Bumba
This
is a brief overview of the Bushongo tradition and the Creation account of
Bumba.
The
Bushongo [or Bakuba], a Bantu people of the Congo River region in Zaire,
describe the universe as being created in generative terms.
The
Bushongo people recount the tale of Bumba, the God of Creation in their
religion, as being alone in the watery darkness of eternity in the beginning,
without a mate and He was sick on the stomach and in terrible pain. From there,
Bumba was said to have vomited forth the powers of the universe (matter, space,
time, atoms).
Keep
in mind, the structural similarities between this story of creation and the
universal birth metaphors such as the womb creating a baby. Only in the
Bushongo faith, the uterus is represented as a mouth. This serves to underscore
Bumba's extraordinary fertility.
Continuing,
Bumba first vomited up the sun, whose heat caused the primordial waters to
recede and dry land to form. Next Bumba vomited forth nine prototypical
organisms each of which made others of its kind.
Of
all the creatures, Tsetse ["lightening"] proved to be obstreperous
and had to be banished from the earth, chased into the sky by Bumba Himself
(which the Bushongo people believe is why the lightning and thunder remain in
the air for the most part). Lastly, Bumba personally created humankind, one of
which the Bushongo people believe was white like Bumba Himself (perhaps
signifying purity or light? the influence of European contact and Christianity
maybe?) and since mankind was now without fire after Tsetse was chased into the
sky, Bumba took on the role of a hero by teaching humanity to draw out fire by
using trees (wood).
After
it was done, Bumba presented the beauty and raw power of nature, and in His
benediction, Bumba spake and said: "Behold these wonders. They belong to
you."
(Side
note: The Bushongo kingdom was the oldest and most advanced of the Bantu realms
in Congo. In fact, its oral tradition trace some 120 rulers since its founding
in the 5th-century C.E.)
Question(s):
1.
What do you think of the Bushongo-creation story?
2.
Does it mirror or relate to any other religious creation myths?
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