Should the Yoruba mythology be included in Retold / AoM II?
While the Egyptians occupy the African slot, I believe the continent holds a treasure trove of other rich mythologies that the game can explore to captivate AoM fans. A good example would be the Yoruba mythology, which has the potential to do just that. It also helps that the pantheon has been explored by the Smite game as well. Here is my perspective on the culture and which gods, goddesses, and monsters should appear if they were to be included. crosses fingers
Olorun - God of the Sky and Heavens
Yemoja - Goddess of Creation and Water
Eshu - God of Trickery, Crossroads, and Chaos
Orunmila - God of Wisdom and Destiny
Shango - God of Thunder, Lightning, Fire, and Power
Oya - Goddess of Wind, Storms, and Transformation
Yoruba Bestiary:
- Agbalagba - It is a legendary creature depicted as an enormous, monstrous bird. Its appearance is associated with mysteries and secrets, and guards hidden knowledge.
- Aluko - They are often depicted as giant, reptilian creatures with fearsome features. Their massive size and chaotic nature make them a formidable force associated with disorder.
- Eda - Mythical creatures associated with fate and destiny. They can be shape-shifters. Their appearance may change based on the influence on individual lives.
- Eleda - Mysterious creatures that are associated with the forests with elusive features. They have unknown and supernatural powers.
- Gbemi - The monstrous beings are known for their immense strength and size. They are portrayed as giant creatures easily capable of destruction and turmoil.
- Gogoro - Creatures that are known for their cunning and trickery. Their appearances are often portrayed as deceivers, sowing confusion and chaos.
- Ibeji Iwalewa - Mysterious and mythical twins that depict dualistic attributes. Their appearance symbolizes the complexity of human nature and duality.
- Idogu - Literal nightmarish monsters with haunting features. Your Mr. Freddy Krueger if you will.
- Ironu - Monstrous entities associated with misfortune. They have ghastly looks draped in cloaks with eyes that gleam with a foreboding light. They are the harbinger of ill luck.
- Kinni - Monsterous entities with ashen and decaying forms. They emit an aura of pestilence. They are associated with the spread of diseases and afflictions.
- Okeke - Enigmatic and mysterious entities with transparent and echoing forms. They dwell in the echoes and whispers of the night. They sound otherworldly and communicate through ethereal noises.
Titan:
Iku - A terrifying and titanic shadowy figure who is draped in complete darkness and emits an otherworldly aura. Its ominous presence symbolizes the inevitable aspect of mortality and death. Death personified.
Thoughts and suggestions?
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Sounds cool! Personally heard of the Yoruba but nothing more. Seems like I have to make some researches.
I think this civ could be interesting and cool but others definitely have higher priority in my opinion.
Also is it me or are most if not all myth units cursed/evil monsters? Do they have some nice/noble ones too? xD
Yeah there are some good spirits as well. I figured the evil ones are more menancing haha. 
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Yes, if you add Yoruba it would be like adding the Hausa from AoE 3 but with mythical units instead of gunpowder unitsā¦
But the Yoruba also exist in AoE3DE too!
Sure, but they are a minor civ, also after the 16th centuryā¦
But they have unique buildings and of course unique units.
Also an African civilisation would likely be based on a relatively late point in time, similar to the Norse.
Maybe even as late as 15th century.
Of course, that is, in theory any polytheistic mythology between 3000 BC and 1500 AD can enter AoM Retoldā¦
Polytheism was the typical form of religion before the development and spread of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which enforce monotheism. It is well documented throughout history, from prehistory and the earliest records of ancient Egyptian religion and ancient Mesopotamian religion to the religions prevalent during Classical antiquity, such as ancient Greek religion and ancient Roman religion, and in ethnic religions such as Germanic, Slavic, and Baltic paganism and Native American religions.
Notable polytheistic religions practiced today include Taoism, Shenism or Chinese folk religion, Japanese Shinto, SanterĆa, most Traditional African religions,[6] and various neopagan faiths such as Wicca.
Not only would it be neat to see a second African culture in AoM, but those Aluko sound dope. I love big, fierce reptiles.
A second African mythology would be nice. Though I think a Meso one should probably come first.
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Hello, could you tell me what your sources are for the bestiary? I canāt find anything about most of these creatures.
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Is someone testing an AI chatbot here?
I donāt think the ideal would be to ignore all the problems the game has been going through ā and create a civilization from scratch that no one will feel like playing and that will only make the gameās balance even worse (more than it already is).
I believe that only civilizations with a truly relevant and significant culture should be in the game. The Greeks, the Nordics, and the Egyptians are already in it. The Chinese also deserve one, but the last attempt was a failure.
Just as I really donāt want a Brazilian or South American civilization in the game, I also wouldnāt want to see this type of lesser culture with no global relevance in the game, at least not before they fix so many of the issues the game is going through.
I used the term ālesser cultureā not to insult cultures that were defeated by European colonizers in South America, but rather because they do not have an appropriate and documented mythology system. Many of them are popular creations passed down orally and lack any actual historical record.
While in Greek mythology the myths had the purpose of teaching something more valuable, in South American culture, we have the āCurupira,ā a monstrous being with its feet turned backwards and a huge p**is dragging on the ground. There is no real reason for the existence of this creature; itās just a creation born from peopleās desire to scare others.
Do you realise that norse myth wasnt recorded by that people who believed in it, but MUCH later by christians? So, until then it was all oral culture, which you demerit as ālesser cultureā.
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I understand that Christians played a role in preserving the stories, but you must have understood that I was referring to whether they have a deeper meaning or not. And the ones from South America are as ugly as those from the post.
We are talking about a culture that practiced human sacrifice until it was discovered by the colonizers. Letās not pretend that being politically correct is the right thing to do here. They didnāt have as complex a societal system as the Greeks or even the Nordics. Study a bit of the history of these peoples and u will undesrtand.
You are literally talking to a historian from a country in South America. You are just another fool who thinks that know more than you actually do.
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If you are a historian, then you know what Iām talking about. Between Greek mythology and South American or African mythology, there is an abyss of difference in intellectual richness and general teachings. In this case, I believe that much more wisdom can be drawn from Greek mythology. If you donāt think so, and have arguments in favor of African mythology over Greek, I would be happy to hear them.
Given the writing style and the topics, it is very likely that his research was done by ChatGPT.
Every creature is described as āmonstrousā or āmysterious,ā something that GPT would produce.
Eh actually I want to thank you for bringing this up. I havenāt really been visiting this forum for a awhile now so I apologize for the delay lol. I admit, I think some of these sources that I found might not have been as reliable or popular as I originally thought. At the moment, Iām still researching on the Yoruba myth. I want to make sure that the information regarding Yorubaās bestiary is accurate. Again, I want to thank you for prompting me to double check my list. My fault.
I will revise my Yoruba list soon. These new creatures will be easier to find on the web. Anyway, I donāt think I can edit the opening post so I will revise and make a new list after this reply.
Cheers.
