Moon Deity, Spouse of the Sun
Maasai · deity · the age of the sky beings · Recorded classification
Classed as deity (a celestial being). Olapa is the common Maa noun for 'moon', here personified per Hollis's sun-and-moon narrative. Some popular sources instead pair Olapa with Enkai; the Hollis 1905 text gives the sun-and-moon spousal quarrel, which is the primary attestation used here.
Domains
- the moon
Powers
- quarrels with and wounds her husband the sun
- shows her bruised, marked face as she crosses the sky
Sources
- Olapa is the Maasai moon-being, wife of the sun, whose facial markings are explained by their mythic quarrel in which each wounded the other.: Hollis, A.C., 'The Masai: Their Language and Folklore' (1905), 'The Sun and the Moon' (secondary)