Que signifie le nom Mkulumncande?

Il est généralement interprété comme le grand premier ou l'originel, désignant le créateur d'où procède toute existence dans la tradition swazi.

Mkulumncande est-il le même que Mvelinqangi ou Unkulunkulu?

Ces figures sont voisines. Chez les peuples nguni, le créateur suprême porte des noms comme Mvelinqangi, celui qui apparut le premier, ou Unkulunkulu chez les Zoulou. Mkulumncande en est l'équivalent swazi, parfois identifié à Mvelamqandi.

Le culte s'adresse-t-il directement à lui?

Rarement. Comme d'autres créateurs d'Afrique australe, il est décrit comme lointain après la création. Le culte quotidien passe surtout par les ancêtres, qu'il aurait chargés du lien avec les vivants.

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MKULUMNCANDE

ally

God

☥ SpiritSwazi →Swazi — SwaziElder

Gender: MasculineSign: création

Mkulumncande, also spelt Mkhulumnqande or Mkhulumncandi, is the creator god in the traditional religion of the Swazi, in eSwatini. His name is generally understood as that of the great first one, the original creator from whom all things proceed. After creating the world and human beings, he is described as a distant deity, who entrusts the earth and the link with the living to the ancestors, honoured in the rites more than the creator himself. He is sometimes likened or identified with Mvelinqangi or Mvelamqandi, the one who appeared first, a neighbouring supreme figure of the Nguni and Zulu traditions, where the creator is named Unkulunkulu. The attestations come above all from the ethnographic literature on the Swazi, with variations of spelling and narrative according to the sources.

Powers & Attributes

creation

Role in the ROHO universe

Founding presence. MKULUMNCANDE stands at the root of the world and sustains the weave since before the beginning. Bound to the Swazi pantheon.

Sacred Mask

An ancient ritual mask of sacred wood, old metal and black stone, engraved with symbols of creation, embodiment of the power of Mkulumncande

Era

Ancient cycle

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Mkulumncande mean?

It is generally interpreted as the great first one or the original one, designating the creator from whom all existence proceeds in the Swazi tradition.

Is Mkulumncande the same as Mvelinqangi or Unkulunkulu?

These figures are neighbours. Among the Nguni peoples, the supreme creator bears names such as Mvelinqangi, the one who appeared first, or Unkulunkulu among the Zulu. Mkulumncande is the Swazi equivalent, sometimes identified with Mvelamqandi.

Is the cult addressed to him directly?

Rarely. Like other creators of southern Africa, he is described as distant after the creation. The daily cult passes above all through the ancestors, whom he is said to have charged with the link with the living.

Related spirits

MADLEBE MAULI MINEPA PAMBA

Sources and references

Littérature ethnographique sur les Swazi (par exemple Hilda Kuper)
Brian Allan Marwick, The Swazi: An Ethnographic Account of the Natives of the Swaziland Protectorate (1940)
Hilda Kuper, An African Aristocracy: Rank Among the Swazi (1947)