Imana
Encyclopedia
Imana, is the Creator deity
Creator deity
A creator deity is a deity responsible for the creation of the world . In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator deity, while polytheistic traditions may or may not have creator deities...

 in Banyarwanda mythology in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

. In current-day usage, the term refers to the Christian God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

. Ancient Banyarwanda believed in one God, the creator "Imana".

According to Matt Hudson, in Banyarwanda mythology, Imana was the creator and the supporter of all the Banyarwanda people. The Banyarwanda people lived in the old districts of Ankole and Kigezi bordering Rwanda. Their land is very mountainous and cool. Imana was seen as almighty and gracious, intervening as in one of the legends of those people in an altercation between a man who has always borrowed beans from different people but wriggled out of repaying the debt. He ruled all living things and gave them immortality by hunting an animal known as Death. Death was a savage wild animal who represented the state of death. While Imana was hunting, everybody was told to stay hidden so that Death would have nobody to kill or take refuge to. But one day while he was hunting, an old woman crept out into her vegetable garden to get vegetables. Death quickly hid under her skirt and was taken inside the house with her. She died because of Death. Three days after the funeral of the old woman, the old woman's daughter-in-law, who hated her, saw cracks where she was buried as if she would arise and live again. She filled the cracks with dirt and pounded the earth with a heavy pestle and cried, "Stay dead!" Two days later she did the same thing when she saw more cracks by the grave. Three days later there were no cracks left for her to pound dirt into. This signified the end of man's chances of coming back to life. Death had become endemic, or constantly present. Another legend says that Imana punished the woman by letting Death live with man.

Imana does not "interfere in the normal course of material nature".

In Rwandan folk Christianity, many Rwandans view the Christian God
God in Christianity
In Christianity, God is the eternal being that created and preserves the universe. God is believed by most Christians to be immanent , while others believe the plan of redemption show he will be immanent later...

as synonymous with the traditional Rwandan God Imana.
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