The Origin of Iron (African Myth)

The Babel myth contains many elements comparable to various cosmogonic destruction-creation myths. Rather than the destruction of the tower (That can be understood as a cosmic centre/axis-mundi.), we have the confusion of speech from one primordial language into many languages, mirroring the creation motif of the one that becomes many. In the African myth the tower is a cosmic manifestation that crashes into chaos. And again, of the one (tower) becoming the cosmic many (like the serpent of rebirth shedding its skin of many scales), symbolized by the individual mortars used in it’s doomed construction.

Cernunnos’ Path: Joining the End to the Beginning (3/4)

I discovered a wonderful African aetiological* myth (Bunyoro, Uganda) explaining the origin of iron. It appears to be another variation on the theme of the cosmogonic destruction-creation myth of the One that becomes Many, as mentioned in the previous post relating to both the African tower constructed of mortars and Biblical Tower of Babel.

According to Peter Ridgway Schmidt (Historical archaeology in Africa: p.127, 2006) an Iron bar—functioning as both an axis-mundi and a divine link between heaven and earth—was removed by the creator god Ruhanga and his brother Nkya, causing heaven to ascend, severing the connection with the terrestrial realm. As the iron bar crashed to the ground it scattered into many pieces, providing Humankind with “tools and bracelets.”

*(Greek: ‘aitia’ meaning ‘cause’)