Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
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Pantheons

Ewe

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Mawu-Lisa, the paired creator divinity, So, also called Xebioso, the thunder god, and the wider Yewe deities of the Ewe of Ghana and Togo. Yewe names both a group of thunder and lightning powers and the initiatory society built around their worship, historically associated with judicial oath taking as well as devotion. Though closely related in language and neighbourhood to the vodun of the Fon, Ewe tradition is documented as its own line of practice, with its own priesthood, songs and initiation, rather than as a variant of Fon vodun.

Facts
Structure
Structure of the Pantheon
A supreme creator above a working order of intermediary powers 1
Divine Headship
A ruling pair holds sovereignty together 1
Succession Between Divine Generations
One divine generation; no succession between generations is recorded 1
The Creator and the Ruling Gods
The creator withdrew after making the world and is seldom addressed in cult 1
Attestation
Era of Attestation
Held from the beginning in the tradition's own terms; documented in the outside record from the 19th century 1
Veneration Today
Actively venerated in a living tradition 1
Cult
Principal Cult Centre
No single centre. Observance is held at the shrines of the individual trowo and by the Yewe order, at village and lineage level 1
Organisation
Membership of the Pantheon
Every place, clan and lineage adds its own 1
How Mortals Enter the Pantheon
Ancestors and founders become objects of cult 1
Sources
Primary Source
Oral tradition held by shrine priests and by the Yewe order, with published ethnography. Yewe initiation is closed and is not reproduced here 1
Correspondences & Relations

Pantheon Of

Ewe Religion, Religions
Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Togo, Countries

This source names Togo directly: "Yewe deities of the Ewe of Ghana and Togo."

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)
Sources
1. Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005View the Source
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