Lwembe
Nyakyusa · deity · Nyakyusa traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Lwembe is the greatest of the Nyakyusa divine kings and the founding hero of the chiefly lines of the lower valley. Primarily a ritual figure rather than a wielder of secular power, he commands rain and the fertility of land and people, and his living heir bore his name and his vitality. His cult centred on the grove of Lubaga, where a great python was held to be his manifestation; a priest kept a night vigil there, sheltering in a wicker cage, and was licked by the serpent. When the powers of the reigning Lwembe were seen to fail he was, by tradition, put to death so that his vitality should not be carried into the grave. He is counted among the four divine brothers who came from Ukinga.
Domains
- sacred kingship
- rain
- fertility
Powers
- send or withhold the rains
- quicken the fertility of land and people
- manifest as the great python of Lubaga
Relations
- sibling: KyalaEncyclopedia of Religion, 'Nyakyusa Religion' (Macmillan Reference, 2005) (secondary)
- sibling: MbasiEncyclopedia of Religion, 'Nyakyusa Religion' (Macmillan Reference, 2005) (secondary)
- sibling: NkeketeEncyclopedia of Religion, 'Nyakyusa Religion' (Macmillan Reference, 2005) (secondary)
- ally: KyunguThe paired divine kings of the Nyakyusa and the Ngonde.Monica Wilson, 'Divine Kings and the Breath of Men' (Frazer Lecture 1959), HAU 7, no. 2 (2017) (primary)
Sources
- Lwembe is the greatest Nyakyusa divine king and founding hero of the chiefly lines of the lower valley, chiefly a ritual leader over rain and fertility rather than a secular ruler.: Monica Wilson, Communal Rituals of the Nyakyusa (Oxford University Press, 1959) (primary); Encyclopedia of Religion, 'Nyakyusa Religion' (Macmillan Reference, 2005) (secondary)
- Lwembe's cult centred on the grove of Lubaga, where a great python was held to be his manifestation and licked the priest keeping night vigil in a wicker cage.: Monica Wilson, Communal Rituals of the Nyakyusa (Oxford University Press, 1959) (primary)
- The reigning Lwembe was, by tradition, put to death when his powers waned, lest his vitality be carried into the grave.: Monica Wilson, 'Divine Kings and the Breath of Men' (Frazer Lecture 1959), HAU 7, no. 2 (2017) (primary)