Kongo religion (
Kikongo: Bukongo or Bakongo) encompasses the traditional beliefs of the
Bakongo people. Due to the highly centralized position of the
Kingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo ( or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' ) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. At its gre ...
, its leaders were able to influence much of the traditional religious practices across the
Congo Basin
The Congo Basin () is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It contains some of the larg ...
.
As a result, many other ethnic groups and kingdoms in
West-Central Africa, like the
Chokwe and
Mbundu, adopted elements of Bakongo spirituality.
The spirituality is based on a complex
animistic
Animism (from meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, Rock (geology), rocks, rivers, Weather, ...
system and a
pantheon of spirits. The principle Creator God of the world is
Nzambi Mpungu, the sovereign master, and his female counterpart,
Nzambici.
While Nzambi Mpungu, who gave birth to the universe and the spirits who inhabit it, is vital to the spirituality,
ancestor veneration
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...
is the core principle.
The Bakongo cosmos is split between two worlds: the top half representing the physical world, or ''ku nseke'' and the bottom half representing the spiritual world, or ''ku mpèmba''.
Expert healers, known as
Banganga, undergo extensive training to commune with the ancestors in the spiritual realms and seek guidance from them.
General beliefs
The religion of the Kongo is deeply complex. According to historians
John K. Thornton and
Linda M. Heywood, "Central Africans have probably never agreed among themselves as to what their cosmology is in detail, a product of what I called the process of continuous revelation and precarious priesthood..."
The Kongo people had diverse views, with traditional religious thought best developed in the northern Kikongo-speaking area.
There is plenty of description about Kongo religious ideas in the Christian missionary and colonial era records, but as Thornton states, "these are written with a hostile bias and their reliability is problematic".
Generally, these traditions are
oral
The word oral may refer to:
Relating to the mouth
* Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid
**Oral administration of medicines
** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...
rather than
scriptural
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
and passed down from one generation to another through folk tales, songs, and festivals,
include belief in an amount of higher and lower gods, sometimes including a supreme creator or force, belief in spirits,
veneration of the dead
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a afterlife, continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fo ...
, use of
magic and
traditional African medicine
Traditional African medicine is a range of traditional medicine disciplines involving indigenous herbalism and African spirituality, typically including diviners, midwives, and herbalists. Practitioners of traditional African medicine claim, ...
. Kongo mythology, next to other nearby traditional religions can be described as
animistic
Animism (from meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, Rock (geology), rocks, rivers, Weather, ...
with various
polytheistic
Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one Deity, god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese folk religions, is really so, ...
and
pantheistic
Pantheism can refer to a number of Philosophy, philosophical and Religion, religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arise ...
aspects.
This includes the worship of
tutelary deities
A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...
,
nature worship
Nature worship, also called naturism or physiolatry, is any of a variety of religious, spiritual and devotional practices that focus on the worship of a nature deity, considered to be behind the natural phenomena visible throughout nature. A n ...
,
ancestor worship
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...
and the belief in an
afterlife
The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...
. While some religions adopted a
pantheistic
Pantheism can refer to a number of Philosophy, philosophical and Religion, religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arise ...
worldview, most follow a
polytheistic
Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one Deity, god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese folk religions, is really so, ...
system with various gods, spirits and other
supernatural being
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
s.
Creation and cosmology

According to researcher
Molefi Kete Asante
Molefi Kete Asante ( ; born Arthur Lee Smith Jr.; August 14, 1942) is an American philosopher who is a leading figure in the fields of African-American studies, African studies, and communication studies. He is currently a professor in the Dep ...
, "Another important characteristic of Bakongo cosmology is the Sun and its movements. The rising, peaking, setting, and absence of the Sun provide the essential pattern for Bakongo religious culture. These "four moments of the sun" equate with the four stages of life: conception, birth, maturity, and death. For the Bakongo, everything transitions through these stages: planets, plants, animals, people, societies, and even ideas. This vital cycle is depicted by a circle with a cross inside. In this ''
Yowa'' or ''dikenga cosmogram'', the meeting point of the two lines of the cross is the most powerful point and where the person stands."
Creation of the universe
The Bakongo believe that in the beginning, there was only a circular void, called ''mbûngi'', with no life. The Great Spirit,
Nzambi Mpungu, summoned a spark of fire, or ''Kalûnga'', that grew until it filled the mbûngi.
When it grew too large, Kalûnga became a great force of energy and unleashed heated elements across space, forming the universe with the Sun, stars, planets, etc.
Because of this, kalûnga is seen as the origin of life and a force of motion. The Bakongo believe that life requires constant change and perpetual motion. Nzambi Mpungu is also referred to as Kalûnga, the God of change.
