Jawnomicon

Ala

Also called Ale, Ani.

Ala is the earth goddess of Igbo tradition, mother of the living and keeper of the dead in her womb, from whom moral law derives and against whom the gravest offences are reckoned.

At a glance

Tradition
African folklore (general)
Region
West Africa (place of origin)
Trait family
The Rain-Holders

Near this figure

Traits

Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.

Omens

  • Duality of sky and earth embodiment
    why

    Her domain covers fertility of land and of people, the yield of the harvest, and the dead, who are described as returning into her — so that she holds both ends of a life, the bearing and the receiving back. Her most distinctive role is moral.

Utility powers

  • Moral perception
    why

    Offences of a certain gravity are described as abominations against Ala rather than as crimes against a person, and the community's law is understood to rest on her rather than on any human authority; what she forbids is forbidden absolutely and requires ritual cleansing of the land itself.

  • Harvest control
    why

    Her domain covers fertility of land and of people, the yield of the harvest, and the dead, who are described as returning into her — so that she holds both ends of a life, the bearing and the receiving back. Her most distinctive role is moral.

Roles

Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.