The spirit of Mbu was considered the patron of funeral rites.
One day he was hunting with his brother, a fishing hawk. They killed a large turtle, and Mbu sent his brother with the prey to the parking lot. When Mbu got to the parking lot himself, he did not find the turtle and became furious. A fight broke out and the hawk mortally wounded his brother. Dying, Mbu forgave his brother and, in a farewell song, commanded to divide the hunting territories (so as not to argue over the prey) and to organize funeral dances in honor of the spirit of the dying man. Saying goodbye to the world of the living, Mbu promised in his song that he would return in the form of a spirit to the surrounding bush to watch the funeral rites being performed in his honor.
After Mbu's death, the hunters began burial rites, which included primitive attempts at mummification: they removed his entrails and began to dry the corpse over a fire. Then they danced over the body: by knocking their batons, the dancers asked the spirit to go straight to the next world and not return to the world of the living. Since then, while dancing in their songs, Australians ask the spirits of the dead watching over them to return to the afterlife and not disturb the living with their presence.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru