Most African religions believe there is one Supreme Being—a God who is responsible for creating everything that exists.
That’s a pretty standard belief in most major faiths. But what makes African traditions different is the fact that the big guy, the main God, isn’t necessarily involved in people’s day-to-day lives. In fact, some African cultures even believe that God delegated the creation of the universe to other, lesser deities. You’ve got to love a deity who doesn’t micromanage.
The African stories of creation are generally a lot more colorful than some of the stuff you read in the Bible, like the Genesis story where God magically turned on the light and plopped all the trees and plants and animals down on Earth. In many African creation stories, the universe actually begins with a sort of divine stomach flu.
I’ll just give you one example. The Bushongo creation myth, from Central Africa, goes something like this:
Bumba (God) was alone in the world, which was empty and dark. Nothing existed except for water.
One day, Bumba was having some bad stomach pains. After a bout of dry heaves, he puked out the sun, bringing light to the Earth.
But he still had stomach cramps, so he threw up again and brought forth the moon and all the stars.
That didn’t fix Bumba’s stomachache, though, and he puked yet again. This time, nine living creatures came out: a leopard, an eagle, a crocodile, a fish, a tortoise, lightning, a white heron, a beetle, and a goat. These creatures (okay, so lightning isn’t exactly a living thing, but let’s roll with it) made creatures of their own, eventually populating the world with everything we know today.
But Bumba wasn’t done with his stomach flu, either. When he threw up one more time, human beings came out. (Is it me, or is there a strange poetry in the idea that people are the product of regurgitation? It would certainly explain why so many of us are so very unpleasant.)
Anyway, Bumba was finally feeling better, so he decided to inspect the world he had made. He strolled through the villages where the humans lived and pointed out all the beautiful plants and animals around them, saying, “Behold these wonders. They belong to you.”
It’s kind of a sweet story, if you can get past all the puking, which reminds me of some cheesy slapstick comedy. Still, I think you have to appreciate any culture that can put such a positive spin on vomit.
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