Similarities between the Bakongo belief of Kalûnga and the
Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including the ...
have been studied.
Creation of Earth

Like the creation of the universe, the Bakongo believe that in the beginning, the world was circular void (or ''mbûngi'') with no life. Then a great force of fire (or ''kalûnga''), emerged and filled this empty circle. Kalûnga heated up the contents of mbûngi, and when it cooled, it formed the Earth.
The Earth, the starting point of the fire, then became a green planet after it went through four stages. The first stage is the emergence of the fire. The second stage is the red stage where the planet is still burning and has not formed.
The third stage is the grey stage where the planet is cooling, but has not produced life. These planets are naked, dry, and covered with dust. The final stage is green stage is when the planet is fully mature because it breathes and carries life.
As the Bakongo believe is part of the universal order, all planets must go through this process.
Human creation
The creation of a
Bakongo person, or ''muntu'', is also believed to follow the four moments of the Sun, which play a significant role in their development.
''Musoni'' is the time when a muntu is conceived both in the spiritual realm and in the womb of a Bakongo woman. ''Kala'' is the time when a muntu is born into the physical world. This time is also seen as the rising of the Sun. ''Tukula'' is the time of maturity, where a muntu learns to master all aspects of life from spirituality to purpose to personality. The last period of time is ''luvemba'', when a muntu physically dies and enters the spiritual world, or ''Ku Mpémba'', with of the ancestors, or ''bakulu''.
Because Bakongo people have a "
dual soul-mind," or ''mwèla-ngindu'', they are able to exist and live in both realms during the different moments of their lives. Even while in Ku Mpémba, a muntu still lives a full life as they prepare for Kala time once again.
The right side of the body is also believed to be male, while the left side is believed to be female, creating an additional layer to the dual identity of a muntu.
Kongo cosmogram

The nature of Kalûnga is also spiritual. As Kalûnga filled mbûngi, Kalûnga transformed into a body of water that acted as a line, dividing the circle in half. The top half represents the physical world, or ''Ku Nseke'', while the bottom half represents the spiritual world of the ancestors, known as ''Ku Mpèmba''. The mbûngi circle, one longer a void, became the universe with the Sun at the center.
The ''
Kalûnga Line'' separates these two worlds, and all living things exists on one side or another.
Simbi
A Simbi (also Cymbee, Sim'bi, pl. Bisimbi) is a Central African water and nature spirit in traditional Kongo religion, as well as in African diaspora spiritual traditions, such as Hoodoo in the southern United States and Palo in Cuba. Simbi ha ...
spirits are believed to transport Kongo people between the two worlds at birth and death. Then the process repeats when a person is reborn. Together, Kalûnga and the mbûngi circle form the
Kongo cosmogram, also called the ''Yowa'' or ''Dikenga'' Cross.
Represented on the Kongo cosmogram are the four stages of life: ''musoni,'' or conception; ''kala'', or birth; ''tukala'', or maturity; and ''luvemba'', or death. They are believed to correlate to the four moments of the Sun: midnight, or ''n'dingu-a-nsi;'' sunrise, or ''ndiminia''; noon, or ''mbata;'' and sunset, or ''ndmina'', as well as the four seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter) and the
four classical elements (
water
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
,
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
,
air
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
and
earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
).
Nzambi Mpungu and Nzambici
Prior to European colonization,
Nzambi Mpungu and his female counterpart,
Nzambici, were perceived as the one ''Great Spirit'' who existed everywhere simultaneously and gave life to all things.
Nzambi Mpungu was the "sovereign master," the God of the sun (fire) and change.
It was believed that Nzambi Mpungu/Nzambici created the universe, the spiritual world (''Ku'' ''Mpémba'') and the physical world (''Ku Nseke''). Contrary to what the title "the Great Spirit" implies, Nzambi Mpungu/Nzambici and the spiritual nature of the Kongo people did not exist under the same confines of hierarchy as the omnipotent God of the monotheistic
Abrahamic religions
The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...
(Christianity, Judaism and
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
). All spirits within Kongo spirituality were believed to be of equal status and each had their own purpose across both worlds.
After the introduction of Catholicism by the Portuguese, there was a massive effort to convert Central Africans by creating connections between Christianity and their traditional religions. While it was largely a failure for ethnic groups such as the
Mbundu, the Portuguese were able to deceive the Bakongo people by convincing them that Nzambi Mpungu was the
Christian God and separating the deity from Nzambici and the other spirits.
