Jakaranti

In the traditional religion of the Qemant, an Agaw-speaking people of the Gondar region of Ethiopia, the supreme sky god Mezgana may be approached directly or through a small hierarchy of holy intermediaries called qedus, glossed by Frederick Gamst as angels or culture heroes. Jakaranti stands at the head of this hierarchy as the most respected of the qedus. Like the other holy beings of the Qemant, Jakaranti is honored outdoors at sacred groves and trees rather than in built temples, receiving prayers and animal sacrifices under the direction of the wambar, the Qemant high priest.

Domains

• intercession

Powers

• to carry prayers and sacrifices to the sky god Mezgana on behalf of worshippers

Relations

• subordinate to: MezganaJakaranti is the foremost of the qedus, the holy intermediaries through whom worshippers may approach the supreme sky god Mezgana.Gamst, Frederick C. The Qemant: A Pagan-Hebraic Peasantry of Ethiopia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969. (secondary)

Sources

• Jakaranti is the most respected of the qedus, the angel-like holy intermediaries of Qemant traditional religion, venerated at sacred groves with prayer and sacrifice.: Gamst, Frederick C. The Qemant: A Pagan-Hebraic Peasantry of Ethiopia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969. (secondary); Gamst, Frederick C. "Kemant." In Encyclopedia of World Cultures, vol. 9: Africa and the Middle East, edited by John Middleton and Amal Rassam. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1995. (secondary)