Shango’s colors are red and white, and his sacred
number is six. The main symbol of Shango is the
oshe, the doubled-headed axe, which represents
balance and justice. As the owner of the three
double-headed Bata drums, the deity of lightning
and thunder is quick, swift, and authoritative like
the fiery elements of the Earth. Like the Yoruba,
other African ethnic groups have a high regard
for lightning.
The Banyaranda, who live not far from Kifuka,
have developed an elaborate narrative about the
power of lightning that is associated with their
kingship. According to the Banyaranda, the
Almighty God, Imana, Amana, and possibly
Amen, is represented on the Earth by the king.
Indeed, the king represents Imana on the Earth,
and the king represents the Rwanda people before
Imana. This gives the king a divine function.
However, if the king survives, then the country is
said to survive; if the king dies, then the country is
said to have died. In many ways, this type of king-
ship is prevalent in Africa.
Among the Banyaranda, however, there is
something more to the kingship based on the
intensity of lightning strikes. The king is the
holder of sacred power. He is not a personality,
but a representative, and, as such, he is the keeper
of the sacred drum, the maintainer of the sacred
fire, the one who is entrusted with the robes and
cattle of his ancestors. If lightning strikes a per-
son, it is compared to the power of the king
because both are dangerous. In fact, if a person is
struck by lightning, it is said that it means that he
or she has been visited by the king. One cannot
escape the all-powerful authority of the divine
king because he is to be honored as one honors the
lightning and vice versa. Lightning should receive
the honor as the king of Rwanda; this is because
of the pervasive nature of the electrical charge in
the environment.
Other African people have incorporated the nat-
ural elements into their religious experiences as well.
It is how Africans take the environment and create
out of it a seamless relationship between society and
nature. Lightning, far from being a stranger, must be
viewed in African terms as part of the regular occur-
rence of nature in the lives of humans.
Molefi Kete AsanteSeealsoShango
Further Readings
Davidson, B. (1969).The African Genius:An
Introduction to African Cultural and Social History.
Boston: Little, Brown.
Maquet, J. (1954). The Kingdom of Ruanda. In D. Forde
(Ed.),African Worlds(pp. 164–189). London:
Oxford University Press.
Vansina, J. (1962).L’evolution du royaume Ruanda des
origins a 1900.Brussels, Belgium: Académie Royale
des Sciences d’Outre-Mer.LOBI
The Lobi people reside in the Black Volta region,
in what is known today as southwestern Burkina
Faso and northeastern Ivory Coast. The Lobi
migrated from Ghana to their present location
in the 1770s in search of new uncultivated lands.
Their primary activity is centered on farming:
They grow millet, corn, sorghum, yams, beans,
peppers, and some rice. They also raise sheep,
goats, and chickens. The Lobi live in villages made
up of compounds composed of circular houses
with flat roofs. This entry looks at the religious
beliefs and worship.Religious Beliefs
According to the Lobi oral tradition, the world
was created byTangba You, the supreme God.
However, Tangba You withdrew from the world
because it was getting increasingly annoyed with
the quasi constant fighting among men over
women. Before retiring, nonetheless, God pro-
vided human beings with spirits known asThila
orWathila(singular:thil) to assist them in their
daily affairs. Thila are nature divinities closely
associated with the land.
Thila play a critical role in the fabric of Lobi
social structure and life. Thila protect the living and
determine, to a large extent, their behavior. Indeed,
Thila establish rules of behavior that are revealed to
the living through divination. A diviner is known
asthildar. In addition to performing divination, a
thildar is a male (there are usually one or two
thildar per village) who owns many Thila, whom
he “controls” for the benefit of the whole commu-
nity. The rules established by the Thila are known382 Lobi