Khoisan sky god Sui as wounded creator versus evil god Gaunab

70kya "Oldest Ritual Site" Beliefs Spread with Out of Africa?
Source: 70kya "Oldest Ritual Site" Beliefs Spread with Out of Africa? by Timeless with Fred Snyder

Tsui-//goab (Sui Goab), the Khoisan sky god whose name means “wounded knee,” is a benevolent creator who sends rain and brings dawn. In older Nama traditions, he was a human hero who attained divinity. His counterpart, Gaunab, the god of darkness and death, battles Sui Goab through the night amid thunder and lightning; good triumphs at dawn. Some Khoisan believe people should be reluctant to pray to the good god for fear of attracting the evil counterpart’s attention. ⛈️🌅

Key facts

  • Sui (Tsui-//goab, also called Utixo) is the sky god whose name means “wounded knee.”
  • He is a benevolent creator and sustainer who lives in the sky, sends rain, and brings dawn.
  • In older Nama traditions, Sui was a human hero who attained divinity.
  • European missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries identified Sui with the Christian God.
  • Gaunab is the Khoisan god of darkness, death, and evil who fights Sui each night.
  • Thunder and lightning mark their battle, and good triumphs over evil at dawn.
  • Gaunab is feared as a bringer of sickness and bad luck.
  • Some Khoisan traditions hold that people should be reluctant to pray to the good god lest they attract Gaunab’s attention.
  • Gaunab’s name derives from a root meaning “to destroy.”

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Sources

archive.org
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mythopedia.com
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Khoi and San - Cape Interfaithcapeinterfaith.org.za
Strictly speaking, there is no Khoisan religion. Although this term is a unifying name, the Khoi and the San are entirely distinct peoples. There is a vast ...
Religion and Nature - The Khoikhoi and the Sankhoisan.org
The first is Tsui-//goab, the deity who was sometimes seen as the founding ancestor of the Khoikhoi. He was 'the creator, the guardian of health, the source ...
Khoisan Religionoxfordreference.com
Khoisan Religion ... In the last capacity he stood opposed to the Khoisan-wide creator god, whom the Nama called Tsui-//goab (“Wounded Knee”) and the Nharo N!
Khoisanen.wikipedia.org
Religion. Mainly Christian and African traditional religions (San religion). Related ethnic groups. Coloured, Griqua. It is possible that some Khoisan peoples ...
Structure and Fluidity in Khoisan Religious Ideasafricabib.org
by A Barnard · 1988 · Cited by 69 — This paper examines some of the prominent features of Khoisan religion in a regional-comparative framework, and with particular concern towards the ...
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