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Bantu Culture The Bantu people make up about 2/3 of Africa’s population. They live primarily in the regions that straddle the equator and they inhabit the southern half of the continent. Swahili is their most widely spoken language and is considered the dialect of around 50 million people living in the countries along the East Coast of Africa. Yet, most of their languages were unwritten. This changed when Europeans arrived. The first Europeans were interested in translating the Bible and would write down the local language using whatever spelling conventions their own language used. The Bantu were very agricultural people. This is true because their predecessors were essentially hunters and gatherers. They introduced crops, such as millet and sorghum, and also iron smelting and iron tools. They cleared large plots of land for cultivation. They introduced these things to each area they migrated to.
It is believe that the Bantu origins lie in Cameroon. In about 1000 BC, a massive migration began throughout Africa. This migration continued until about the 3rd or the 4th century AD. There is continued speculation about why they moved in the first place. One reason may be overpopulation that encouraged groups to move away in order to practice agriculture. Another reason could be that they were in search of fertile land. Or, the move may have been due to internal conflicts within their communities or external attacks by their neighbors. There can be no solid reason why this migration occurred, but it is considered one of the largest in human history.
An important occurrence in the history of the Bantu is a split that created two major language families. They are known as the Eastern Bantu and the Western Bantu. The Eastern Bantu migrated to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and down into South Africa. The Western Bantu migrated into Angola, Namibia, and parts of Botswana. Currently the Bantu are known more as a language group than a distinct ethnic group. Yet, the ethnic groups that make up the Eastern Bantu include the Xhosa, Zulu, Kikuyu, and Shona peoples. The Western Bantu include the Herero and Tonga peoples.
Boshongo In the beginning, in the dark, there was nothing but water. And Bumba was alone. One day Bumba was in terrible pain. He retched and strained and vomited up the sun. After that light spread over everything. The head of the sun dried up the water until the black edges of the world began to show. Black sandbanks and reefs could be seen. But there were no living things. Bumba vomited up the moon and then the stars, and after that the night had its light also.
Still Bumba was in pain. He strained again and nine living creatures came forth; the leopard named Koy Bumba, and Pongo Bumba the crested eagle, the crocodile, Ganda Bumba, and one little fish named Yo; next, old Kono Bumba, the tortoise, and Tsetse, the lightning, swift, deadly, beautiful like the leopard, then the white heron, Nyanyi Bumba, also one beetle, and the goat named Budi. Last of all came forth men. There were many men, but only one was white like Bumba. His name was Loko Yima. The creatures themselves then created all the creatures. The heron created all the birds of the air except the kite. He did not make the kite. The crocodile made serpents and the iguana. The goat produced every beast with horns. Yo, the small fish, brought forth all the fish of all the seas and waters.The beetle created insects.
Then the serpents in their turn made grasshoppers, and the iguana made the creatures without horns. Then the three sons of Bumba said they would finish the world. The first, Nyonye Ngana, made the white ants; but he was not equal to the task, and died of it. The ants, however, thankful for life and being, went searching for black earth in the depths of the world and covered the barren sands to bury and honor their creator. Chonganda, the second son, brought forth a marvelous living plant from which all the trees and grasses and flowers and plants in the world have sprung. The third son, Chedi Bumba, wanted something different, but for all his trying made only the bird called the kite. Of all the creatures, Tsetse, lightning, was the only trouble-maker. She stirred up so much trouble that Bumba chased her into the sky. Then mankind was without fire until Bumba showed the people how to draw fire out of trees. 'There is fire in every tree,' he told them, and showed them how to make the fire drill and liberate it. Sometimes today Tsetse still leaps down and strikes the earth and causes damage.
When at last the work of creation was finished, Bumba walked through the peaceful villages and said to the people, 'Behold these wonders. They belong to you.' Thus from Bumba, the Creator, the First Ancestor, came forth all the wonders that we see and hold and use, and all the brotherhood of beasts and man.
