History Myth / MbutiMythology

* BrotherSisterIncest: Magidi once climbed the Ti’i tree to escape from a war. Nearby lived a girl named Otu with her parents. Otu wanted water, so her father cut the Ti’i tree and Magidi flowed with it, marrying Otu. Gbara the lightning god wanted Otu for himself and claimed her as his wife. But he refused to consummate his marriage to her and instead lived as surrogate brother & sister. Arebati thought this was inappropriate, so he demanded Gbara have sex with Otu. When Gbara said no, Arebati made Otu ovulate and sent Magidi (who is her son in some versions) to impregnate her. Their son was a healthy boy. So Gbara decided to have sex with Otu and their first child was called Mupe. Eventually, Otu died and Arebati asked Gbara to return to heaven. So Gbara and his children (the stars) did.

* CreatingLifeIsAwesome: Khonvoum was lonely and bored. There was nothing to do but smoke all day. So he gathered nkula nuts and had a crocodile pull his canoe onto a great expanse of water. He rolled the nuts in his hands and blew on them, giving them an identity as he cast each onto land. When Khonvoum returned to land there was a thriving village of humans waiting for him.
* CreatingLifeIsUnforeseen: Ame-Uri the chameleon heard rustling from a Ti’i tree and chopped it with his axe (the crescent moon). Water gushed forth followed by the first man Mupa and his wife Otu. Their son was the culture hero Magidi.
* TheDiscoveryOfFire: In the early days chimpanzees were once like humans. They had villages, used fire, and grew bananas. An Mbuti would often visit them and was received warmly as a guest. One day the pygmy arrived in a strange tailed costume made of bark cloth. The adult chimpanzees were out working so the young chimps welcomed the odd stranger. The pygmy sat by the fire and ate bananas with them until the young chimpanzees warned him his tail could catch fire. The pygmy paid no mind and enjoyed himself until the tail of the suit caught fire. In a feigned panic he jumped around, shrieked, and danced like crazy to the entertainment of the little chimps. But then he dashed into the bush. The adults chimpanzees returned and learned the human had stolen fire from them without payment. They were so frustrated they gave up on village life and lived in the jungle as wild beasts.

** On the journey back Evadu met a group of heavenly maidens and fell in love with one of their number. She was Endzimane, daughter of the rains. She kept him hidden from her camp until he went hunting with her brother. Endzimane’s mother demanded to see the stranger, but he only revealed an arm. After slaying a great many elephants Endzimane’s camp applauded Evadu and he married Endzimane. They went to earth and had many children.
* DivorceIsTemporary: Aparofandza’s wife Emengoro wouldn’t serve him kisobi roots. Disappointed, he withdrew to the heavens. She followed him up there and gazed upon his works, then they reconciled returning to earth.

* IncestIsRelative: Magidi once climbed the Ti’i tree to escape from a war. Nearby lived a girl named Otu with her parents. Otu wanted water, so her father cut the Ti’i tree and Magidi flowed with it, marrying Otu. Gbara the lightning god wanted Otu for himself and claimed her as his wife. But he refused to consummate his marriage to her and instead lived as surrogate brother & sister. Arebati thought this was inappropriate, so he demanded Gbara have sex with Otu. When Gbara said no Arebati made Otu ovulate and sent Magidi (who is her son in some versions) to impregnate her. Their son was a healthy boy. So Gbara decided to have sex with Otu and their first child was called Mupe. Eventually Otu died and Arebati asked Gbara to return to heaven. So Gbara and his children (the stars) did.
* JustSoStory: Mungu the creator tasked the first humans with bringing him some game. The tall people tried their best, but caught nothing. The Mbuti effortlessly caught a bush pig, but greedily ate it in one sitting instead of presenting the catch to Mungu. So Mungu declared the Mbuti would live in the forest while the tall people would live in the villages. But Mungu still loves the Mbuti so he gave them plenty of good things to eat in the jungle while the tall people have to toil for their living.
* LoveObstructingParents: Mamelife fell in love with a girl whose family hated him. They insulted his flute playing, cut his bowstring before he hunted, and one of them transformed into a buffalo to attack him. The wounded Mamelife met a crippled stranger and washed his face for him. In gratitude the stranger gave him an invisible bowstring. The next day he played the flute better than anyone, and his arrow kills the buffalo shapeshifter instantly. The buffalo was the totem of the girl’s family so they all fell dead. Mamelife took his new bride with him, but stopped to revive the nasty people despite their cruelty.
* MixAndMatchCritters: Oas were half snake and half dog.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5e4254b7_a069_4c76_89eb_0ab668a13fbe.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Bark Cloth sample]]

