Modimo: Difference between revisions

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| caption = The [[Lydenburg Heads]] used in the rituals of the Bantu-speaking people, in possible connection to Modimo

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'''Modimo''' (also spelt as '''Molimo''' in [[Sesotho orthography|Lesotho Sesotho]], and known as '''Mudzimu''' or '''Raluvhimba''' in [[Venda language|Tshivenda]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stayt |first=Hugh A |title=The Bavenda |date=1931 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=1931 |isbn=9780429942778 |publication-date=2018 |pages=230-236}}</ref> and '''uMlimo''' or '''Zimu''' in [[Southern Ndebele language|Southern]] and [[Northern Ndebele language|Northern Ndebele]]) is a [[Creator deity|creator god]], [[King of the gods|supreme deity]] and [[sky deity]] in the [[Traditional African religion|traditional religion]] of the [[Sotho-Tswana peoples|Sotho-Tswana people]]. Modimo and all its derivatives ultimately stem from the [[Proto-Bantu language|proto-Sotho-Tswana]] prefix ''*mo-'' which indicates personhood + ''*-dzimu'' "above, in the sky" <ref>{{Cite book |last=Casalis |first=Eugene |title=The Basutos |date=1861 |publisher=[[Books on Demand]] |year=1861 |isbn=9783375040543 |pages=248}}</ref> 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|uMvelinqangi]] and the Shona Supreme Deity [[Mwari]] .<ref>{{cite web |first1=Bruce |last1=Bennett |title=The contested history of Modimo |date=January 2022|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346943485 |language=English}}</ref>

== Meaning and origins ==

In Sotho-Tswana cultures, the concept of Modimo is deeply rooted in traditional religious beliefs. Modimo is often ascribed feats such as the creation of the universe and is considered the highest spiritual authority. There are various other names for Modimo such as '''Mmopi''', '''Tlatlamatjholo''' (or '''Tlatlamacholo''' or '''Hla-Hla Macholo'''), '''Ramasedi''' or '''Rammoloki''' or '''Raluvhimba'''. Modimo is often described as a genderless, formless, omnipresent and omnipotent maker. Modimo is the most supreme deity in a [[Pantheon (religion)|pantheon]] of different deities and [[Apotheosis|deified]] ancestors, or [[Badimo]], and mythological figures of the Sotho-Tswana people. There are various legends, stories and mythologies regarding Modimo amongst the Sotho-Tswana people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Modimo and the Origin of Death |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100203655 |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Oxford Reference |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mothoagae |first=Itumeleng Daniel |date=December 2014 |title=The gendered God in the Setswana Bible and the captivity of Modimo: Moffat and the translating of the Bible into Setswana |url=http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1017-04992014000300011&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en |journal=Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=149–168 |issn=1017-0499}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Crisp |first=William |title=The Bechuana of South Africa |date=1896 |publisher=[[Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge]] |year=1896 |isbn=9780598934956 |publication-date=1896 |pages=43 |language=English}}</ref>

==Beliefs, mythologies and legends==