Bantu mythology

Bantu mythology is the system of beliefs and legends of the Bantu

people of Africa. Although Bantu peoples account for several
hundred different ethnic groups, there is a high degree of
homogeneity in Bantu cultures and customs, just as in Bantu
languages.[1]

The phrase "Bantu mythology" usually refers to the common,

recurring themes that are found in all, or most, Bantu cultures
across Africa.[2]

Contents
Traditional beliefs
Creation
Death
Spirits A Shona n'anga - a shaman and
medicine man.
Monsters
Fables
See also
Footnotes
References

Traditional beliefs
The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic
religions.[3][4] Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural and passed down from one
generation to another through folk tales, songs, and festivals,[5][6] include belief in an amount of higher and
lower gods, sometimes including a supreme creator or force, belief in spirits, veneration of the dead, use of
magic and traditional African medicine. Most religions can be described as animistic[7][8] with various
polytheistic and pantheistic aspects.[9][3] Animism builds the core concept of the Bantu religious traditions,
similar to other traditional African religions. This includes the worship of tutelary deities, nature worship,
ancestor worship and the belief in an afterlife. While some religions adopted a pantheistic worldview, most
follow a polytheistic system with various gods, spirits and other supernatural beings.[10] Traditional African
religions also have elements of fetishism, shamanism and veneration of relics, and have a high complexity,
comparable to Japanese Shinto or Hinduism.[11]

The nature of the supreme and highest God of all gods and deities is often only vaguely defined or even
lacking, although he may be associated with the Sun, or the oldest of all ancestors, or have other
specifications. Most names of various deities include the Bantu particle ng (nk); some examples are Nzambi
Mpungu (Bakongo), Mulungu (Wayao, Chewa, Akamba and others), Unkulunkulu (AmaZulu), Gulu
(Baganda), Muluku (Makua), Mungu (WaSwahili), Mukuru (OvaHerero and OvaHimba), Nyambe (Bassa),
Kibumba (Basoga), Imana (Banyarwanda and Barundi), Modimo (Basotho and Batswana), Ruhanga
(Banyoro and Banyankole), and Ngai (Akamba, Agikuyu and other groups). In many traditions the gods
are supposed to live in the skies; there are also traditions that locate them on some high mountain, for
example the Kirinyaga mountain - Mt. Kenya, for Kikuyu people, which is comparable to other traditional
religions around the world.

It is suggested that most ancient traditional African religions, like most other indigenous folk religions
around the world, were strictly polytheistic and lacked the belief in monotheistic concepts, such as a single
supreme creator god. Native African religions are centered on ancestor veneration, the belief in a spirit
world, supernatural beings and free will (unlike the later developed concept of faith). Deceased humans
(and animals or important objects) still exist in the spirit world and can influence or interact with the
physical world. Polytheism was widespreaded in most of ancient African and other regions of the world,
before the introduction of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. High gods, along with other more specialized
deities, ancestor spirits, territorial spirits, and beings, are a common theme among traditional African
religions, highlighting the complex and advanced culture of ancient Africa.[12][13][14]

Nigerian American professor of indigenous African religions at

Harvard University, Jacob Olupona described the Bantu mythology
to be part of the many traditional African traditions, which are
complex animistic religious traditions and beliefs of the African
people before the Christian and Islamic "colonization" of Africa.
Ancestor veneration has always played a "significant" part in the
traditional African cultures and may be considered as central to the
African worldview. Ancestors (ancestral ghosts/spirits) are an
integral part of reality. The ancestors are generally believed to
reside in an ancestral realm (spiritworld), while some believe that
the ancestors became equal in power to deities found in African
traditions.[15]

The defining line between deities and ancestors is

Zulu shaman and medicine women.
often contested, but overall, ancestors are believed to
Traditional African medicine is
occupy a higher level of existence than living human comparable with Traditional Chinese
beings and are believed to be able to bestow either
medicine, although much knowledge
blessings or illness upon their living descendants. got lost after the introduction of
Ancestors can offer advice and bestow good fortune Islam and Christianity.
and honor to their living dependents, but they can also
make demands, such as insisting that their shrines be
properly maintained and propitiated. A belief in
ancestors also testifies to the inclusive nature of
traditional African spirituality by positing that deceased
progenitors still play a role in the lives of their living
descendants.

