Mulungu

This article is about the Nyamwezi God. For the plant, see Erythrina mulungu.

Mulungu is a supreme creator god of the Nyamwezi people of Tanzania in eastern Africa. Despite being the creator and protector of the world, he is distant and has little contact with humanity. It is said that he once lived on Earth, but when someone set fire to the landscape he asked a spider to spin him a web to climb up into the sky, where he lives today. He is revered now as a sky god, with thunder as his voice.

Personal Name

Mulungu can also be a personal name, derived from a mispronunciation of "munungus" (a kind of pottery). A potter would call themselves "Munungu" (akin to the English name "Potter"), as occupational naming was traditional. The name is still used today, by the Lambya people of Tanzania. Some, however, consider it too holy to be spoken as the name of a human, considering its connections with divinity.^{[citation needed]}

Syncretism

In Malawi, the name Mulungu is used for the monotheistic Christian God of the Bible.