Mbasi
Nyakyusa · deity · Nyakyusa traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Mbasi is one of the four god-like brothers who, in the Nyakyusa charter of origins, came from Ukinga bringing fire, metal-working and new crops. He is the least individuated of the four in the recorded traditions, and sources differ on his character: some accounts group him neutrally among the culture-bringing heroes, while others cast him as a capricious power set apart from his brothers.
Domains
- cultural origins
- divinity
Powers
- bring fire, iron-working and new crops from Ukinga
Relations
- sibling: KyalaEncyclopedia of Religion, 'Nyakyusa Religion' (Macmillan Reference, 2005) (secondary)
- sibling: LwembeEncyclopedia of Religion, 'Nyakyusa Religion' (Macmillan Reference, 2005) (secondary)
- sibling: NkeketeEncyclopedia of Religion, 'Nyakyusa Religion' (Macmillan Reference, 2005) (secondary)
Sources
- Mbasi is named as one of the four god-like brothers who came from Ukinga bringing fire, metal-working and new crops.: Encyclopedia of Religion, 'Nyakyusa Religion' (Macmillan Reference, 2005) (secondary)
- The recorded traditions give Mbasi little individual development and differ over his character.: Monica Wilson, Communal Rituals of the Nyakyusa (Oxford University Press, 1959) (primary)