Not only did this act make way for an easier conversion of the Bakongo people to Christianity, it created a hierarchy in Bakongo spirituality that reduced spirits like Nzambici, the
simbi
A Simbi (also Cymbee, Sim'bi, pl. Bisimbi) is a Central African water and nature spirit in traditional Kongo religion, as well as in African diaspora spiritual traditions, such as Hoodoo in the southern United States and Palo in Cuba. Simbi ha ...
and
nkisi
or (plural varies: , , , or ) are spirits or an object that a spirit inhabits. It is frequently applied to a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa, especially in the Territory of Cabinda that are believed to co ...
to "lesser spirits" that no longer had relevant voices in spiritual matters. They became akin to
angels
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
and thus, subservient to Nzambi Mpungu, or God.
This may have also played a role in the
Kingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo ( or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' ) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. At its gre ...
becoming a more male-dominated society,
marginalizing the belief in the dual male/female identity of all Bakongo people
and creating a gender hierarchy based on Portuguese culture, where men were traditionally at the center of spiritual matters.
Other spirits
By the early 17th century, oral tradition stated that Nzambi Mpungu was surrounded by lesser nature spirits, who were so powerful that they were given individual names. There is consensus among historians that this reduction of nature spirits to lesser spirits was due to Portuguese the influence of monotheism and their shunning of "idols."
During this period, Nzambi Mpungu began to exist as a separate spirit from his female counterpart,
Nzambici,
and was seen the
Creator God
A creator deity or creator god is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatristic traditions separate a ...
, while Nzambici was seen as his wife, the "God the essence, the god on earth, the great princess, the mother of all the animals, the one who promises her daughter to the animal who shall bring her the fire from heaven."
She is also referred to as ''Nzambi'', the mystery of the earth, "the mother of a beautiful daughter, gives mankind all laws, ordinances, arts, games, and musical instruments. Nzambi settles quarrels between animals, and in the stories giving her decision is embedded an immense amount of Fjort law."
Nevertheless, the Kongo spirits are believed to have been created largely as a means for the Bakongo people to understand the natural world around them. Most of them have a connection to the earth, water, the sky, fire and the stars. "The land is eternal. The earth withers in the dry seasons but flourishes with the coming of the rains. The sky bears the winds that brings the rains and shuffles the clouds to hide and then reveal the sun's rays... the Nzadi River flows forever... to eventually join the vast sea."
At the center of Kongo religion are the ancestors, or ''bakulu'', who are believed to maintain a spiritual existence in the physical world (''Ku Nseke'') after death, through the "dual soul-mind" (''mwèla-ngindu'').
Because of this, the ancestors are seen as spirits, who watch over the Bakongo people and direct power from the spiritual world (''Ku Mpémba'') to protect them. These ancestral spirits are also believed to inhabit bodies of water, known as ''kalunga'' (also called ''n'langu'' or ''m'bu)'', and the forest, known as ''mfinda.''
High spirits
''Nzazi'' is the nature spirit of thunder, and ''Lusiemo'' is the nature spirit of lightning.
Spiritual experts who dedicated themselves to Nzazi gained the title a ''Nganga Nzazi'' (''Nganga'' means ''expert'' in Kikongo) and invoked his power to cause thunder, lightning and rain during the dry season through consecrated objects, called ''nkisi''. It was believed that a ''Nganga Nzazi'' could also use the power of thunder and lightning as a spiritual weapon. This power activated when a Nganga Nzazi simulated the sound of thunder by knocking two consecrated sculptures, called ''biteke'', together.
''Ngonde'' is spirit of Moon and menstruations, and his brother ''Ntangu'' is spirit of time and Sun. It is said that the brother originally lived by the sea, and one day, Ntangu challenged Ngonde to a foot race, believing he could beat his brother. However, Ngonde was successful and defeated Ntangu. This is believed to be the reason why the Moon can be seen during the day with the Sun, but the Sun cannot be seen at night.
''Chicamassi-chinuinji'' is the ruler of seas and oceans.
Mpulu Bunzi is the goddess of the rain and harvest. In some Kongo villages, Bunzi is a male spirit called ''Phulu Bunzi'', who is believed to be the chief blacksmith and lord spirit of the waters.
''Mbumba'' is the rainbow and a water serpent who reached the sky by climbing trees.
Simbi
A
simbi
A Simbi (also Cymbee, Sim'bi, pl. Bisimbi) is a Central African water and nature spirit in traditional Kongo religion, as well as in African diaspora spiritual traditions, such as Hoodoo in the southern United States and Palo in Cuba. Simbi ha ...
(pl. bisimbi) is a water spirit that is believed to inhabit bodies of water and rocks, having the ability to guide the ancestors, along the Kalûnga river to the spiritual world after they pass away.