Olupona rejects the western/Islamic definition of Monotheism and says that such concepts could not reflect
the complex African traditions and are too simplistic. While some traditions have a supreme being (next to
other deities), others have not. Monotheism does not reflect the multiplicity of ways that the traditional
African spirituality has conceived of deities, gods, and spirit beings. He summarizes that traditional African
religions are not only religions, but a worldview, a way of life.[15]
Followers of traditional African religions pray to various spirits as well as to their ancestors.[15] This
includes also nature, elementary and animal spirits. The difference between powerful spirits and gods is
often minimal. Most west African societies believe in several “high gods” and a large amount of lower gods
and spirits. There are also some religions with a single supreme being (Chukwu, Nyame, Olodumare, Ngai,
Roog, etc.).[16] Some recognize a dual god and goddess such as Mawu-Lisa.[17]

The traditional ways of Bantu belief systems has been modified, to various degrees and in various ways, by
the advent of Christianity (or Islam), as the God of Christians and Muslims has been equated to the Bantu
supreme deity.[18]

Creation
While in Bantu mythology the universe and the animals are eternal, so that there are no creation myths
about their origin. In many Bantu myths, the first man was born from a plant: for example, he came from a
bamboo stem in Zulu, and from a "Omumborombonga" tree in Herero mythology. Other traditions have the
first men came out of a cave or a hole in the ground.

It can be noted that, as is the case with many mythologies, Bantu mythologies about the creation of man are
often limited to describing their own origins, rather than those of all of humanity. For example, most Bantu
peoples that coexist with bushmen do not include these in their creation myths (i.e., bushmen , animals and
the rest of humanity, to be a part of the eternal universe rather than a part of the specific group or people).

Death
Most Bantu cultures share a common myth about the origin of
death, involving a chameleon. According to this myth, a chameleon
was sent to announce to men that they would never die. The
chameleon went on his mission, but he walked slowly and stopped
along the way to eat. Some time after the chameleon had left, a
lizard went to announce to men that they would die. Being much
quicker than the chameleon, the lizard arrived first, thus
establishing the mortal nature of man. As a consequence of this
myth, both chameleons and lizards are often considered bad omens
in Bantu cultures. They are both associated with death. The chameleon is a herald of eternal
life in many Bantu mythologies
Traditional African religions generally believe in an afterlife, one or
more Spirit worlds. Ancestor worship is an important basic concept
in mostly all African religions. Some African religions adopted different views through the influence of
Islam or Christianity.[19]

Spirits
In most African cultures, including Bantu cultures, veneration of the dead plays a prominent role. The
spirits of the dead are believed to linger around and influence the world of the living. This spiritual
existence is usually not considered eternal; the spirits of the dead live on as long as there is someone who
remembers them. As a consequence, kings and heroes, who are celebrated by oral tradition, live for
centuries, while the spirit of common people may vanish in the turn of a few generations.
The dead communicate with the living in different ways; for example, they talk to them in dreams, send
omens, or can be addressed by specially gifted seers. If they take any visible shape, it is often that of some
animal (most likely a snake, a bird or a mantis).

The living, through clairvoyants and seers, may address the dead in order to receive advice or ask for
favours. If a spirit takes offence in something done by a living person, he may cause illness or misfortune to
that person; in that case, a clairvoyant may help that person to amend his mistake and pacify the angry
dead. Catastrophes, such as famine or war, may be the consequence of serious misbehavior of the whole
community.

As is the case with other mythologies, Bantu cultures often locate the world of the dead underground.
Many Bantu cultures have myths and legends about living people that somehow manages to enter the
world of the dead (kuzimu in Swahili); this may happen by chance to someone who is trying to hunt a
porcupine or other animal inside its burrow. Some legends are about heroes who willingly enter the
underground world in some kind of quest; examples are Mpobe (in Baganda mythology) and Uncama
(Zulu mythology).

While Bantu cultures also believe in other spirits than those of the dead (for example, spirits of nature such
as "Mwenembago", "the lord of the forest", in Zaramo mythology), these play a much lesser role. In many
cases, they were originally the spirits of dead people.

One finds here and there traces of belief in a race of Heaven dwellers distinct from ordinary mortals. For
instance, they are sometimes said to have tails.

Monsters
Bantu mythologies often include monsters, referred to as amazimu in isiZulu and Chewa language and
madimo, madimu, zimwi in other languages. In English translations of Bantu legends these words are often
translated into "ogre" or most commonly "(Spirits)", as one of the most distinctive traits of such monsters is
that of being man-eaters. They can sometimes take on the appearance of men or animals (for example, the
Chaga living by the Kilimanjaro have tales of a monster with leopard looks) and sometimes can cast spells
on men and transform them into animals. A specific type of monsters is that of raised, mutilated dead
(bearing a surface resemblance to western culture's zombies) such as the umkovu of Zulu tradition and the
ndondocha of the Yao people.

Fables
The traditional culture of most Bantu peoples includes several fables about personified, talking animals.

The prominent character of Bantu fables is the hare, a symbol of skill and cunning. Its main antagonist is
the sneaky and deceptive hyena. Lion and elephant usually represent brute force. Even more clever than the
hare is the turtle, who beats its enemies with its patience and strong will. This symbology is, of course,
subject to local variations. In areas where the hare is unknown (for example, along the Congo River), its
role is often taken by the antelope. In Sotho culture the hare is replaced by a jackal, maybe due to the
influence of Khoisan culture, where the jackal is also a symbol of astuteness while the hare is seen as
stupid. Zulus have stories about hares, but in some cases the ferret takes on the role of the smart protagonist.

