Nyasaye

Supreme Being of the Luo of East Africa (Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda). Name Nyasaye is widely shared in the Lake region. Distinct from Were (a regional/older name for the high-god) and from the juogi (spirits). Classified deity (high-god).

Domains

• creation
• omnipresence
• rain and fertility

Powers

• create the beginning of all things
• Grants prosperity, fertility and rain to those who sacrifice

Epithets

• Nyasaye

Sources

• Ogot, B. A. (1961). 'The Concept of Jok', African Studies 20(2), 123-130.
• Mboya, P. (1938). Luo Kitgi gi Timbegi. Kisumu.
• p'Bitek, O. (1971). Religion of the Central Luo. Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau.