In Bushongo mythology, Bumba is the creator god who vomited the sun, moon, and stars.
The creation story begins with Bumba alone in darkness, surrounded by primordial water. After suffering severe stomach pain, he vomited the sun, moon, and stars. The sun’s heat dried the waters, revealing land and making the world habitable.
Bumba then brought forth animals, including a leopard, eagle, crocodile, fish, tortoise, heron, scarab, and goat. These creatures helped populate the world, while Bumba’s sons completed parts of creation: Chonganda produced the first plant, and Chedi Bumba created the kite.
Bumba is also called Mbombo or M’Bombo, names that can cause confusion in quiz answers. Mulungu, Nyambe, and Mwari are creator or supreme deities in other African religious traditions, but they are not the Bushongo figure in this creation myth.