Storied's video: Adze: the Shapeshifting Firefly from West Africa Monstrum

Check out It's Lit: Unabridged, a new podcast from PBS: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/its-lit-unabridged/id1603688708 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4XOCT3jhB12mYcbA15h7zx Don’t miss future episodes of Monstrum, subscribe! http://bit.ly/pbsstoried_sub For many of us, the firefly is a mystical, enchanting creature of the twilight. To the people of some West-African cultures, however, the firefly brings to mind a malevolent, shapeshifting, blood-sucking monster of lore: the Adze. A special and heartfelt thank you to Helen Nde, whose expertise was both invaluable and insightful. Learn more about Nde's Mythological Africans folklore preservation project at www.mythologicalafricans.com. The world is full of monsters, myths, and legends and Monstrum isn’t afraid to take a closer look. The show, hosted by Emily Zarka, Ph.D., takes us on a journey to discover a new monster in each new episode. Monstrum looks at humans' unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature, and film and digs deep into the history of those mythologies. Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka Director: David Schulte Executive Producer: Amanda Fox Producer: Thomas Fernandes Editor/Animator: Steven Simone Assistant Editor: Jordyn Buckland Illustrator: Samuel Allen Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing Additional Footage: Shutterstock Music: APM Music Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monstrumpbs/ __________ BIBLIOGRAPHY Adinkrah, Mensah. “Witchcraft Themes in Popular Ghanaian Music.” Popular Music and Society, 31.3, 2008, pp. 299–311. Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology. McFarland, 2017. Ekoue, Leocadie, et al. “Aze and the Incommensurable.” Evil in Africa: Encounters with the Everyday, edited by William C. Olsen and Walter E. A. Van Beek, Indiana University Press, 2016, pp. 128–39. Gomez, Jewelle. “Recasting the Mythology: Writing Vampire Fiction.” Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture. University of Philadelphia Press, 1997, pp. 85–94. Gardini, Marco. “‘Nowadays Spirits Allow Themselves to Be Photographed’: Renegotiating the Political Role of Yam Ceremonies in Agou (Southwestern Togo).” Anthropos, vol. 109, no. 1, 2014, pp. 33–44 Gardini, Marco. "Oracles, Chieftaincies, and Witchcraft Accusations in South-Western Togo." Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, vol. 45, no. 2, July 2013, p. 249-266. Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters. Facts on File, Inc., 2004. Montgomery, Eric James. "Gothic" Voodoo" in Africa and Haiti." eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the Tropics 18.1, 2019, pp. 11–28. Okunoye, Oyeniyi. “‘We Too Sing’: Kofi Anyidoho and Ewe Poetic Traditions in Elegy For The Revolution.” Journal of Commonwealth Literature, vol. 40 (1), 2005, pp. 91–111. van Huis, Arnold. "Cultural Significance of Beetles in Sub-Saharan Africa." Insects 12.4, 2021, p. 13. Rivers, David B. Insects: Evolutionary Success, Unrivaled Diversity, and World Domination. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017. Spieth, Jacob. The Ewe People: A Study of the Ewe People in German Togo. Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2010. Venkatachalam, Meera. Slavery, Memory, and Religion in Southeastern Ghana, c. 1850–Present. Cambridge University Press, 2015.