Mwari also known as Musikavanhu, Musiki, Tenzi and Ishe, is the Supreme Creator deity according to

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people * Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today Shona may also refer to: * ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing * Shona (given name) * S ...

traditional religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a prima ...

. It is believed that Mwari is the author of all things and all life and all is in him. The majority of this deity's followers are concentrated in

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, and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. Mwari is an omnipotent being, who rules over spirits and is the Supreme God of the religion. The same deity is applied and also referred to as Inkhosi in

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

and Southern Ndebele. Mwari's reverence dates back to the age of the ancient king ''Monomotapa'', of the

Mutapa Kingdom The Kingdom of Mutapa – sometimes referred to as the Mutapa Empire, Mwenemutapa, ( sn, Mwene we Mutapa, pt, Monomotapa) – was an African kingdom in Zimbabwe, which expanded to what is now modern-day Mozambique. The Portuguese term ''Mon ...

on the

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Etymology

The name "''Mwari''" in

means the force behind Creation. The word itself signifies, resembles and is interpreted as "God", but only in the religious context. The furthering of this term's acceptance is when the

Christian missionaries A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

interpreted the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

for the locals, in which they used the term "Mwari" instead of "God".

History

The nomadic Bantu were responsible for bringing the concept of

monotheism Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...

to the traditional religions of Southern Africa. The first official recognition of Mwari was by the

Kingdom of Zimbabwe The Kingdom of Zimbabwe (c. 1220–1450) was a medieval Shona ( Karanga) kingdom located in modern-day Zimbabwe. Its capital, today's Masvingo (meaning fortified), which is commonly called Great Zimbabwe, is the largest stone structure in p ...

, whose most notable ruler was Monomotapa of the

. It is believed that this new addition to Shona religion was incorporated into

Great Zimbabwe Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwi and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom during the country's Late Iron Age about which little is known. Con ...

. Mwari was frequently approached via mediums at shrines at Matonjeni in the Matopo Hills of Zimbabwe. In 1890, Christian missionaries began to translate the Bible into Shona. They translated the name for the biblical God as Mwari. Dora Rudo Mbuwayesango calls this 'in reality a religious usurpation of the Shona. ... The depictions of God in Shona oral traditions were designated as primitive and uncivilized, and so the biblical depiction of God was elevated as the civilized and authentic way of talking about the Shona deity, Mwari'.

Characteristics

Mwari is seen as a kind and loving God. Mwari is not only the God of creation, but also of land fertility and blessing rains. Mwari is the one who controls the forces of Earth, from the fortune of journeys to social and political events. Though the Shona and the Ndebele often pray to Mwari alone, it is also very common for the use of spirit mediums to be employed. Although missionary Bible translations transcribed Mwari as male, the Shona understood Mwari as not having a gender (or neither male and female).

Oral history concerning Mwari

It was a belief amongst the Shona people that no one had the right or authority to call unto Mwari directly without observing the protocol of airing out grievances or thanksgiving supplications to the deity through spirit mediums (who were possessed by ancestral and other spirits). In northern Zimbabwe, Mwari was contacted through spirit mediums or spirits; in other parts of Zimbabwe, he spoke to the people via an

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

.Mickias Musiyiwa, 'Shona Religion and Women's Justice in Modern Zimbabwe', in ''(Re)Interpretations: The Shapes of Justice in Women’s Experience'', ed. L. Dresdner and L. S. Peterson (Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009), p. 174. It was also believed that anyone who defied this spiritual law would develop leprosy as the name of the ineffable and unknowable God was believed to be holy and beyond everything.

References

{{Reflist Creator gods Names of God in African traditional religions