Kuitikuiti
Kuitikuiti, 'the waver', heads the serpent pantheon of the Woyo people of the Ngoyo coast, within the wider Kongo cultural sphere. In the creation story recorded by Jan Knappert, four spirits in the shape of great snakes lived in the whirlpool between the tide and the mouth of the Congo: Kuitikuiti, his wife Mboze the fertile, and their children Makanga and Mbatilanda. Kuitikuiti left the waters to create all the animals without tails, and Mbatilanda followed him making the animals with tails. Returning home, Kuitikuiti found Mboze pregnant by her own son Makanga and killed her in his fury, whereupon the dying Mboze gave birth to the serpent daughter Bunzi, who inherited the giving of rain. Luc de Heusch analyses this myth of primordial incest and its issue as the charter of fertility and sacred kingship among the coastal Kongo kingdoms.
Domains
- sea
- creation
- serpents
Powers
- to rise from the waters and create the animals of the world
- to rule the whirlpool at the mouth of the Congo river
Relations
- spouse: MbozeKuitikuiti and Mboze are the primordial serpent pair dwelling in the whirlpool at the mouth of the Congo.Jan Knappert, Myths and Legends of the Congo (Heinemann, 1971) (secondary)
- slayer of: MbozeOn learning that Mboze was pregnant by their son Makanga, Kuitikuiti beat her to death with a club; as she died she gave birth to the rain goddess Bunzi.Jan Knappert, Myths and Legends of the Congo (Heinemann, 1971) (secondary); Luc de Heusch, Le roi de Kongo et les monstres sacrés: Mythes et rites bantous III (Gallimard, 2000) (secondary)
Sources
- Kuitikuiti is the primordial serpent god of the Woyo of coastal Kongo, who dwelt in the whirlpool at the mouth of the Congo, created the animals, and slew his wife Mboze for her incest with their son.: Jan Knappert, Myths and Legends of the Congo (Heinemann, 1971) (secondary); Luc de Heusch, Le roi de Kongo et les monstres sacrés: Mythes et rites bantous III (Gallimard, 2000) (secondary)