Religions
Ewe Religion
Polytheistic (Animist)
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
The traditional religion of the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo, centered on Mawu-Lisa, a paired creator divinity, and on Yewe, the name for both a group of thunder and lightning powers, including So (Xebioso), and the initiatory society built around their worship, historically tied to judicial oath taking as well as devotion. Though closely related in language and neighbourhood to Fon vodun, it is documented as its own line of practice, with its own priesthood, songs and initiation.
Facts
Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 The creator Mawu-Lisa is itself read as a paired duality, Mawu associated with the moon and the night and Lisa with the sun and the day, joined as one being in some accounts and as complementary siblings or spouses in others, a duality that recurs with variation across the neighbouring Fon and Yoruba cosmologies. The wider Yewe pantheon of thunder and lightning powers beneath that pair is what makes the religion as a whole polytheistic rather than a single duotheistic system. Correspondences & Relations
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Togo directly: "of the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo, centered on Mawu-Lisa, a paired creator divinity, and on Yewe, the name for both a group of thunder and lightning powers, including So (Xebioso), and the..."
Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.