Ngai

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the African deity. For information on the ethnic group in Vietnam, see
Ngái. For information on the Chinese family name, see Ngai (surname). For Māori tribal names starting Ngai, see Iwi
.
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Ngai (also called Múrungu or Enkai) is the monolithic

omnipotent God,[2] the Kikuyu, Embu, Meru, Kamba and the Maasai of Kenya worshiped Ngai facing the Mt. Kirinyaga (Mount Kenya) while prayers and goat sacrificial rituals were performed under the sacred Mugumo tree (a fig tree species). Occasions which may warrant sacrifice or libation include times of drought; epidemics; during planting and harvesting; and human life stages such as birth, marriage and death.[2][3]

Ngai in Kikuyu, Embu, Meru and Kamba Worship

Ngai was often referred to as "Mwene Nyaga", meaning "Owner of the Dazzling Light". Kenyan

Jomo Kenyata notes that: "In prayers and sacrifices Ngai is addressed by the Gikuyu as Mwene-Nyaga (possessor of brightness)." He went on to write that: "This name is associated with Kĩrĩ-Nyaga (the Gikuyu name for Mount Kenya), which means: That which possesses brightness, or mountain of brightness."[4][5]

According to Kikuyu creation myth, Ngai created humanity, the first man called Gikuyu, and the first woman called Mumbi. Ngai created a mountain "As his resting place when on inspection tour and as a sign of his wonders."[6] Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi bore nine daughters who became the origins of 9 clans of Kikuyu people. "The names of the main clans are: (1) Acheera; (2) Agachikũ; (3) Airimũ; (4) Ambũi; (5) Angarĩ; (6) Anjirũ; (7) Angũi; (8) Ethaga; (9) Aithĩrandũ." [6]

Ngai in Maasai Worship

For the Maasai, Ngai (also called Engai or Enkai) is the androgynous Supreme Creator, possessing both masculine and feminine principles.[7] The Maasai refer to Ngai's primordial dwelling as "Ol Doinyo Lengai" which literally means "The Mountain of God", which they believe is in Northern Tanzania.[7]

Ngai or Enkai's name is synonymous to "rain."[8]

In the Maasai religion, the Laibon (plural: Laiboni) intercedes between the world of the living and the Creator. They are the Maasai's high priests and diviners. In addition to organizing and presiding over religious ceremonies—including sacrifice and libation, they also heal the living, physically and spiritually.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Kenyata (1938), pp. 22-23, 41, 233
  2. ^
    ISBN 9781315313115 [1]
    (Retrieved 5 April 2019)
  3. ISBN 9781400870592, [2]
    Retrieved 5 April 2019)
  4. Kenyata, Jomo, Facing Mount Kenya, "The Conception of a Deity", (introduction by B. Malinowski) originally published by Martin Secker & Warburg LTD, (1938), [in] South African History Online, pp. 233-234 (PDF: pp. 261-262), [3]
    (Retrieved 5 April 2019)
  5. ISBN 9780933121294 pp. 42-49, [4]
    (Retrieved 5 April 2019)
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-394-70210-7
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 9781412936361 (retrieved March 18, 2020) [5]
  8. ISBN 9783643100931 (retrieved March 18, 2020) [6]
  9. ISBN 9781412936361 (retrieved March 18, 2020) [7]

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

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