Ama (Ma)
Ama (Ma) Jukun (Nigeria) The Creator, possibly a fusion of two or more deities. Ama was sometimes regarded as male and at other times as female. In her female aspect, Ama was an earth goddess and world mother—the female counterpart of Chido, the sky god. Chido was the god above, and Ama was the goddess below. Ama created Earth, the heavens, and everything that lives and grows. As the personification of the Earth, Ama ruled Kindo, the underworld, from which all living things came and to which they returned after death. Ama was compared to a potter. Much as a potter builds up a pot with strips of clay, Ama created the human body by building it up bone by bone. When Ama finished creating a human, Chido descended to Earth and breathed life into the person’s body. (See also humans, origin of.) When Ama created crops to nourish humans, Chido sent the rain and made the crops ripen.
Taken from African Mythology A to Z – Library Binding – May 1, 2010- Second Edition – Written by Patricia Ann Lynch (Author), Jeremy Roberts Dr (Editor) – Copyright © 2004, 2010 by Patricia Ann Lynch
