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.
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.