http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Leve
Leve\ (l[=e]v), a. Dear. See Lief. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
Leve\, n. & v. Same as 3d & 4th Leave. [Obs.]
Leve\, v. i. To live. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
Leve\, v. t. [OE., fr. AS. l[=e]fan, abbrev. fr. gel[=e]fan. See Believe.] To believe. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
Leve\, v. t. [OE. leven, AS. l[=e]fan, l[=y]fan. See Leave permission.] To grant; -- used esp. in exclamations or prayers followed by a dependent clause. [Obs.]
God leve all be well. --Chaucer.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1O68-LeveandtheWaterofLife.html
Leve and the Water of Life
Article from: A Dictionary of African Mythology
Author: Harold Scheub
Leve and the Water of Life (Mende/Sierra Leone) Leve, a name for the supreme deity of the Mende, was female, later to be supplanted by a masculine god, Ngewo, now the more commonly used term. Leve initiated the moral codes that determine good social behavior. He brings society into being, and when men cannot fulfill their proper functions in society, or when they desire to take on new functions, they are born again. Leve and Ngewo have blended into a single god.
In ancient times, people forgot god, neglecting to pray to Ngewo, not bringing a certain herb for the ancestral spirits. Then life changed for them, and they were plagued by disease and death. One night, the voice of Leve could be heard, directing the people to bring the herb, along with palm-oil rice and water for the dead, informing the living that they must pray to Ngewo. The people went out that night, seeking the origin of the voice that they heard, and they came upon a man whom they had thought dead. He was sitting under a tree covered with the leaves of the herb, and he carried palm-oil rice and a shell containing water. The people watched, as the man poured water on the ground, announcing that it was for the ancestors, at the same time asking the ancestors to care for their living children. Then he sprinkled water on the people, and ate the herbs. The villagers also ate the herbs, and from that period things improved for them. See also: Ngewo.
Ngewo, Lonely, Creates a Man and a Woman
Article from: A Dictionary of African Mythology
Author: Harold Scheub
Ngewo, Lonely, Creates a Man and a Woman (Mende/Sierra Leone) Ngewo is the supreme being, the creator of the universe. He created man, the animals and fishes, as well as the trees and plants. The more common of the two names of God is Ngewo; the other name, Leve, seems to be more ancient. In ancient times, the Mende may have conceived of Leve as the female deity consort of Ngewo, forming the feminine half of a cosmic creator couple. Ngewo or Leve, chief and father protector, is transcendent, living away from the everyday activities of this world.
Ngewo was once a very big spirit who lived in a cave. He was so powerful that all he said would be done took place. But he lived alone with no one to talk to or to play with. So he went to the entrance of the cave and said, “I want all kinds of animals to live with me in this cave.” So the animals came in pairs. Ngewo, having created a primal pair, a man and a woman, used to live among men, offering them free access to him whenever they had a request to make. But the requests came so fast that he felt constrained to remove himself to a safe distance to avoid being worn out. He therefore retreated to the sky, where he now lives. Ngewo did return to bid mankind farewell, advising men to be charitable to one another and not to wish each other evil. He gave them two chickens, which he had created before making the descent, telling them that when one does another wrong, he must call God back to adjudicate, and when God returns the people must return his chicken to him.
Ngewo sent two messengers to a certain town to carry news of death and life. The dog was sent to say that the people would not die, and the toad was sent to say that death was coming. They set out together. On the way, the dog met a woman cooking food for her child. He lay down and waited, and in due course received some food from the woman. The dog then ran on. But the toad had not stopped along the way. He reached the town first and entered, crying, “Death has come!” Then the dog came running, crying, “Life has come!” But he was too late. The toad had brought death first. That is why people die. See also: Leve.
Ngewo
Article from: A Dictionary of World Mythology
Author: ARTHUR COTTERELL
Ngewo Africa God of the Mende tribesmen in Sierra Leone. He is also known by what appears to be a much older name—Leve, ‘the high-up one’. The Mende say of traditional usage ‘this is what Leve brought down to us long ago’. As Ngewo, the sky god is remote from the affairs of men, though they believe that it is the deity's power which manifests itself indirectly in natural phenomena. Thus he sends rain to fall on his ‘wife’, the earth. Between Ngewo and mankind are the spirits—ancestral spirits and genii, dyinyinga. The latter are associated with rivers, forests, and rocks; the former have cults designed to facilitate communication between men and the sky god.
After the rites of tindyamei, ‘crossing the water’, departed soul reaches the land of the dead. On his journey the deceased is assisted by the objects deposited in the grave, which is called ‘a house’, because ‘on the other side’ the spirits expect to receive presents from the newcomer. To deny a person the burial rites is tantamount to condemning his spirit to remain on earth and, in consequence, to be haunted by it. The land of the dead, according to the Mende, is rather like the world of the living. Ancestors are not feared, and often appear in dreams as messengers, bringing words of warning or advice. Illness in a family, for instance, may be discovered to have resulted from a failure ‘to feed’ a certain ancestor. Offerings include rice, chicken, and tobacco. At important points in the calendar, such as sowing, the Mende sacrifice to the ancestral spirits, whose aid is necessary to ensure a good crop.
The propitiation of dyinyinga follows a settled pattern, too. An example would be the sacrifice made to the ‘angered’ spirit of a river which regularly overflows its banks during the autumn rains. Genii take various physical forms: tingoi appear as beautiful women with soft white skins, and they are usually benign: ndogbojusui, white men with long white beards, are bent on mischief, but a subtle man can outwit them and obtain substantial gifts. The Mende believe that boldness is required when handling dyinyinga. Either one takes control of the genii, or the genii takes control of oneself.
Mende magic, hale, invokes the aid of dyinyinga as well as Nwego. But there is an interesting myth to explain the remoteness of the sky god. In the beginning Nwego told men to go to him for everything they needed. They went, however, so frequently that he said to himself, ‘If I stay near these people, they will wear me out with their requests.’ So he made for himself another place far away, and while they slept, he went off there. Since that time Nwego has not deserted his creatures, but has forced mankind to be less dependent on him.
.jpg)
