Ngai (also called Múrungu or Enkai) is the monolithic God in the spirituality of the Kikuyu people (or Gikuyu) and the closely related Embu people, Meru people and Kamba people groups of Kenya, and the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania.[Kenyatta (1938), pp. 22-23, 41, 233] Ngai is the creator of the universe and all in it. Regarded as the omnipotent God,[Middleton, John; Kershaw, Greet; The Kikuyu and Kamba of Kenya: East Central Africa, Part 5, Routledge (reprint, 2017), p. 128, [1] (Retrieved 5 April 2019)] the Kikuyu, Embu, Meru, Kamba and the Maasai of Kenya worshiped Ngai facing the Mt. Kirinyaga (Mount Kenya) while prayers and goat sacrificial rituals were performed under the sacred Mugumo tree (a fig tree species). Occasions which may warrant sacrifice or libation include times of drought; epidemics; during sowing and ; and human life stages such as birth, marriage and death.[Olney, James, Tell Me Africa: An Approach to African Literature, Princeton University Press (2015), p. 88, , [2] Retrieved 5 April 2019)]
Ngai in Kikuyu, Embu, Meru and Kamba Worship
Ngai was often referred to as "Mwene Nyaga", meaning "Owner of the Dazzling Light". Kenyan
anthropologist, later president,
Jomo Kenyatta notes that: "In prayers and sacrifices Ngai is addressed by the
Kikuyu people as Mwene-Nyaga (possessor of brightness)." He went on to write that: "This name is associated with Kĩrĩ-Nyaga (the Gikuyu name for Mount Kenya), which means: That which possesses brightness, or mountain of brightness."
[Jomo Kenyatta, Facing Mount Kenya, "The Conception of a Deity", (introduction by B. Malinowski) originally published by Harvill Secker, (1938), in South African History Online, pp. 233-234 (PDF: pp. 261-262), [3] (Retrieved 5 April 2019)][Kenyatta, Jomo, 'Facing Mount Kenya , (chapter: "The Conception of a Deity") in Ben-Jochannan, Yosef, African Origins of the Major "Western Religions" , Black Classic Press (reprint, 1991), pp. 42-49, [4] (Retrieved 5 April 2019)]
According to Kikuyu creation myth, Ngai created , the first man called Gĩkũyũ, and the first woman called Mũmbi. Ngai created a mountain "As his resting place when on inspection tour and as a sign of his wonders."
Ngai in Maasai Worship
For the Maasai, Ngai (also called
Engai or
Enkai) is the androgynous Supreme
Creator deity, possessing both masculine and feminine principles.
The Maasai refer to Ngai's primordial dwelling as "Ol Doinyo Lengai" which literally means "The Mountain of God", which they believe is in Northern Tanzania.
[Asante, Molefi Kete; Mazama, Ama; Encyclopedia of African Religion, Volume 1, SAGE Publishing (2009), p.]
Ngai or Enkai's name is synonymous to "rain."[Sigurd Bergmann; Gerten, Dieter; Religion and Dangerous Environmental Change: Transdisciplinary Perspectives on the Ethics of Climate and Sustainability, LIT Verlag Münster (2010), p. 43, (retrieved March 18, 2020) [5]]
In the Maasai religion, the Laibon (plural: Laiboni) intercedes between the world of the living and the Creator. They are the Maasai's high priests and diviners. In addition to organizing and presiding over religious ceremonies—including sacrifice and libation, they also heal the living, physically and spiritually.[Asante, Molefi Kete; Mazama, Ama; Encyclopedia of African Religion, Volume 1, SAGE (2009), p.]
See also
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God in Bantu mythology
-
List of solar deities
Bibliography
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Jomo Kenyatta, Facing Mount Kenya, (introduction by B. Malinowski) originally published by Harvill Secker, (1938), in South African History Online, pp. 22–23, 41, 233-234, [6] (Retrieved 5 April 2019)
-
Ben-Jochannan, Yosef, African Origins of the Major "Western Religions", Black Classic Press (reprint, 1991), pp. 42–49, [7] (Retrieved 5 April 2019)
-
Middleton, John; Kershaw, Greet; The Kikuyu and Kamba of Kenya: East Central Africa, Part 5, Routledge (reprint, 2017), p. 128, [8] (Retrieved 5 April 2019)
-
Kenyatta, Jomo (1965). Facing Mt. Kenya (2nd ed.). Vintage Books. p. 175
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Olney, James, Tell Me Africa: An Approach to African Literature, Princeton University Press (2015), p. 88, , [9] Retrieved 5 April 2019)
Further reading
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J. N. van Luijk, Traditional Medicine Among the Kamba of Machakos District, Kenya, Volume 2, Royal Tropical Institute, Department of Tropical Hygiene, Sub. Department of Tropical Health (1982), Indiana University
External links
