Bambuti 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 snakes that together appear to humans as a rainbow. After sunset every day, Khonvoum gathers fragments of the stars 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 forests who supplies animals to hunters. He is also a thunder god who appears as a storm and hides in rainbows. 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.
Mbuti
The Mbuti people, or Bambuti as they are collectively called, are one of several indigenous hunter-gatherer groups in the Congo region of Africa.
The Bambuti are Pygmy hunter-gatherers, and are one of the oldest indigenous people of the Great Lakes region of Africa .The Bambuti are composed of bands which are relatively small in size, ranging from 15 to 60 people. The Bambuti population totals about 30,000 to 40,000 people. There are three distinct cultures, each with its own dialect, within the Bambuti. These are the Efé, which speak Balese, the Sua, who speak Bira, and the Aka who speak Mangbetu.
The Ancient Egyptians, around 2,500 B.C. made reference to a "people of the trees" that could be the Mbuti.
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