uSifuba-Sibanzi
Xhosa · numen · Xhosa traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Sifuba-Sibanzi, 'the Broad-Chested One', is a redeemer figure of Xhosa religion, an awaited deliverer whose reign is to bring lasting peace. The name is generally traced to a Khoi title for the deity, taken up by the prophet Ntsikana, who declared the coming of the Broad-Chested One and joined to it the praise-name uNapakade, 'the Eternal One'. In him older Xhosa expectation and Christian messianism converged, and sources differ on whether he is best understood as an indigenous redeemer, as a name for the supreme being, or as an identification with Christ. As a figure of ultimate authority his name was later invoked in Xhosa prophetic movements, including the beliefs surrounding the cattle-killing of 1856-1857.
Domains
- redemption
- prophecy
Powers
- is awaited as the redeemer who brings lasting peace
Epithets
- uNapakade — the Eternal OneJ.B. Peires, 'The Central Beliefs of the Xhosa Cattle-Killing', Journal of African History 28, no. 1 (1987) (secondary)
Sources
- Sifuba-Sibanzi, 'the Broad-Chested One', is a redeemer figure in Xhosa religion, a name of probable Khoi origin popularised by Ntsikana and drawn on in later prophetic movements.: Janet Hodgson, The God of the Xhosa: A Study of the Origins and Development of the Traditional Concepts of the Supreme Being (Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 1982) (secondary); J.B. Peires, 'The Central Beliefs of the Xhosa Cattle-Killing', Journal of African History 28, no. 1 (1987) (secondary)