Modimo

Modimo
Iziko Lydenburg Heads 2
The Lydenburg Heads used in the rituals of the Bantu-speaking people, in possible connection to Modimo
Ethnic groupSotho-Tswana peoples
Basotho, Batswana, Bapedi

Modimo (also spelt as Molimo in Lesotho Sesotho, and known as Mudzimu or Raluvhimba in Tshivenda[1] and uMlimo or Zimu in Southern and Northern Ndebele) is a creator god, supreme deity and sky deity in the traditional religion of the Sotho-Tswana people. Modimo and all its derivatives ultimately stem from the proto-Sotho-Tswana prefix *mo- which indicates personhood + *-dzimu "above, in the sky" [2] and so Modimo can be translated to mean "the high one" or "the sky-deity" or "the one above" or "the Supreme Deity" or merely "the high god" in English. Modimo is the equivalent of the Xhosa Supreme Deity Qamata and the Zulu Supreme Deity uMvelinqangi and the Shona Supreme Deity Mwari .[3]

  1. ^ Stayt, Hugh A (1931). The Bavenda. Routledge (published 2018). pp. 230–236. ISBN 9780429942778.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ Casalis, Eugene (1861). The Basutos. Books on Demand. p. 248. ISBN 9783375040543.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ Bennett, Bruce (January 2022). "The contested history of Modimo".