What do you know about African deities? Well, one will guess that many authors, creators and even academics have cast a lot of light on deities from across the continent. From Shango to Anansi, African deities have been part of comics,webtoons, novels, movies and all manner of popular culture out there. However, there is still a ton of undiscovered terrain as far as African deities are concerned. One of such deities is called Efasa-Moto.
Part and parcel of the Bakweri culture and mythology, Efasa-Moto is believed to be the male component of the Liengu la Mwanja or the legendary “Mammy Water” or the Queen Mermaid of the Atlantic ocean on the coast of Cameroon. It is said that after an agreement between the two, Efasa-Moto chose to live on Mount Fako while the Liengu la Mwanja remained at sea. Efasa-Moto owns vast sugar cane plantations on the mountain slopes and is the spiritual protector of the mountain which is amongst the highest peaks in Africa. Apart from sugar cane farms, the mountain also harbors elephants which are under the protection of Efasa-Moto. Physically, Efasa-Moto is described as being divided vertically from top to bottom in a strange mixture of half human and half stone, and yet shaped in the form of a man giving a complete picture of a goat standing on its hind legs.
It is with this background that Njoka Suyru, writer and creator at Zebra Comics PLC, created the Comic book IP, NJOKU. The word Njoku in Bakweri language means Elephant in English. From this link between Elephants and gods on the slopes of Mount Fako, Njoka Suyru coined a story around a group of boys who ventured up the mountain without authorization from the competent government authorities and ended up desecrating the holy grounds reserved for the gods. The consequence of this is that one of them, Axel Takam, is forced to choose between living with the curse of the gods which compels him to be of service to mankind or save himself and see mankind perish.
This is a fantasy comic book story set in contemporary Cameroon (in the town of Buea, to be precise) and steeped in a heavy dose of mysticism, mythology and heroism. It is a comic book that tells the story of love, sacrifice, betrayal and many other themes that are very relatable to day-to-day human experiences. And to crown it all, this was inspired by real life experiences lived by the comic’s creator, Njoka Suyru.
NJOKU is an action packed and character driven narrative that shines on story. This is pure African comics as it incorporates African cultures, traditions, mythologies, belief systems and even contemporary life. If you are looking for something to fit your best selection of African fantasy and superhero comics, then NJOKU is for you.
The first episode of NJOKU will be released on the Zebra Comics App and Website on Friday February 10, 2023. If you do not have the app or don’t know the link to the website, just click HERE to get to them.
