and respect, as Mbuya (“Grandmother”)
Nehanda by Zimbabwean nationalists. The main
maternity hospital in Harare is named after her.
Ama MazamaSeealsoShona; Spirit Medium
Further Readings
Martin, D., & Johnson, P. (1981).The Struggle for
Zimbabwe. London: Faber.
Mupingi, C. (1990).Death Throes:The Trial of Mbuya
Nehanda. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press.
Sweetman, D. (1984).Women Leaders in African
History. London: Heinemann.
Vera, Y. (1993).Nehanda. Harare, Zimbabwe: Baobab
Press.
NGAI
Ngai (also calledEngaiorEnkai) is the name of
the supreme God among the Maasai people of
East Africa. The Maasai may have separated from
other Nilotic groups as early as 1,000 years ago
and moved into what is known today as the
countries of Sudan and Uganda. This split was
followed by two major migration waves, one that
might have occurred 300 years ago or earlier and
the second one in the 18th century. These migra-
tory movements account for the Maasai’s present-
day locations in Kenya and Tanzania.
The Maasai are primarily a pastoral people,
whose life and, therefore, religion are centered on
cattle because the latter are said to be Ngai’s
unique gift to the Maasai. The wordNgaimeans
“sky” in the Maa language. In the beginning, the
sky (i.e., Ngai) and the Earth were one. All the
cattle of the world belonged to Ngai. However, it
happened that the sky and the Earth separated,
and Ngai and its cattle were no longer residing on
Earth. However, given that the cattle’s subsistence
depended on the availability of grass, Ngai
decided to send all the cattle down to the Maasai,
giving them the divine mandate of looking after
the beasts. The cattle slid down from the sky onto
the Earth by means of a long rope made of the
wild fig tree’s roots. To the Maasai’s neighbors,
the Torrobo (or Dorobo or Ildorobo) hunters and
gatherers, Ngai gave honey and wild animals. To
the Kikuyu, another neighboring group, Ngai sent
seed and grain. But the Maasai alone were blessed
with the gift of all cattle. A jealous Torrobo man
cut the rope between the sky and the Earth, thus
destroying the direct line of communication
between God and the living.
Hence, like so many other African supreme
Gods, Ngai is only indirectly involved in human
affairs. However, through their relationship with
and care of their cattle, which as the ultimate gift
of God to human beings are most sacred, the
Maasai re-create the primordial unity with Ngai.
The cattle possess the qualities of God and attest
to God’s greatness and generosity. Through the
consumption of meat and the drinking of milk,
God and human beings become one again. Thus,
meat-eating and milk-drinking, through their re-
creation of this original unity, are religious experi-
ences of the highest order and, quite predictably,
occur at the most important times in Maasai life,
such as birth, initiation and circumcision, mar-
riage, and death, and on all critical occasions like
rites of passage from one age set to the next.
Animals are ritually killed, the meat blessed by the
elders and shared and eaten in the open.
Ngai, as supreme God, is androgynous, that is,
both female and male. Ngai’s primordial dwelling,
the Ol Doinyo Lengai, which literally means “The
Mountain of God,” is located in northern
Tanzania. Ngai presides over rain, fertility, the
sun, and love matters. Although a single deity, the
Maasai God appears under two manifestations:
Ngai Narok, characterized by goodness and
benevolence, is black, whereas Ngai Nanyokie,
the angry one, is red, like the British colonizers
who disrupted Maasai life. There are many stories
about the relationship between those two dimen-
sions of Ngai: Ngai Narok and Ngai Nanyokie. It
is told, for example, that once upon a time, as
famine spread as a result of a severe drought,
leaving humans and cattle alike on the brink of
starvation, Ngai Narok suggested to Ngai Nanyokie
that they send rain to the creatures living on
Earth. Ngai Nanyokie reluctantly agreed to it, and
rain started to fall in abundance, providing much-
needed relief on Earth. After a few days, however,Ngai 447