* JustSoStory: Mungu the creator tasked the first humans with bringing him some game. The tall people tried their best, but caught nothing. The Mbuti effortlessly caught a bush pig, but greedily ate it in one sitting instead of presenting the catch to Mungu. So Mungu declared the Mbuti would live in the forest while the tall people would live in the villages. But Mungu still loves the Mbuti so he gave them plenty of good things to eat in the jungle while the tall people have to toil for their living.

* CreatingLifeIsUnforeseen: Ame-Uri heard rustling from a Ti’i tree and chopped it with his axe (the crescent moon). Water gushed forth followed by the first man Mupa and his wife Otu. Their son was the culture hero Magidi.

* JustSoStory: Mungu the creator tasked the first humans with bringing him some game. The tall people tried their best, but caught nothing. The Mbuti effortlessly caught a bush pig, but greedily ate it in one sitting instead of presenting the catch to Mungu. So Mungu declared the Mbuti would live in the forest while the tall people would live in the villages. But Mungu still loves the Mbuti so he gave them plenty of good things to eat in the jungle while the tall people have to toil for their living.
* Messenger: Ame-Uri or the chameleon was the messenger of the aloof moon god Arebati.

* JustSoStory: Mungu the creator tasked the first humans with bringing him some game. The tall people tried their best, but caught nothing. The Mbuti effortlessly caught a bush pig, but greedily ate it in one sitting instead of presenting the catch to Mungu. So Mungu declared the Mbuti would live in the forest while the tall people would live in the villages. But Mungu still loves the Mbuti so he gave them plenty of good things to eat in the jungle while the tall people have to toil for their living.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: Khonvoum was said to wield a bow and arrow made up of two snakes.

* TheDiscoveryOfFire: In the early days chimpanzees were once like humans. They had villages, used fire, and grew bananas. An Mbuti would often visit them and was received warmly as a guest. One day the pygmy arrived in a strange tailed costume made of bark cloth. The adult chimpanzees were out working so the young chimps welcomed the odd stranger. The pygmy sat by the fire and ate bananas with them until the young chimpanzees warned him his tail could catch fire. The pygmy paid no mind and enjoyed himself until the tail of the tail caught fire. In a feigned panic he jumped around, shrieked, and danced like crazy to the entertainment of the little chimps. But then he dashed into the bush. The adults chimpanzees returned and learned the human had stolen fire from them without payment. They were so frustrated they gave up on village life and lived in the jungle as wild beasts.

* TheDiscoveryOfFire: In the early days chimpanzees were once like humans. They had villages, used fire, and grew bananas. An Mbuti would often visit them and was received warmly as a guest. One day the pygmy arrived in a strangle tailed costume made of bark cloth. The adult chimpanzees were out working so the young chimps welcomed the odd stranger. The pygmy sat by the fire and ate bananas with them until the young chimpanzees warned him his tail could catch fire. The pygmy paid no mind and enjoyed himself until the tail of the tail caught fire. In a feigned panic he jumped around, shrieked, and danced like crazy to the entertainment of the little chimps. But then he dashed into the bush. The adults chimpanzees returned and learned the human had stolen fire from them without payment. They were so frustrated they gave up on village life and lived in the jungle as wild beasts.

!!Tropes from Mbuti mythology include: