the Rain Martyr

A martyred rain-maker venerated as a territorial-cult divinity; classed as demigod (a deified human / rain-hero), explained here because the registry has no 'martyr' or 'culture-hero' type. His uncle Mlauli was a rival conjurer in several tellings. From the 1920s Catholic influence recast M'bona as a Christ-parallel prophet.

Domains

• rain
• rainmaking

Powers

• command and make the rains
• turn aside ordinary weapons
• speak through a spirit-wife and possession

Relations

• spouse: the Spirit-Wife of the Shrine
• rival: the Uncle Diviner

Sources

• Schoffeleers, J. M. (1992). River of Blood: The Genesis of a Martyr Cult in Southern Malawi, c. A.D. 1600. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
• Schoffeleers, J. M. (1979). 'The Chisumphi and M'bona Cults in Malawi.' In Guardians of the Land. Gwelo: Mambo Press.