Adze mythology

Mistah LaCaze

Mr B

English 212

March 14th, 2023

* Adze Summary

The Adze is seen as an "insectoid sources of misfortune" that originates in Ghana and Togo by the Ewe people. Adze are vampiric shapeshifters that can be many different small insects that can fly such as mosquitoes, beetles, or fireflies. There is no clear evidence of when the first discovery of the Adze but it's believed to be after the 17th century. These creatures are also known to be able to take a human form while also being able to possess others making it very hard to spot the creature or stop it from wreaking havoc. The Adze tend to pray on the blood of the innocent or more specifically children who are usually the most vulnerable, a way to fend off the Adze is by making sure they always have palm oil and coconut water. If the Adze goes a long time without feeding on the blood of children they become very weak. If the Adze is able to safely prey on a child after going a long time without feeding on a child it will ultimately kill the child from taking too much blood and if the child ends up living it will be infected with a deadly disease.

* The History of the Adze

There is no accurate year of when the Adze was discovered but it's closely tied to insect-borne diseases more specifically Malaria, so it most likely was discovered in the 18th or 19th century. There have been many attempts to locate the Adze by setting up traps for them using palm oil and coconut water where they will then change back to their human form which will ultimately leave them in a vulnerable state but it's fairly hard to capture them this way. The Adze are basically invincible as there is no weapon, potion/drug, or spell that can fend them off, the only thing you can do is catch them off guard in some way and if the Adze infects you, you might as well accept your fate because there is no cure for the diseases they infect you with when your bitten. In the 19th century, Europeans began to colonize Ghana and Togo and Ewe people believed that the Adze was the cause for a lot of evils that occur such as mental illness, jealousy, marital issues, bad luck, addiction, etc. which is due to the Adze possessing people.

* The Legends of the Adze

The Adze doesn't have many documented sightings but the people who are known to have interacted with the Adze were witches/sorcerers from West Africa and many others have not lived to tell the tale due to them being infected with an incurable disease. The term Adze is also not just for the physical monster but also for bad magic and sorcery in general. Some sorcerers even allow the Adze to possess them so they can gain magical powers and be able to perform harm to hurt others for their own selfish reasons. In some sightings where people see possessed they see a small ball of light. The ewe people typically identify women as being possessed by the Adze when they show signs of jealousy of their husband's other wives, infertile women, and very emotional women. This caused many women to be falsely accused of being possessed by the Adze similar to how Western women were accused of being witches during the Salem Witch Trials.

* Adaptations of the Adze

There are no adaptations of the Adze that I can find on the internet but I did find a lot of good sources to give me more knowledge on the Adze. One of the sources I used is "Adze: the shapeshifting Firefly from West Africa" from Storied on YouTube this is as close to an adaptation the Adze got. Two women talk about the cryptid, The host of the channel talks about the more general facts about the Adze mostly it's appearance and some characteristics it usually has then she asks an African mythologist and researcher for more in depth details about the Adze. My second source "In West Africa, The Adze is an insectoid source of misfortune" by Emma Starer Gross she talks about how the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo view the Adze and how the characteristics changed over time. In my last source "Adze: The firefly vampire of Africa" by Vampire.com in this source the author talks about how sorcerers in West Africa would willingly let themselves get possessed so they can use magical powers to cause harm.

* Analysis of the Adze

Since the Adze doesn't have any adaptations for me to analyze I'm going to write what I think should happen in an adaptation of the Adze. Firstly the film should start with a small glowing ball of light flying around in the night as the opening credits roll and then the Adze flies into someone's home through the keyhole in someone's door and then into their bedroom. As the person is sleeping the ball of light suddenly stops moving then transforms into its human form and the person wakes up and suddenly screams as the Adze slashes them with it's claws then the title appears in blood saying "The Adze". The film then begins with a group of West African kids gathered around a campfire at a summer camp as the camp counselor scares the group of teenagers by having one of his fellow counselors jump out at them. The movie goes on as the kids slowly began to discover that the Adze is a real thing and not just a story meant to scare them.

* Sources /Works Cited

atlasobscura.com/articles/monster-mythology-adze

vampires.com/adze-firefly-vampire-of-africa/

youtube.com/watch?v=I15v-4b4Mk0