Que sait-on de Pamba?

Peu de choses. Les sources en font un dieu créateur et soutien de la vie chez les Ovambo, au nom traduit par "chef", mais les détails sur son culte et sa mythologie restent rares.

Pamba est-il le seul dieu suprême des Ovambo?

Pas selon toutes les sources. Plusieurs descriptions du panthéon ovambo mettent en avant l'être suprême Kalunga, ce qui invite à la prudence sur la place exacte de Pamba.

D'où vient l'information sur Pamba?

Essentiellement de dictionnaires de mythologie comparée. Faute de sources ethnographiques abondantes, cette figure doit être considérée comme peu attestée.

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PAMBA

ally

God

☥ SpiritOvambo →Ovambo — OvamboElder

Gender: MasculineSign: création

Pamba is presented as a creator deity of the Ovambo, a Bantu people of northern Namibia and southern Angola. According to the available sources, his name is said to mean "chief" and he is said to be the creator and the sustainer of life on earth. The entity nevertheless remains little attested: it appears above all in dictionaries of comparative mythology, while other descriptions of the Ovambo pantheon rather put forward the supreme being Kalunga. The data on his cult and his narratives are therefore thin.

Powers & Attributes

creationlife

Role in the ROHO universe

Mother of the soil. PAMBA holds the fertility of the earth and blesses wombs and seeds. Bound to the Ovambo pantheon.

Sacred Mask

An ancient ritual mask of sacred wood, old metal and black stone, engraved with symbols of creation and life, embodiment of the power of Pamba

Era

Ancient cycle

Frequently asked questions

What is known of Pamba?

Little. The sources make of him a creator god and sustainer of life among the Ovambo, with a name translated as "chief", but the details on his cult and his mythology remain rare.

Is Pamba the only supreme god of the Ovambo?

Not according to all the sources. Several descriptions of the Ovambo pantheon put forward the supreme being Kalunga, which invites caution as to Pamba's exact place.

Where does the information on Pamba come from?

Essentially from dictionaries of comparative mythology. For want of abundant ethnographic sources, this figure must be considered little attested.

Sources and references

Arthur Cotterell, A Dictionary of World Mythology (entrée Pamba)