Neetlangw

Neetlangw (also Netlangw) is, in Iraqw cosmology, the malevolent power associated with the world below: the earth, caves, and above all water in the form of rivers, stream-beds, and springs. Where Looa above is benevolent and life-giving, Neetlangw below is the agent of affliction, blamed for disease, drought, and misfortune. The being is connected with danger and pollution: women in ritual seclusion (meeta) are spoken of as possessed by Neetlangw and so as perilous to others. The two beings together define the vertical structure of the Iraqw cosmos, sky against underworld, the protective against the threatening.

Domains

• underworld and earth
• springs and water
• affliction and disease

Powers

• to inflict disease, drought, and misfortune
• to possess and endanger people, especially secluded women

Relations

• enemy: Looa

Sources

• Winter, E.H. 1966. 'Territorial Groupings and Religion among the Iraqw.' In Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion, ed. Michael Banton, 155-174. London: Tavistock Publications.
• Thornton, Robert J. 1980. Space, Time and Culture among the Iraqw of Tanzania. New York: Academic Press.