Silewe Nazarata, Moon and Wisdom Goddess

Nias · deity · Nias traditional religion; continuing · deity

Silewe Nazarata (also Silewe Nazarate) is the moon goddess and wisdom-bearing highest priestess of the Ono Niha. In Suzuki's reading of Nias religion she is the third face of the godhead alongside Lowalangi and Lature Danö, the one who belongs to and mediates between the upper and lower worlds and likewise between the gods and humankind; this in-between status is expressed in her androgynous, hermaphroditic iconography, possessing both male and female attributes. As the sister-wife of Lowalangi she shares in the creation of humanity, and she is credited with teaching people to cultivate fields, build houses and carve statues. She is the omnipotent ancestral spirit most often summoned by the ere (priest-shamans), whose esoteric knowledge is said to come from her, and her carved cult-images (adu Silewe Nazarata) were central instruments of the indigenous cult. She is believed to dwell in the moon, whence her by-name 'in the moon'.

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