Bambuti mythology
Encyclopedia
Mbuti mythology is the mythology
of the African Mbuti
(also known as Bambuti) Pygmies of Congo
.
The most important god of the Bambuti pantheon is Khonvoum
(also Khonuum, Kmvoum, Chorum), a god of the hunt who wields a bow made from two snake
s that together appear to human
s as a rainbow
. After sunset
every day, Khonvoum gathers fragments of the star
s and throws them into the sun to revitalize it for the next day. He occasionally contacts mortals through Gor (a thunder god who is also an elephant) or a chameleon
(similar to the divine messenger used by Orish-nla of Yoruba mythology
). Khonvoum created mankind from clay
. Black people were made from black clay, white people came from white clay, and the Pygmies themselves came from red clay. He also creates the animals that are needed by hunters.
Arebati is a lunar deity
and Sky Father
. In some sources, he was said to have created humanity from clay, instead of Khonvoum.
Tore is a god of the forest
s who supplies animals to hunters. He is also a thunder god who appears as a storm and hides in rainbow
s. Most importantly, Tore appears as a leopard
in the initiation rites. The first Pygmies stole fire from Tore; he chased them but could not catch them, and when he returned home, his mother had died. As punishment, he decreed that humans would also die, and he thus became the death god.
Negoogunogumbar is a child-eating giant
. Obrigwabibikwa is a dwarf who can change himself into a reptile
.
Researchers who studied pygmy culture and mythology:
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
of the African Mbuti
Mbuti
Mbuti or Bambuti are one of several indigenous pygmy groups in the Congo region of Africa. Their languages belong to the Central Sudanic and also to Bantu languages.-Overview:...
(also known as Bambuti) Pygmies of Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
.
The most important god of the Bambuti pantheon is Khonvoum
Khonvoum
Khonvoum is the supreme god and creator of the Bambuti Pygmy people in central Africa. He is the 'great hunter', god of the hunt, and carries a bow made of two snake which appears to mortals as a rainbow. He rules the heavens and when the sun sets, he gathers pieces of the stars and throws it at...
(also Khonuum, Kmvoum, Chorum), a god of the hunt who wields a bow made from two snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s that together appear to human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s as a rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
. After sunset
Sunset
Sunset or sundown is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon in the west as a result of Earth's rotation.The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment the trailing edge of the Sun's disk disappears below the horizon in the west...
every day, Khonvoum gathers fragments of the star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s and throws them into the sun to revitalize it for the next day. He occasionally contacts mortals through Gor (a thunder god who is also an elephant) or a chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
(similar to the divine messenger used by Orish-nla of Yoruba mythology
Yoruba mythology
The Yorùbá religion comprises the original religious beliefs and practices of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in Southwestern Nigeria and the adjoining parts of Benin and Togo, a region that has come to be known as Yorubaland...
). Khonvoum created mankind from clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
. Black people were made from black clay, white people came from white clay, and the Pygmies themselves came from red clay. He also creates the animals that are needed by hunters.
Arebati is a lunar deity
Lunar deity
In mythology, a lunar deity is a god or goddess associated with or symbolizing the moon. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related to or an enemy of the solar deity. Even though they may be related, they are distinct from the...
and Sky Father
Sky father
The sky father or heavenly father is a recurring theme in mythology all over the world. The sky father is the complement of the earth mother and appears in some creation myths, many of which are Indo-European or ancient Near Eastern. Other cultures have quite different myths; Egyptian mythology...
. In some sources, he was said to have created humanity from clay, instead of Khonvoum.
Tore is a god of the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s who supplies animals to hunters. He is also a thunder god who appears as a storm and hides in rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
s. Most importantly, Tore appears as a leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
in the initiation rites. The first Pygmies stole fire from Tore; he chased them but could not catch them, and when he returned home, his mother had died. As punishment, he decreed that humans would also die, and he thus became the death god.
Negoogunogumbar is a child-eating giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
. Obrigwabibikwa is a dwarf who can change himself into a reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
.
See also
Other Pygmy groups- Baka
- Aka
- Twa peoples
Researchers who studied pygmy culture and mythology:
- Colin TurnbullColin TurnbullColin Macmillan Turnbull was a British-American anthropologist who came to public attention with the popular books The Forest People and The Mountain People , and one of the first anthropologists to work in the field of ethnomusicology.-Early life:Turnbull was born in London and...
- Mauro Campagnoli
External links
- Primitive religion
- African Pygmies Culture and mythology of Pygmies, with photos and ethnographic notes
- Religions and cultures of moon worship