mwari shona (Zimbabwe) The Supreme Being and giver of rain; an androgynous god who was at the same time both male and female. Mwari was also known as Dzivaguru (The Great Pool). In addition to his dual aspect as a male-female deity, Mwari was also simultaneously the god of darkness and of light, of the sky and of Earth. According to the Shona creation account, Mwari created the first human and dropped him from the sky onto Earth. The dreams of the first man, Musikavanhu, created the animals and birds. The first woman also appeared to the man in a dream and came to life when he touched her. In time, humans became proud and declared that God was dead. Mwari warned humans about the dangers of their pride, but they ignored him. He cursed the Earth, sent both drought and flood, created dangerous animals, and caused people to make war against one another.

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