Kiberwa

Kiberwa is one of the named qedus, the holy intermediary beings of Qemant traditional religion, listed by Frederick Gamst among the lesser angels venerated after Jakaranti, Mezgani, and Anzatatera. The name recalls the Kemantney honorific root keber, which also names the senior of the two Qemant moieties. Like the other qedus, Kiberwa is honored at outdoor sacred sites with prayer and sacrifice.

Domains

• intercession

Powers

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

Relations

• subordinate to: Mezgana

Sources

• Gamst, Frederick C. The Qemant: A Pagan-Hebraic Peasantry of Ethiopia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969.
• 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.