Obscure Deities: Bumba, the African God of Vomit

This is the first article of a series entitled Obscure Deities, in which I will be introducing my readers to several bizarre deities from all over the world. I hope you enjoy it!

Bumba, also known as Mbombo or Mbongo, is the creator god of the Bushongo people of Congo (Central Africa). There are many different theories on how the universe and the Earth were formed. The Bushongo people put a very unique spin on their creation story by including the concept of evolution, but I think the most interesting part of their theory is that they believed that the universe and the planet Earth were vomited into existence by a very sick and lonely deity.

In the beginning everything was dark. Bumba was a pale and sickly looking god who was all alone, and surrounded in darkness. He was growing ill from millions of years of unbearable solitude. His stomach grew larger and began to rumble, and with a great moan he vomited out the sun. Then the whole universe lit up as he vomited out the moon and the stars. Then with one tremendous heave, he vomited out the planet Earth. With one final spew, he emitted nine animals and an assortment of humans. Then Bumba, felling much better now, sat back and watched his three sons Nyonye-ngana, Chonganda and Chedi-bumba added a few finishing touches. Then the nine animals and the humans evolved into the world we know today. Thus the world was made, spewed forth by Bumba. Bumba spoke a few kind words to his wonderful creations before he ascended into heaven to watch over them for all eternity.

How do you think the universe and Earth were formed? Some believe in the Big Bang Theory (the universe was created by a huge explosion). Some believe in creation (“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth [Genesis 1:1]). Some believe in evolution (we used to be apes). Or you can believe a combination of several different theories like the Bushongo people. What’s your theory?