See also
Maasai mythology
 Zulu mythology

Footnotes
1. See Wernehellooooor, chapter 1.
2. See Lynch, p. xi.
3. Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante
4. Ndlovu, Tommy Matshakayile (1995). Imikhuba lamasiko AmaNdebele (https://www.worldca
t.org/oclc/34114180). Doris Ndlovu, Bekithemba S. Ncube. Gweru,GasiyaZimbabwe:
Mambo Press. ISBN 0-86922-624-X. OCLC 34114180 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34114
180).
5. Juergensmeyer, Mark (2006). The Oxford Handbook Of Global Religions. ISBN 0-19-
513798-1.
6. S. Mbiti, John (1991). Introduction to African religion. ISBN 0-435-94002-3.
7. Kimmerle, Heinz (2006-04-11). "The world of spirits and the respect for nature: towards a
new appreciation of animism" (https://doi.org/10.4102%2Ftd.v2i2.277). The Journal for
Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa. 2 (2): 15. doi:10.4102/td.v2i2.277 (https://doi.
org/10.4102%2Ftd.v2i2.277). ISSN 2415-2005 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2415-2005).
8. Vontress, Clemmont E. (2005), "Animism: Foundation of Traditional Healing in Sub-Saharan
Africa" (https://sk.sagepub.com/books/integrating-traditional-healing-practices-into-counselin
g-and-psychotherapy/n11.xml), Integrating Traditional Healing Practices into Counseling
and Psychotherapy, SAGE Publications, Inc., pp. 124–137, doi:10.4135/9781452231648 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.4135%2F9781452231648), ISBN 9780761930471, retrieved 2019-10-31
9. "The Story of Africa" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index_s
ection6.shtml), BBC World Service. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20151102074637/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index_section6.shtml)
November 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
10. Kimmerle, Heinz (2006-04-11). "The world of spirits and the respect for nature: towards a
new appreciation of animism" (https://doi.org/10.4102%2Ftd.v2i2.277). The Journal for
Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa. 2 (2): 15. doi:10.4102/td.v2i2.277 (https://doi.
org/10.4102%2Ftd.v2i2.277). ISSN 2415-2005 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2415-2005).
11. Asukwo (2013). "The Need to Re-Conceptualize African Traditional Religion" (https://www.aj
ol.info/index.php/afrrev/article/download/91437/80924).
12. Okwu AS (1979). "Life, Death, and Traditional Healing in Africa". Issue: A Journal of Opinion.
9 (3): 19–24. doi:10.2307/1166258 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1166258). JSTOR 1166258
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/1166258).
13. Stanton, Andrea L. (2012). Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An
Encyclopedia (https://books.google.com/books?id=GtCL2OYsH6wC&q=traditional+african+
religions+polytheism&pg=RA1-PA185). SAGE. ISBN 9781412981767.
14. Baldick, Julian (1997). Black God: the Afroasiatic roots of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim
religions (https://books.google.com/books?id=JBzGsr1bw6cC&printsec=frontcover&dq=chri
stianity+judaism+islam+afroasiatics&source=bl&ots=w_AOA-fbkt&sig=Vee5ya1z2umJZ1iEi
7TaqTDF1_E&hl=en&ei=-TzWS-3eCpKesgOG-fWlAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&res
num=5&ved=0CBkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false). Syracuse University Press:ISBN 0-
8156-0522-6
15. "The spirituality of Africa" (https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/10/the-spirituality-of-a
frica/). Harvard Gazette. 2015-10-06. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
16. Willie F. Page (2001) Encyclopedia of African History and Culture, Volume 1, p. 55.
Published by Facts on File, ISBN 0-8160-4472-4
17. Peter C. Rogers (2009), Ultimate Truth, Book 1, p. 100. Published by AuthorHouse, ISBN 1-
4389-7968-1.
18. Mungu is in fact the standard translation of "God" used in Swahili; for example, in Swahili
Bible. The anthem of Tanzania is Mungu ibariki Afrika, "God bless Africa".
19. Parrinder, E. G. (1959). "Islam and West African Indigenous Religion". Numen. 6 (2): 130–
141. doi:10.2307/3269310 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3269310). ISSN 0029-5973 (https://w
ww.worldcat.org/issn/0029-5973). JSTOR 3269310 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3269310).

References
Patricia Ann Lynch, African Mythology A to Z, Infobase Publishing.
Alice Werner, Myths and Legends of the Bantu (1933). Available online here [1] (http://www.s
acred-texts.com/afr/mlb/index.htm).

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bantu_mythology&oldid=1122738310"

This page was last edited on 19 November 2022, at 10:58 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; additional terms may apply. By
using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.