Ancestors
Sotho Tswana · deity · mythic past · Recorded classification
Collective ancestral spirit-class (badimo / balimo). Treated as a deity-class entry (spirit-class -> deity), not an individual; sex/parentage left unrecorded. English plain word 'Ancestors' leads; native term in term-fields.
Domains
- ancestors
- fertility and protection
Powers
- intercede between the living and Modimo
- bless, protect and punish the living kin
Epithets
- Badimo the High Ones / the AncestorsI. Schapera, The Tswana; Setswana usage (secondary)
Sources
- The badimo are the deceased-elder ancestral spirits central to Sotho-Tswana religion, mediating between the living community and the remote Modimo and ensuring fertility, health and moral order.: Setiloane, G. M. (1976). The Image of God among the Sotho-Tswana. Balkema. (reference); Encyclopedia.com, 'Tswana Religion' (Encyclopedia of Religion). (reference)