The author of this book spent several years among the inhabitants of West Africa. These are hunting and gathering tribes, bearers of the most archaic forms of culture preserved on earth. Analyzing the beliefs, rituals, and customs of these tribes, the author, a candidate of historical sciences, tries to clearly trace the origin of religious ideas themselves and the transformation of the latter into a “second reality,” that is, the birth of mythological consciousness. Designed for a wide range of readers.