Naba Zid-Wende, Chief of Everlasting Truth

Entered as a deity (the creator under his royal name) rather than a separate figure from Wende; kept distinct because the named Naba Zid-Wende creation cycle is its own attested narrative. The myth was set down by the Mossi author Frédéric Guirma (Tales of Mogho, 1971), who learned it from his own tradition. 'Naaba' = chief/king in Mooré, echoing the Mogho Naba.

Domains

• creation cosmic order
• kingship divine

Powers

• to fashion the earth and test it fit for life
• to set day and night in their courses

Sources

• Frédéric Guirma, Tales of Mogho: African Stories from Upper Volta (1971), the principal published recension of the myth
• Elliott P. Skinner, The Mossi of the Upper Volta (1964), on Wende/Naba-Zid-Wende as supreme being