Mwari drops man from the sky
A myth from the Shona people in Zimbabwe, collected by Harold Scheub, professor of African languages and literature, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Scheub is author of "A Dictionary of African Mythology" (see bibliography.)

Three Christian converts. Courtesy Africa Focus (c) 2000, University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.

Mwari, the supreme being, is the god of fertility, the sower, the rain-giver. One of his praise names is Dzivaguru, great pool, because he supplies the people with rain. Mwari is both male and female. As a female, Mwari is merged in the pool with its darkness and mystery; this is the god of below. As a male, Mwari is owner of the skies, the god of light, the father of creation who manifests himself in lightning or the shooting star; this is the god of above. He is an ambivalent god, both immanent and transcendent. He is ever present in his own creation.

Mwari put his creation, Musikavanhu, into a deep sleep and then let him drop from the sky. While he fell, Musikavanhu awoke and, in the distance, saw a white stone which was also dropping from the sky at great speed.

God ordered Musikavanhu to point a finger at this stone. Musikavanhu obeyed, and the stone stopped. Musikavanhu began to fly towards the stone, and the closer he got to it the bigger the stone became, and finally he could no longer see where it finished on either side.

Musikavanhu fell softly onto the stone, and the first spot his feet touched softened and emitted water. Touching the stone, Musikavanhu heard God's voice coming from it.

This place became the stone of the pool, today called Matopos, a place that is venerated. Musikavanhu, bored, began to wander about. When night fell, he sat down near the stone from which God had spoken, and slept.

In a dream, he saw the birds in the air, and many animals on the earth that were jumping from stone to stone.

When Musikavanhu awoke, he was surprised to see that all he had just dreamt had become reality. God told Musikavanhu what he was allowed to eat, and what food was forbidden. He was free to eat vegetables, and fruit from the trees, but not to kill and eat animals. Nor were the animals allowed to eat each other.

One day, while Musikavanhu slept, a snake crept over his loins and left its marks. When he woke up, he was overcome by a strange feeling; he had trouble breathing and his penis moved like a snake. A voice told him to go to the pool, and the pain would pass.

On his way there, he saw a beautiful young woman sitting on a stone near the pool. She looked like him, but she could neither speak nor move.

Again, Musikavanhu heard the voice; it told him to touch her with his hand. He did, and the young woman came to life, and a snake moved across her loins, too. She was overcome by the same emotions as Musikavanhu.

The voice spoke and told Musikavanhu to be kind to his wife, and to all the animals too. He was also to set aside one day a month for the honor of God.

When Musikavanhu had completed the tasks set by God he had to return to heaven. Before he went, he told his children to observe God's laws, or God would punish them.

People lived in peace for a long, long time. One day Musikavanhu's children got drunk and became proud. They told the animals and the other people that God was dead and that one of them would be God.

God's voice warned them, but because of their pride they could no longer hear it. God then became angry; he cursed the earth, and the sea's water became salty, the land dried up and thorns grew. During the rainy season, the rivers swept away many people, and crocodiles appeared in the waters. The sun became hot, and the animals began to eat one another and attack men. And men started killing each other.

Bibliography.