Obambou
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The Obambou (also Obam'bou), is a supernatural being belonging to African tribes. It is depicted as evil, possessing the power to do evil and to do good if it chooses,[1] having the ability to possess and cause sickness, or to want a home built for them. In some African tribes, an Obambou is referred to as a devil,[2] or as the spirit of someone who was not buried correctly.
Possession/Sickness
editThe Commi tribe believed that when someone is severely ill, an Obambou is a likely culprit which can be determined by a doctor or "Ogounga".[3] The Obambou will reside in the bowels of humans until family, friends and neighbors surround the possessed person and make noise however they can.[4] The people will sing, dance, yell, bang things together, they do whatever makes noise to drive out the Obambou. [5][6]
The M'pongwe tribe believed that a person can be born with the spirit known as an Obambou and be born insane.[7] Most tribes that believe in the Obambou have a common belief that an Obambou can drive someone insane through possession.
Different Lore
editThere are no idols or special symbols for the "devil" or powerful spirit version of the Obambou.[1]
For the spirit who wasn't buried properly, the lore says that the Obambou goes to a person in the village and asks them to build a home by their own.[8] The whole village helps with the process of building the spirit a home. Sometimes the body is relocated to the hut with a bit of the dust from the old grave depending on the tribe. In other tribes, the huts are there for when the spirit is done wandering.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Du Chaillu, M. (1861). "Observations on the People of Western Equatorial Africa". Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London. 1: 305–315. doi:10.2307/3014202. ISSN 1368-0366.
- ^ Ruoff, Henry W. ([c1906]). The century book of facts;. Springfield, Mass.,.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Du Chaillu, Paul B. (1871.). Explorations and adventures in equatorial Africa;with accounts of the manners and customs of the people... (Rev. and enl. ed. ed.). New York,.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help); Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Stories of the Gorilla Country, by Paul Du Chaillu". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
- ^ "The Gentleman's magazine. v.222 (jan-june 1867)". HathiTrust. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
- ^ Chaillu, Paul B. Du (1861). Equatorial Africa.
- ^ "Travels in West Africa". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
- ^ "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Curiosities of Superstition, by W. H. Davenport Adams". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2020-10-29.