Abassi
- The zealous god of Efik. He put the first man on the earth but was fearful
that they may become his equals. He was the sky god.
Adroa - God of Lugbara. This
deity is conceived in two aspects, a transcendent Adroa 'god in the sky'
remote from mankind and as Adro, 'god of the earth' close to mankind.
Aigamuxa - In Hottentot
mythology, a strange man-eating monster who are occasionally encountered
among the dunes.
Ajok - The Lotuko, a
Sudanese people, believe that Ajok is benevolent by nature, however, he must
be kept that way through constant sacrifice and prayers. Man, not the deity,
is the source of discord and suffering in life.
Anansi - Mr Spider: the
great trickster to West African legend. Originally credited with the
creation of the world, Anansi's role has been transformed into a cultural
founder hero.
Andriambahomanana - In
Madagascan mythology the first man. He dies to become a banana, which soon
puts forth shoots anew.
Asa - Literally: 'father'.
God of the Akamba people of Kenya. Asa is 'the strong lord', above the
spirits but also a merciful deity.
Azra'il - According to the
Hausa-speaking people in Tunisia, it was the angel of death, Azra'il who
brought mortality into the world.
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Chiuta
- Meaning: 'great bow in the heavens'. The supreme deity of the Tumbuka in
Malawi. Chiuta is a powerful deity, self-created and omniscient. He is the
owner of all things and eternal. He is a rain god, the succor of the people
and is often afflicted by drought.
Chuku - Literally: 'great
spirit'. The supreme deity of the Ibo of Eastern Nigeria. He is the creator
and the Ibo hold that he is essentially good and that all good comes from
him.
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En-kai
- That rain god of the Maasai in East Africa. In their rituals the nomadic
Maasai use grass.
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Gu
- In Fon mythology he was the heavenly blacksmith.
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Hai-uri
- A monster greatly feared by the Hottentots. one-legged, one-armed,
one-sided and semi-invisible, Hari-uri could leap over clumps of scrub in
pursuit of Human prey.
Heitsi-eibib - Legendary
hero of the Hottentots. Son of a cow and some miraculous grass eaten by the
cow. He is a great magician, a patron of the hunters and a superb fighter.
Holawaka - The mythical bird
sent by god to tell the Galla of Ethiopia that they would not die.
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Imana
- Literally 'almighty', this deity was the god of the Banyarwanda people of
Ruanda, an area unvisited by Europeans before 1894. Imana knows all things,
is the only ruler, the one who plans, the sole giver of children, the
protector of possessions, the owner of all things. Imana has very long arms
ad is often found in fearful places, but his influence is thought to be
beneficial.
Itherther - The primeval
buffalo of Kabyl mythology.
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Jok
- God of the Alur tribesmen of Uganda and Zaire. He is also known as Jok
Odudu the god of birth.
Juok - God of the Shilluk.
This deity is omnipresent and gave these nomadic people cattle, millets and
fish for their sustenance. He also betters the sick.
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Kaang
- In Bushman mythology, the creator deity, a remote sky god. Kaang made all
things, but met with such opposition in the world he went away. Bushman is
the god of rain wind and breath.
Kazikamuntu - The first
human being according to the Banyarwandan mythology. He was created by Imana.
Kalumba - The creator deity
was Kalumba according to the Luba in Zaire.
Katonda - The Ganda believe
the Katonda is the creator deity, thje father of gods living in heaven. He
has several forms and functions like Imana.
Khonvum - The supreme spirit
of Pygmy belief. Formless and eternal, Khonvum makes contact with men by the
intermediary of an animal, usually a chameleon. He also lowered the Pygmies
to the earth.
Khuzwane - The Luvedu
creator god. He left his footprints of rocks which were soft at the time of
creation.
Kintu - Semi-legendary king
of Uganda. Kintu was immortal and was in the habit of visiting Katonda in
order to submit reports of his progress on earth.
Kwoth - The great spirit of
Nuer tribesman living in the southern Sudan. Kwoth, their god, has neither
form nor fixed abode. He is compassionate and spares the poor and miserable.
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Lebe
- According to the Dogons, Lebe was the first ancestor to die.
Le-eyo - The great ancestor
of the Maasai.
Leza - According to the
Kaonde in southern Africa, the supreme deity.
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Mawu-Lisa
- God of the Fon, a war-like people pf Dahomey. Mawu-Lisa is a creator
deity. Mawu-Lisa created the universe out of pre-existing material. Mawu is
female and Lisa is male.
Mokele-Mbembe - A fabulous
beast reported by early European visitors to West Africa. It was the size of
an elephant, had a long neck, a single horn or tooth and a strong serpentine
tail. Its diet was said to be vegetarian.
Mukuru - The remote sky god
of the Herero people of South-West Africa. He is a benevolent deity who
shows his kindness through rain, healing the sick, and upholding the old.
Mulungu - God of the
Nyamwezi people of Tanzania. He cannot be reached by worship. The only way
to communicate with him is through intermediaries, a chainof spirts with
humans at the bottom and him at the top.
Mwambu - The first human
couple were Mwambu and Sela according to the Abaluyia tribesmen of Kenya.
They lived in a house of stilts.
Mwuetsi - In the mythology
of the Makoni tribe of Zimbabwe, the primeval man and the moon, Mwuetsi. The
sky god Maori created Mwuetsi, gave him a horn filled with ngona oil, and
put him to live at the bottom of a lake.
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Ngewo
- God of the Mende tribesmen in Sierra Leone. He is remote in all affairs of
man, though it is believed that it is the deities power which manifests him
indirectly in all natural phenomena.
Njambi - The creator deity
of the Lele people. His greatest gift after life is the tropical forest. It
is the source of all good things and the antithesis of the grassland. He is
the one that holds power over men, animals and the spirits.
Nommo - The model of
creation according to Dogon cosmology.
Ntoro - The Ashanti believe
that every person receives a sunsum, 'ego' and a kra, 'life-force'. Ntoro is
synonymous to sumsum. There are twelve Ntoro, the tough, the human, the
distinguished, the audacious, the eccentric, the fanatic, the chaste, the
truculent, the virtuoso, the fastidious, the liberal and the chivalrous.
Nyame - In Akan mythology he
is the supreme deity. Nyame is called Nana Nyankopon, 'grandfather Nyame who
alone is the great one'. Eternal and unequaled, Nyame is a god whom people
may confidently turn to in times of hardship and distress. The god os
faithful, a quality that is stressed by the Akan.
Nzambi - God of the Bacongo
people of Angola. Identified with the sun, Nzambi is self-existent, almighty
and knows all. He creates different individuals and gives them different
tastes and soul qualities according to the Aconga.
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Ogun
- The Yoruban iron god and war god. By nature Ogun is harsh fierce and
terrible, but not evil.
Olorun - The head of the
Yoruban pantheon which contains 1700 divinities. Active in celestial and
terrestrial affairs, Olorun is able to do all things, he is an enabler of
all who achieve any ends. He is omnipresent, a mighty, eternal rock, forever
constant and reliable.
Oyankopon - According to the
Ashanti, the universe is full of spirits but as Bore-Bore 'the creator of
all things,' Oyakopon was the god who made them all.
Osawa - The sky god of the
Elkoi.
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