In traditional Bantu cultures
Origin, diffusion, and etymology
The original early-
Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
name for the highest God of gods, creator and father of all gods, was probably ''Nyàmbé'', possibly from the verb root ''-àmb-'', "to begin".
[Gonzales, cap. 3] With the diversification of Bantu cultures, other names came about, with "Mulungu" emerging in the ancient
Southern-Kaskazi group (about 6000 BC). The etymology of the name is disputed.
One hypothesis is that the name is derived from a verb root ''-ng-'', meaning "to be rectified", "to become right"; in this case, the original concept of Mulungu is that of a creator god that established the original, right order on the world.
Description
All traditional Bantu cultures have a notion of a "creator god", a concept which was already established in the
Niger–Congo cultures.
This creator god is usually seen as a remote deity, far and detached from men and living beings; in some cases, it is more of an impersonal "creating force" or a ''
primum movens'' than a "God" in the usual sense of the word.
Even when described as a personal god, the Creator is believed to be far and detached from men and living beings; this detachment is the subject of a number of
Bantu myths describing how the creator left the Earth, moving to the sky, as a consequence of him being upset with men or annoyed by their activities. It is thus a common trait of Bantu religions that no prayers, and usually no worship, is actually directed to the creator;
men interact with lower-levels gods and spirits that are closer and more interested in human affairs. These general lines are common to traditional concepts of Mulungu as found in Kikuyu, Ruvu, and other cultures.
A Nyamwezi myth about the departure of Mulungu from the Earth involves Mulungu being upset of the fires set by men to the landscape, and asking the
spider
Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...
to weave a web for him to climb up to the sky.
Mulungu
on Myth Encyclopedia
Modern uses
With the advent of either Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
or Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, the word "Mulungu" was usually adopted to mean the Christian or Islamic God. Over thirty translations of the Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
in African languages use the word Mulungu to refer to the Father.[Bleeker and Windengreen (1971), p. 556] As another example, Jesus Christ
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
is referred to as ''mwana wa Mulungu'' ("child of Mulungu") in modern religious songs in Chichewa language (Malawi
Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...
). The word was also used in Swahili Islamic literature before the derivative name "Mungu" became more common.
Southern Africa
In Mozambique nowadays Mulungo in CiSena language is seen as the Almighty God directly related to Christianity as Father of Jesus Christ. ''Mulungu wanga'' which means My God.
See also
*Bantu mythology
Bantu religion is a system of various spiritual beliefs and practices that relate to the Bantu people of Central Africa, Central, East Africa, East, and Southern Africa, Southern Africa. Although Bantu peoples account for several hundred differe ...
*Syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...
Footnotes
References
* Bleeker, C. J. and G. Widengreen (1971), ''Historia Religionum'', Brill.
On GoogleBooks
* Ehret, Christopher (1998), ''An African Classical Age''.
* Frankl, P. J. L. (1990), ''The word for "God" in Swahili'', «Journal of Religion in Africa» XX (3)
Estratto su JStor
* Gonzales, Rhonda, ''Societies, Religions, and History: Central East Tanzanians and the World They Created, c. 200 BCE to 1800 CE.'
* Nurse, Derek and Thomas J. Hinnebusch. ''Swahili and Sabaki: A Linguistic History''. University of California Press, Los Angeles, 1993.
{{Names of God
Bantu religion
African gods
Thunder gods
Sky and weather gods
Names of God in African traditional religions