Bunzi (also Mpulu Bunzi and Phulu Bunzi) is a serpent
water spirit and goddess of rain in
traditional Kongo religion that was first venerated by the Woyo people of the
Kingdom of Ngoyo.
Appearance
Bunzi is sometimes depicted as a multicolored serpent that rewards those who worship her with an abundant harvest.
She also said to appear in the rippling water of the river at sunset.
Beliefs
According to
Kongo oral tradition, Bunzi is the daughter of Mboze, the Great Mother and wife of Kuitikuiti. Bunzi is sometimes depicted as a multicolored serpent, and rewards those who worship her with an abundant harvest.
When Mboze gave birth, Bunzi was born in the form of a baby serpent. Upon seeing the child, Mboze's husband Kuitikuiti knew that she had been unfaithful to him. When he learned the biological father of Bunzi was their son Makanga, he killed Mboze for her transgression. Bunzi took on her mother's rain-bringing power.
According to legend, when a
rainbow
A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
appears in the sky, that is Bunzi.
The
Yombe people of the
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
refer to Bunzi as ''Phulu Bunzi'' and consider the spirit to be a male lord of the water. He is said to have devised a pact between ''Nzazi (''the god of thunder) and ''Mbumba'' (the rainbow water serpent) to create harmony between the earth and the skies. One day while he was visiting Mbumba, his son died. Consequently, Phulu Bunzi blamed Mbumba and cut his head off.
Legacy
The Bunzi Mons, a
mountain on Venus, is named after her.
See also
*
Simbi
A Simbi (also Cymbee, Sim'bi, pl. Bisimbi) is a Central African water and nature spirit in traditional Kongo religion, as well as in African diaspora spiritual traditions, such as Hoodoo in the southern United States and Palo in Cuba. Simbi ha ...
*
Jengu
A jengu (pl. miengu, also called bisima) is a water spirit in the traditional beliefs of the Sawabantu groups of Cameroon, like the Duala, Bakweri, Malimba, Subu, Bakoko, Oroko people. Among the Bakweri, the term used is liengu (plural: ...
*
Kianda
*
Mami Wata
References
{{Bantu
African goddesses
Bantu deities
Fortune goddesses
Agricultural goddesses
Kongo religion
Legendary serpents
Mermaids
Rain deities
Sea and river goddesses
Water deities
Water goddesses