Shemani

Shemani 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. Like the other qedus, Shemani is honored at outdoor sacred sites, especially groves and cloth-wrapped sacred trees, where the Qemant offer prayer and animal 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.