#nyami nyami

[vinnigami]

snakes and baguettes

[kanekocribs]

KANEKO'S CRIB NOTES LXVI: A RACIST (?) METAPHOR FOR VENGEANCE

I'll be honest with you all, we're running out of cribs. Who knows what the landscape will look like next year. Only one thing is for sure: Kaneko's bare, spooky carcass will be on full display at least once more by our fine friends at Colopl.

LEPRECHAUN: An often controversial design because "why is an Irish fairy clad in a Union Jack boot, isn't that a bit insensitive to Ireland? "; however, Eirikr puts that argument to rest with an exhaustive look into the design's context. And yeah, Leprechaun's "scandalous" boot is clearly cribbed from the one used by the Spice Girls' Geri Halliwell.

HOMO GORLEO: There are two things to say about Metaphor's human designs. The first is that most seem to be inspired by the works of Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch, like Gorleo here, which iterates on a figure found on the center panel of Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych.

HOMO AVADES: The second thing we can say about the Metaphor humans is that we're frustrated by the lack of transparency regarding who designed them. One would assume that would be Shigenori Soejima, but Atlus has been less than forthright about something so apparently obvious. For the time being, we'll just have to credit them to "Studio Zero Art Team." Avades itself is at least more clearly adapted from the central figure of the the right panel of Bosch's Garden.

NYAMI NYAMI: We've made light of Doi in the past for over-relying on Wikipedia as a source for things, and, hey, it happened again for Vengeance's Nyami Nyami, this time an image of a wood carving of the deity used on the JP Wikipedia page that Doi clearly saw while researching and used as a reference, not that we're faulting him for it!

AMABIE: A design actually borne out of Atlus piggybacking on a Japanese Amabie meme during the Covid-19 pandemic, Doi's Amabie is based on a 19th century woodblock print that's the genesis for virtually all modern depictions of her.

[nogetron]

Nyami Nyami, serpent of the Zambezi. Together with his wife Kitapo, Nyami Nyami is worshipped as the spirit of the Zambezi River, Nyami Nyami provided the life that swam within its waters. As one of the Basangu, Nyami Nyami was manifested by the power of the supreme Leza. The exact appearance of Nyami Nyami deviates, most of the time he’s a serpentine beast with the head of a fish, other times he’s more draconic, sometimes he’s even said to be a living whirlpool. Nyami Nyami was said to reside underneath a rock formation called Kariba, boats that sailed to close to it were said to never return. To the Tonga who worshipped him, he provided bountiful sustenance. During times of famine and drought, the Nyami Nyami would arise from the Zambezi and allow the elders to cut off its meat to survive. Nyami Nyami was also the guardian of the underworld, regularly swimming between its depths and reemerging into the Zambezi.

However colonialism reared its head, as the British colony wished to dam the Zambezi. Forcing the Tonga to abandon their ancestral home, the elders warned that the dam would separate Nyami Nyami and his wife from each other. Despite these warnings the construction of the dam continued. Enraged by the treatment of the Tonga and the separation of him and his wife, Nyami Nyami’s fury flared. The dam’s construction was pelted by Nyami Nyami’s floods, storms, typhoons, earthquakes and landslides, killing many of the foreign construction workers. As the corpses of the dead mysteriously vanished, the construction company asked the knowledgeable Tonga elders on how they could retrieve their bodies. The elders advised them to offer a sacrifice Nyami Nyami. The company laughed off the elder’s suggestion at first, but when the family’s of the workers began to pester the company they became desperate and sacrificed a black cow to satiate the river god. The next day the cow had disappeared, and in its place the bodies of the men washed up together on the shore. Nyami Nyami’s wrath against the dam continued, creating even stronger disasters than the ones he caused before. Despite this, the dam was finished, the rising water destroying the Tonga’s old land, the newly minted lake was named after Nyami Nyami’s now submerged home, Kariba lake. The area is now frequently besieged by earthquakes, believed to be Nyami Nyami’s attempts to reunite with his wife. The Tonga still reside by the shore of the Zambezi, some still believing that Nyami Nyami will return to destroy the dam and return the Tonga to their homeland.

—————

The Nyami Nyami is the most well known figure from Tonga folklore, becoming an icon of the Tonga’s victimization by the hands of colonization. The details of the Tonga’s religious practices before the arrival of colonial rule are sparse and poorly documented, however Nyami Nyami appears to have survived from that era.

Nyami Nyami seems to have been a member the Basangu, nature spirits tied to certain geographical phenomena such as lakes, mountains and rocks, Nyami Nyami himself being the spirit of the Zambezi River. These Basangu were known to be associated with the community, often times called upon by mediums who would be possessed by them and bring upon rain and other beneficial effects. The Basangu would be worshipped and were believed to dwell within sacred places called Malende, with Nyami Nyami’s possibly being the Kariba rock formation. The Basangu were the second highest in the spiritual hierarchy, right under the creator Lenza and above the spirits of the ancestors Mizimu, as such the mediums connected to the Basangu were seen as more influential than those of the Mizimu. The Basangu were heavily conflated with the Tonga supreme god Leza, Nyami Nyami in particular held a special significance, both considered to be one of the most powerful spirits as well as being called the “Creature of Leza”. Leza themselves was seen as the all pervading life force that gave rise to all life, including the Basangu.

The arrival of Christianity with colonization greatly affected the Tonga religious landscape. A majority of the Tonga eventually converted to Christianity, rejecting their earlier practices. Under the Abrahamic lens the Basangu were demonized, sentenced to become demons and fallen angels. Leza however, was synchronized with the Christian God by both the indigenous population and the foreign colonists, in particular the Christian missionaries did so in order to better transition the religious traditions into Christianity. Despite this, when localizing the Bible, they didn’t use the name Leza within the text to refer to God. Despite their previous demonization, some christianized Tonga still revere the Basangu, conflating the Basangu with the Abrahamic angels.

The myth recounting Nyami Nyami’s ire against the Kariba dam accurately reflects the tumultuous history of the dam. The dam was, as the myth states, barraged with numerous unprecedented disasters. In total about 86 workers lost their lives during the construction of the dam, in particular 11 Italian workers were completely submerged in wet concrete when the Zambezi flooded during construction. The Tonga people were forced off their land by colonial authorities for the dam, Tonga opposition who defended their land were violently put down. The government publicly promised to provide the Tonga with fertile land and teach them how to cultivate it while helping to build an infrastructure. Evidently however this was a lie, as the soil where the Tonga had been displaced to was so barren that the land resembled the desert, forcing the Tonga communities to be more vulnerable to societal issues. Already embodying the Zambezi itself, the Nyami Nyami, much like the Toba Kasogonagá, developed to reflect the Tonga’s struggles against colonization in its mythos.

The etymology of Nyami Nyami hasn’t been effectively researched from what I can find, some however have stated that his name is a reflection of the Toba word for meat, Nyama, with some sources claiming that his name supposedly means “meat of the river”. This would relate back to Nyami Nyami being seen as the provider of sustenance and the folklore of him giving his own meat to his famine stricken worshippers. The etymology of his Malende, the Kariba gorge, is more well understood. The name Kariba comes from the word Karinga or Kariva meaning “trap”.

[fuchsiamilk]

The new demons reveal for SMTV Vengence should’ve been named “Anansi and 3 little dudes”

[sorenblr]

Nyami Nyami, Onyakapon, Anansi!

Damn, they're all pretty good, too. Anansi especially is one of his best designs yet, I think. On a level with Sukuna Hikona and Mephisto. Finally, a fruitful application for the Doi peg-legs. I'd also be curious to know if Onyakapon is cribbed from anything in particular. I doubt it's directly adapted from any one traditional source, based on the overall construction and the continuity of these sort of art deco motifs, but maybe something Mizuki or Mizuki-adjacent.

He did mention in the Manananggal commentary wanting to design more demons from the cultures of the global south, so it's nice that he's not being suffocated by production demands in that regard.

[thycheshirecat]

NYAMINYAMI!

If you know the lore/real history behind the little guy this hits even harder.

Unrelated but yeah NyamiNyami's tied with Mothman for my favourite SMT guy he's perfect.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Nyami Nyami - Day 82

Race: Dragon

Alignment: Light-Chaos

July 30th, 2024

A lot of religions put great importance on rivers. This is for hopefully obvious reasons, especially if you've taken an 8th grade history class, as sources of water, and especially rivers, are where many civilizations sprout- water is an incredibly important part of life, and rivers give way to several things, whether it be watering for crops or trade routes to access the rest of the world. However, none put as much importance on rivers as several African religions- whether it be the centerpiece of Egyptian mythology being the Nile, to a major deity of the Yoruba people being the river orisha Oshun, or even today's Demon of the Day, an incredibly important god to the Tonga people- the god of the river Zambezi, Nyami Nyami.

Alternatively spelt Nyaminyami, a corruption/pet name of the original 'Nyama yamaninga ninga,' this snake has some big shoes to fill, being one of the central gods of its religion, and one with iconography everywhere. As a deity representing the fourth largest river in all of Africa, and one that is incredibly important to the Tonga people, a people-group who arrived and settled around it at roughly 300 CE, Nyami Nyami is a big deal. Commonly depicted as a large snake or sea serpent whose length is beyond estimation, this god provides sustenance and survival to the Tonga people, being in control of the river it presides over, Zambezi. As the snake swims by, the river would stain red in his wake, though this wasn't a bad omen- no, it was far from it.

