CHILUBE
neutralMonster
Chilube is the shortened name of Sikulokobuzuka, a creature of the folklore of the Basubiya, a Bantu people of the Zambezi valley, at the meeting point of present-day Zambia, Namibia and Botswana. The tale was collected at the beginning of the twentieth century and reported by Alice Werner in Myths and Legends of the Bantu. Chilube is a forest being with a composite body: one side of his body is made of wax, while his other leg recalls that of an animal. He feeds on wild honey, dwells in a hut made of elephant tusks and python skins, and wields an axe and spears of wax. The best-known myth stages a man named Mashambwa who, having gathered honey, meets Chilube in the forest: the creature demands the honey, proposes a fight, then returns regularly to bring food and remedies to help him heal. Chilube thus illustrates the ambivalent figure of the forest guardian, by turns threatening and helpful.
Powers & Attributes
Role in the ROHO universe
Voice of the forest. CHILUBE watches the spirits of the woods and negotiates with the hunters the respect of the places. Bound to the Bantu pantheon. Its alignment depends on the invoker's protocol.
Sacred Mask
An ancient ritual mask of fired clay, bronze and fossilised roots, engraved with symbols of forest, embodiment of the power of Chilube
Era
Ancient cycle
Frequently asked questions
Where does Chilube come from?
From the folklore of the Basubiya, a Bantu people of the Zambezi valley, between present-day Zambia, Namibia and Botswana. The tale was collected and published by Alice Werner in Myths and Legends of the Bantu.
Why is Chilube made of wax?
Tradition describes him with one side of his body in wax and an animal leg — a composite body that underlines his nature as a spirit of the woods, distinct from humans and bound to the wild honey on which he feeds.
Is Chilube malevolent?
He is ambivalent. In the tale of Mashambwa, he first demands the honey and provokes a fight, then returns bringing food and remedies, turning into a helpful guardian of the forest.
Related spirits
Sources and references
- Alice Werner, Myths and Legends of the Bantu (1933), chapitre XIII (Of Were-Wolves, Half-men, Gnomes, Goblins, and Other Monsters)
- Édouard Jacottet, Études sur les langues du Haut-Zambèze, IIe partie : Textes Soubiya (1899)