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Mbuti (Bambuti) mythology is themythology of the AfricanMbuti (also known as Bambuti)
The most important god of the Bambuti pantheon isKhonvoum (also Khonuum, Kmvoum, Chorum), a god of the hunt who wields a bow made from twosnakes that together appear tohumans as arainbow. Aftersunset every day, Khonvoum gathers fragments of thestars and throws them into the Sun to revitalize it for the next day. He occasionally contacts mortals throughGor (a thunder god who is also an elephant) or achameleon (similar to the divine messenger used byOrish-nla ofYoruba mythology). Khonvoum created mankind fromclay. 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 (Polygenism).
Arebati is alunar deity andSky Father. In some sources, he was said to have created humanity from clay, instead of Khonvoum.
Tore is a god of theforests who supplies animals to hunters. He is also a thunder god who appears as a storm and hides inrainbows. Most importantly, Tore appears as aleopard 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-eatinggiant.Obrigwabibikwa is adwarf who can change himself into a giantreptile.
A Mbutisoul is called a megbe. When a man dies, his son places his mouth over his to draw in part of themegbe. Another part inhabits the man's totem animal. If the son does not inhale the megbe or the totem animal is later killed, the megbe may escape into the forest, where it becomes a semi-visible being called a Lodi and lives forever with others like it.[1]