In times of struggle, the serpent would rise from its home deep under the waves and allow its people to cut from its skin to feast, giving way to the meaning of its name- 'pieces of meat-' before heading back under into the watery depths. As the controller of the eb an flow of the river, he would ensure that the crops were watered and that the people he watched over were thriving, and he did this for hundreds of years... until when the white man arrived. He went into hiding, though still controlled the river, and assisted from afar until 1955, when a dam was beginning to be planned overlooking the river. As the river had began to rise and his home was trapped under the waves, he was already getting annoyed, but the dam was the final straw.

After all, during the time of its construction, as legends go, his wife had visited downstream, and was now trapped behind it. This, alongside everything else- him being forced into hiding, and his home's submersal- finally inspired his wrath. The construction of the dam was famously hit by disaster after disaster, to the point many people say it may be cursed- even as recent as 2023, a wall collapsed inside. During the planning phase in 1950, a massive hurricane hit the river, causing it to swell by 7 meters, and once it was over, the entire flood plain was covered in animal carcasses. The survey team sent to check out the mess were then wiped out utterly by a sudden landslide. This unprecedented event was even stranger than just that, though- the cyclone that had whipped the river so high was from the Indian ocean, far beyond the landlocked African river. However, this was only the beginning of Nyami Nyami's wrath, showing how powerful the serpent was in his inconsolable rage of humanity's interference in both his and his people's lives.

The dam's construction, while seen as unilaterally good by most involved in planning, involved the displacement of the Tonga people away from the basin of the river so the dam could function- the place they had lived for years, raised so many families within, had been stripped away for the purpose of building a massive source of energy for colonizers. This, rightfully so, was seen by many of the Tonga people as unjust, and as the dam had begun construction, they called upon Nyami Nyami again.

Later on in 1955, on Christmas Eve, yet another unprecedented event struck the country- a massive flash flood that hadn't happened before or since completely broke the foundations being built, wiping out several people and halting progress for days. However, when construction persisted, yet another flood struck in 1956, and finally, in 1958, one last one hit the river, a massive rainstorm turned flash flood that was purported to only happen once every 10,000 years! The flood caused several explosions to ring out throughout the dam, leading to yet more lives being lost. Eventually, though, the dam was finished. Nyami Nyami's wrath had failed, ultimately, but the damages were many, as over 80 people had lost their lives. Hence, this is why you never piss off a river deity.

Now, in terms of SMT representation, it's an incredibly faithful design to the many Nyami Nyami statues erected around the river, a coiled snake with a fish's head. While I somewhat wish we got to see the great serpent depicted in the myths surrounding Nyami Nyami, this is a great pick for his design in general, as it's literally just a blue-tinted version of the exact statues one may see depicting this serpent. Overall, Nyami Nyami is an excellent design for a river god who tried to protect a displaced tribe of people during their darkest hour, and though he failed, we really do have to acknowledge how wild it was that several once-in-a-lifetime events hit the dam in such short succession. Nyami Nyami's wrath must not go understated.

[burlveneer-music]

Bantu Spaceship - s/t LP - an Afrofuturist odyssey helmed by Joshua Madalitso Chiundiza and featuring Thandi Ntuli

Bantu Spaceship will have listeners embark on a journey. A journey that feels like you are being taken through a portal into another time, Afrofuturism. The rhythms give you a sense of the past, while you also sense the future with all the synth sounds. This album will have you playing it on repeat while you are travelling from town to village and vice versa. The temptation to call this work a masterpiece will be permitted if not echoed by audience members onboard. This combination of artists is rare. Joshua Madalitso Chiundiza, the craftsman behind sound production, is no stranger to providing out-of-this-world audio scenes, as evidenced by his past work as a member of alternative hip-hop band The Monkey Nuts. His work on the Bantu Spaceship proves that he has a knack for venturing out of his comfort zone and traveling through time and space. The rhythm of the project is upbeat, cruising within the mid-tempo range for the most part. The synths and voices offer a cool breezy, ambient atmosphere, making the project ideal for mood setting. Chiundiza's production sounds like something that was picked out of the archives of the mid-eighties Jit and Chimurenga music and then carefully blended with elements of Disco and Electronic sounds. His mix makes for a beautiful excursion through a landscape of memories lived and futures imagined. Ulenni Okandlovu, serves as the voice, the Captain of the ship, guiding us by way of Ndebele chants, laid back melodies and poetic verses. His calm nature enhances the experience as it sits comfortably on the music, creating the illusion that making music like this is an easy feat; it isn't - uniqueness never is. Featured on the album are the voices of Thandi Ntuli (who also contributed piano keys); Kwela Sekele; musicianship of DJ Kid Fonque; Sungura guitarist Sam Mabukwa; and a Robson Banda sample.