Mezgani

Mezgani is one of the qedus, the angel-like holy intermediaries of Qemant traditional religion, ranked together with Anzatatera immediately below Jakaranti in the veneration of the community. Its name is transparently related to that of the supreme sky god Mezgana, but Gamst's ethnography lists Mezgani separately among the intermediary holy beings rather than as an epithet of the high god. Like the other qedus, Mezgani 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: MezganaMezgani is a qedus subordinate to the supreme sky god Mezgana, whose name it echoes; Gamst records the two as distinct beings, the god and one of his angelic intermediaries.Gamst, Frederick C. The Qemant: A Pagan-Hebraic Peasantry of Ethiopia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969. (secondary)

Sources

• Mezgani is one of the two qedus ranking next in importance after Jakaranti among the holy intermediaries of Qemant traditional religion.: 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)