Buluku (Earth-616)

Buluku
Name	Buluku
Aliases	Vodū Sky Father, Nana Buluku (merged with Gaea), Nyame (by the Ashanti), Mukasa (to the Baganda), Mulungu, Alouroua (to the Baoulé), Olorun (by the Yoruban and practitioners of Santeria) Ndriananahary (by the Malagasy-speaking people of Madagascar), Olōdūmarē, Olodumare (by practitioners of Cuban Santeria, Possibly Engai (Maasai/Mbangawi), Nyami, Nyambe (see notes)
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Vodū, the Gods of Africa; Council of Godheads (as Buluku and Ndriananahary); possibly Gods of Wakanda (as Nyami)
Relatives	Mahu, Lusa, Anansi (children with Nana); Ghekre/Gorilla God (son); Kibuka (son); Avlekete, Ezili, Ogun, Shango, Dam-Ayido Wede/Damballah, Sagbata, Eschu, Legba, Age, Oya (grandchildren)
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Hair	Black
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Vodū
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Personal Information
Identity	No Dual
Citizenship	Orun
Occupation	God of sky (as Buluku and possibly as Engai) All-Father; Creator god (as Mulungu) Sky Father of the Vodū; Death god, Lord of the underworld Iku (as Ndriananahary)
Base of Operations	Orun, the Great Beyond
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, Keith Pollard
First	Thor #300 (October, 1980)
First	Thor #300 (October, 1980)

Buluku is the progenitor of the Vodū, an extra-dimensional race worshiped as gods by the tribes of Africa.

History

Origins

Buluku is the supreme All-Father of the Vodū. Eons ago, he merged with the primordial Earth Mother Gaea (later known among the Vodū alternatively as "Nana," "Ale," and "Asase Ya"), and sired twin offspring: the sun god Lusa and the moon goddess Mahu. As a result of this merging, the "supreme creator" was sometimes worshipped by mortals as the androgynous "Nana Buluku." Lusa and Mahu joined forces to create the mortal world, mortal life, and mortal technology in four days' time. Buluku remained in Orun, content to leave this newborn mortal world's care to his children. Lusa and Mahu, in turn, sired several divine pairs of twins, including Avlekete and Ezili, Ogun and Shango, Dam-Ayido Wede and Sagbata, and Eschu and Legba.

He participated in the Council of Godheads as Buluku, and as Ndriananahary (his name by the Malagasy-speaking people of Madagascar), of the Razanes. As Ndriananahary, he was also lord of the underworld Iku.

Buluku is also the arbitrator between the Orishas (gods of sky and heaven) and the Loa (gods of earth and the underworld).

For the Baganda people of the African Great Lakes region, Buluku, as Mukasa, sired their War god Kibuka.

For the Baoulé of West Africa, he was Alouroua and fathered Ghekre, the Gorilla God of Wakanda's Jabari tribe.

Possible appearances in Mbangawi

The Maasai sky god Engai, occasionally manifesting in Mbangawi, may be another name for the creator god Mulungu, one of the alias of Buluku.

16th century

In the 16th century, Dam-Ayido Wede benefited of the Atlantic slave trade usurping his grandfather's role as the Sky Father and creator of the world, as Damballah. Buluku himself became known as Olōdūmarē or Olodumare to the practitioners of Cuban Santeria.

Buluku on his throne in Orun, the Great Beyond

After the Asgardians were slain in a battle against the Celestials, the thunder god Thor traveled to Orun to request a portion of Buluku’s life force in order to revive his slain brethren.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Buluku possesses greater powers than any of the other African gods, his omnipotence being represented in unique aspect in each of the Vodū twins. The use of his powers have yet to be revealed.

Notes

• This deity possibly exist as separate entities for his different names and/or aspects.
  • For example it is known that Buluku and Ndriananahary are the same entity, but Buluku and Ndriananahary are listed as separate members of the Council of Godheads.
  • Despite Buluku is known to be the grandfather to Damballah and Sagbata, respectively god of the dead and god of death, their relation to Ndriananahary, lord of the underworld, is "undefined".
• Some gods could be in fact just alternate spellings of his name, like Nyame could also be:
  • Nyambe, the Orisha Great Spirit.
  • Nyami of the Orishas of Wakanda.
  • "Nzambi", the Kikongo word for a creator deity.
  • In our reality, Ngi is the son of the supreme creator god Zamba, Ngi and his brothers N'Kokon (mantis) the wise, Otukut (lizard) the fool, and Wo (chimpanzee) the curious, it is not clear whether or not Zamba may be another name for Buluku on Earth-616, where Ngi is one of the gorilla deities worshiped by the Jabari tribe.

Trivia

There isn't a Buluku in African mythology, but there is a Nana Buluku (female) who is the Supreme Being in the West African traditional religion of the Fon people and the Ewe people. Nana Buluku is is equivalent to Gaea. Nana Buluku is equivalent to Gaea, on Earth-616, Gaea (as Nana) and Buluku are the parents of the orishas and loa.

See Also

• 4 appearance(s) of Buluku (Earth-616)
• 2 minor appearance(s) of Buluku (Earth-616)
• 3 image(s) of Buluku (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Buluku (Earth-616) at the Appendix to the Marvel Universe

Footnotes

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