Encyclopedia of African Religion

responsible for general climatic conditions and
fertility of the soil. Another isTido Wende, the
plant deity, the source of plant growth.Ki Wende
is the Millet deity and reflects the importance of
millet as the main staple in the Mossi diet.Saga
Wende is the aspect of Wende from which the
rains come. Many ceremonies involving these
manifestations mark key moments in the agricul-
tural year—field preparation, planting, cultiva-
tion, and harvest—but they also intertwine with
social obligations.
It is the responsibility of Tenga Soba, or the
Earth priest, to ensure that all rituals are done and
prohibitions are observed in honor of Tenga
Wende. Before any seed is planted, a sacrifice must
be made to Tenga Wende. Sexual intercourse on
the bare ground outside of the house is prohibited.
A violation risks the withdrawal of the fertility of
the land and must be propitiated by a personal
sacrifice to Tenga Wende at the Earth shrine,
which is officiated by Tenga Soba.
When an object of value is found on the
ground, it is to be returned to the Earth shrine,
where it can be retrieved by its owner. If not, it
stays on the Earth shrine because all objects on the
Earth belong to Tenga Wende. If this is not done,
the thief’s relationship with the Earth is damaged.
The Earth shrine, tenga, is located outdoors, away
from living compounds. In the center is a pile of
large stones, atop which is atensaare, or a clay
pot. Inside this areteense,things of the Earth—
stones, broken pottery, unclaimed items—that
receive ritual offerings and sacrifices of beer, flour
and water, and blood made by the Tenga Soba.
Earth priests inherit their office by being an
elder male in one of the indigenous Savadogo lin-
eages. If the priest dies and leaves no heirs, his
sister’s son occupies the role of Earth priest. The
priests of Tido Wende are calledBogabaand are
responsible for maintaining the relationship with
plant growth as well as with the millet deity, Ki
Wende. Bogaba also assist women in conceiving
children. The shrines that they maintain, Tido
Rogo, are located outside the walls of their resi-
dence with an altar of raised Earth to receive
offerings and sacrifices. Like the Tenga Soba,
Bogaba descend from the Savadogo. However,
they trace their lineage through the indigenous
metal workers. They assume their roles by both

succession and subsequent changes in personality

of supernatural origin that occur shortly after the

death of their predecessors.

The rituals conducted by the priests and elders

on behalf of the community to ancestral spirits

and manifestations of Wende are learned by

observation and participation. Formal teaching

does exist for those who are seers and healers.

Denise Martin

SeealsoEgungun

Further Readings

Hammond, P. B. (1966).Yatenga:Technology and

Culture in a West African Kingdom. New York: The

Free Press.

MOUNTAINS ANDHILLS

Mountains and hills are landforms with distinct

summits, in limited areas, that extend above

the surrounding terrain. The distinction between

a mountain and a hill is culturally relative. The

majority of Africa is composed of moderately ele-

vated tablelands, broken occasionally by higher

peaks and ridges. Thus, Africa possesses fewer

extremes of elevation than other continents, with

notable exceptions in the Mahgreb, Ethiopia, the

Great Lakes region, and southern Africa.

In African religions, the landscape was consid-

ered to be part of the divine realm. Given the rel-

ative rarity of hills and mountains in many parts

of Africa, and their glaring height above the sur-

rounding landscape, it is little wonder that moun-

tains and hills are generally viewed with awe and

reverence. For some groups, mountains play a

role in their origin myth. The Chewa believe that

humankind was created by Chiuta and set down

atop Dzalanyama Mountain. The Kikuyu believe

that their first ancestor was awarded his terrestrial

home by Mogai, Divider of the Universe, from

atop Mount Kenya (Kere-Nyaga).

Rising above the African landscape, mountains

and hills thrust upward into the domain of the

“above,” the sacred realm over humans. In the

Mountains and Hills 429