Dragons of Africa
Dragons found in Africa are very different from most expectations. They don't follow many of the similarities of Eastern and Western dragons. Most dragons found in Africa are enlarged serpents, sometimes with wings but more often not. They share few features with other dragons, and are harder to find than other dragons as well, not being as prominent in the known cultures of Africa as other cultures. They often take the form of large and powerful serpents.
Ouroboros / Uroboros
1478 Artist Unknown
The first depiction of Ouroboros was found on one of the shrines that had enclosed the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen. It had also appeared in Egyptian funerary text, and the Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld in the fourteenth century BC. It is always depicted as a Snake or Wyvern/Dragon eating it's own tail. Thy symbol is often used to depict the idea of the circle of life or eternal life, with the tail being a phallic symbol and the mouth being a symbol of the womb. It is still used today, but not nearly as often as it once was. Aido Hwedo, which can be found in the mythology of the Fon, Haitian, and Dahomey people, is a large rainbow colored Oroboros who helped create the world, and is known for his jeualous nature.
Nehebkau
Image from Spell 87 in the Egyptian Book of the Dead
Nehebkau is one of the forty two minor deities to take part in the process of evaluating the souls of the dead according to Egyptian mythology. Unlike most dragons, this one is a serpent with human limbs. It is either shown as a snake with human legs, or standing upright with human legs and arms. Older depictions were simply a large serpent. Many amulets of Nehebkau were found within burial sites, and he was often associated with the Great Temple of Heliopolis, and may have had his own temple within the city of Herakleopolis. He was associated with spells to repel snakes and dangerous animals, and can be found carved onto ivory wands. Nehebjau also had a festival dedicated to him, dating back to Egypt's Middle Kingdom and recorded thrity two times during the New Kingdom.
Akhekh(u)
Artist: ~hibbary on FurAffinity
Originally recorded as an aspect of the Egyptian deity Set, this creature is sometimes described as a long creature with a serpentine body and four legs. Other times it may be described as a winged antelope with a bird's head. It always sports a crown with three uraei, an upright cobra used to symbolize divine authority in Egypt.
Aspis
Unknown artist, Bestiary from the medieval ages
Aspis was a large wyvern who took residence near the Nile. It was said that it's very skin was toxic, and that it guarded a tree whose resin could be used as an aromatic balm. The only way to get to the balm was so subdue the Aspis through use of a special instrument. If the Apsis saw someone coming with such an instrument, it would hold one ear to the ground and cover the other with it's tail. Following European belief, it was said that she held a Carfunkel, or a Dragonstone within her head.