Manetualain
Rote · deity · Rote traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
In Rotinese cosmology the supreme power is a single Lord of the Heavens, addressed in ordinary speech as Lamatuak, 'the Lord,' and in fuller ritual form as Manetualain, 'the Exalted Lord on High.' He bears the title Lord of the Sun and Moon, the two luminaries standing as the visible sign of his sovereignty over the sky, and he is held to ordain the span of human life and the certainty of death. With the coming of Christianity the same name was carried over for the Christian God; sources differ on how far the pre-Christian Lord was conceived as a personal being rather than an encompassing sky-power.
Domains
- sky
- sovereignty
- fate life and death
Powers
- rules the sun and moon
- ordains the span of human life
Epithets
- Lamatuak — the LordJonker, J.C.G. 1908. Rottineesch-Hollandsch woordenboek. Leiden: E.J. Brill, s.v. Lamatuak. (primary)
- Manetua Lain — the Exalted Lord on HighFox, J.J. 1977. Harvest of the Palm. Harvard University Press. (secondary)
Sources
- The Rotinese high divinity is a single Lord of the Heavens, addressed as Lamatuak and Manetualain and titled Lord of the Sun and Moon.: Fox, J.J. 1977. Harvest of the Palm. Harvard University Press. (secondary); Fox, J.J. 2016. Master Poets, Ritual Masters. ANU Press. (secondary)
- The name Manetualain was adopted for the Christian God after conversion, reflecting continuity with the pre-Christian sky-lord.: Jonker, J.C.G. 1908. Rottineesch-Hollandsch woordenboek. Leiden: E.J. Brill. (primary)