Modimo
Sotho Tswana · deity · primordial · Recorded classification
Supreme Being of the Sotho (Basotho/Lesotho) and Tswana (Batswana/Botswana) peoples. Name glossed as 'the One Above' / 'the Great One' and linked to badimo, 'the high ones / ancestors'. Conceived as transcendent and distant; not worshipped through cult images. Classified deity (high-god class).
Domains
- creation
- sky
- fate and destiny
Powers
- create and order the world
- create and order the world from above
Epithets
- Modimo The supreme being and remote creator, approached through the ancestors (badimo)Sotho-Tswana ethnography (secondary)
Sources
- Modimo is the remote Supreme Being and creator-director of the Sotho-Tswana, approached through the ancestors (badimo) rather than directly through images or temples.: Setiloane, G. M. (1976). The Image of God among the Sotho-Tswana. Rotterdam: A. A. Balkema. (reference); Encyclopedia.com, 'Tswana Religion' (drawn from Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed.). (reference)
- Badimo (ancestors) is the plural of modimo, indicating the difference between the Supreme Being, ancestors and humans is one of degree within a single spiritual hierarchy.: Setiloane, G. M. (1976). The Image of God among the Sotho-Tswana. Balkema. (reference)