LESA
allySupreme god, benevolence
Lesa, more often spelled Leza, is the name given to the supreme being by the Bemba of Zambia and, in very close forms, by many Bantu peoples of Central and southern Africa. A sky god, creator and source of life, he is associated with rain, thunder and fecundity. He is described as all-powerful and distant, little involved in the daily affairs of humans, who address him instead through the ancestral spirits. Benevolent, he embodies in Bemba thought the equivalent of a single, transcendent high deity. As the name Leza is found among several neighbouring communities, he counts among the most widely shared figures of the Bantu high divinity.
Powers & Attributes
Role in the ROHO universe
A fragment of Onionkupón's Breath, bound to one of the five elements of the cosmic balance.
Sacred Mask
A mask carved of ancient energy — a symbol of the cosmic force proper to its pantheon.
Era
3,000–1,000 BCE — Cycle of Elemental Powers
Spiritual Lesson
To understand the nature of one's own balance and the wisdom hidden behind every trial.
Words of the Spirit
“The spirit crosses what the body cannot.”
Frequently asked questions
Who is Lesa among the Bemba?
He is the supreme being, sky god and creator of all life, associated with rain, thunder and fecundity.
Is the name Leza proper to the Bemba?
No: very close forms of this name designate the high deity among several Bantu peoples of Central and southern Africa, making him a widely shared figure.
How do the faithful address him?
A distant god, little involved in daily life, he is most often approached through the ancestral spirits who link the living to the spirit world.
Related spirits
Sources and references
- Leza, Encyclopedia of Religion (encyclopedia.com)
- Hugo F. Hinfelaar, Bemba-Speaking Women of Zambia in a Century of Religious Change (1892-1992) (1994)
- Edwin W. Smith et Andrew M. Dale, The Ila-Speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia (1920)