yaoundé people (Cameroon). Other cults in Wakanda include Egyptian deities: the Lion Cult (dedicated to Sekhmet) and Crocodile Cult (dedicated to Sobek). The pantheon of Wakanda is called The Orisha (Yoruba is one of the languages spoken in Wakanda) composed of Bast, the Panther God (Patron god of Wakanda and the Black Panther), Thoth and Ptah (Egyptians), Kokou (Benin) and Mujaji (South Africa).

Tanzanian pantheon

The Vodu or Gods of Africa are a race of superhumanly powerful humanoid beings worshipped by the native indigenous aborigine tribes of inland Africa. Worship of the Vodu possibly began around 2900 BC when the ancient Afrikaans first began showing signs of civilization. Unlike the majority of Earth's pantheons of gods, they are still worshipped today, but they are not nearly as active as they were in ancient times. The Vodu dwell in Ale (also called Afe or Ala), a small "pocket" dimension adjacent to Earth; an interdimensional nexus between Ale and Earth exists somewhere near Mount Kilimanjaro in modern Tanzania, considered a mystical location among its neighboring tribes.

Other Media

In the movie Captain America: Civil War, T'Challa tells the Black Widow

In my culture, death is not the end. It's more of a stepping-off point. You reach out with both hands, and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into the green veld where you can run forever."

Bast appears in the film Black Panther (2018) as having a major role, as being responsible for the emergence of Bashenga, the first Black Panther. The Indian god Hanuman is the gorilla god of the Jabari tribe.