They are seen as the guardians of nature and the intermediaries between the physical world of the living and the spiritual world of the ancestors. Bisimbi are also believed to be spiritual guides, using storytelling and oral tradition to connect the living to the ancestors and their history. Spiritual leaders called ''
banganga'' (sing. ''nganga'') underwent an extensive initiation process to learn the position of the sun as it rotated around the earth to seek guidance from the ancestors and the bisimbi.
These water spirits were said to be present during the
baptism
Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
s of
African American Christians, according to
Hoodoo tradition.
Nkisi, nkita and kilundu

Supernatural objects that were reduced to the derogatory term,
fetishes, by the Portuguese were said to be inhabited by nature spirits or deified people who embodied the extraordinary power of the spiritual world. These objects or spirits held different names by region. In the
Kingdom of Loango
The Kingdom of Loango (also ''Luangu'', ''Luaangu'', ''Lwaangu'', ''Lwangu'', ''Luango'', ''Lwango'', ''Luaango'' or ''Lwaango'' Iko Kabwita Kabolo, ''Le royaume Kongo et la mission catholique 1750-1838'', KARTHALA Editions, 2004, p. 303-313) w ...
and the lower
Nzadi River to the north, they were called a ''
nkisi
or (plural varies: , , , or ) are spirits or an object that a spirit inhabits. It is frequently applied to a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa, especially in the Territory of Cabinda that are believed to co ...
'' (pl. ''bakisi'', ''mikisi'' or ''minkisi'') . They are nature spirits, animated objects . They inhabit specific areas where their families and villages are located and usually have a special connection to the people living in those regions who venerate them.
In the eastern region in the
Kingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo ( or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' ) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. At its gre ...
, nature spirits were called ''nkita'' (also ''nquita'') after a subset of the Bakongo people who referred to themselves as ''aquaquita'', with their spiritual leaders holding the title ''Nganganchita''. This Kimpasi group was the target of many raids by Roman Catholic priests, who received support from the King of Kongo to storm into their houses of worship, or ''nzo a quimpazi'', and destroy any traces of idolatry along with the buildings. Belief in nkita persisted, with the spirits even providing power from the spiritual world for the Bakongo people to create sacred medicines called ''minkisi''.
In the
Kingdom of Ndongo
The Kingdom of Ndongo (formerly known as Angola or Dongo, also Kimbundu: ) was an early-modern African state located in the highlands between the Lukala and Kwanza Rivers, in what is now Angola.
The Kingdom of Ndongo is first recorded in t ...
in Angola, nature spirits were called ''kilundu''. They existed in the same context as nkisi and nkita. However, like bisimbi, kilundu were largely believed to be spirits that were once living people, who transformed into spirits after they entered the spiritual world. This created evidence of a unifying concept of the two worlds and the four moments of life across ethnic groups in both
Kongo and
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
. It also verified that even nature spirits were to go through the lifecycle.
17th Century oral tradition recounts the story of two kilundu named Navieza and Cassumba who left their homeland in the Upper Ganguela region to flee disease. While on their journey, they took shelter in "an isolated hut" in the Kisama. There they died, entered the spiritual world and were transformed into nature spirits whose purpose became to protect those who venerated them from diseases.
This person to nature spirit transformation concept was also recorded in the Kingdom of Kongo in the 20th Century. A man named Mbola is said to have died and transformed into a simbi water spirit that inhabited a stream and taught the living how to use his spiritual power for healing and to create sacred medicines, which became known as ''mbola''.
Unlike the others, ''
nkondi
Nkondi (plural varies ''minkondi'', ''zinkondi'', or ''ninkondi'') are mystical statuettes made by the Kongo people of the Congo Basin, Congo region. Nkondi are a subclass of Nkisi, minkisi that are considered aggressive.
Etymology
The name '' ...
'' were specifically used as a means to inflict pain on those who came against the kingdom.
Mfinda

As previously mentioned, nature is essential to Kongo spirituality. While nature spirits later became more associated with water, or ''kalûnga'', they were also known to dwell in the forest, or ''
mfinda'' (''finda'' in
Hoodoo). The Kingdom of Kongo used the term ''chibila'', which referred to sacred groves, where they would venerate these forest spirits. The Kongo people also believed that some ancestors inhabited the forest after death and maintained their spiritual presence in their descendants' lives. These particular ancestors were believed to have died, traveled to Mpémba, and then were reborn as bisimbi. Thus, ''The Great Mfinda'' existed as a meeting point between the physical world and the spiritual world. The living saw it as a source of physical nourishment through hunting and spiritual nourishment through contact with the ancestors. One expert on Kongo religion, Dr. Fu-Kiau, even described some precolonial Kongo cosmograms with mfinda as a bridge between the two worlds.
Charms
In the 17th century, the Bakongo people expanded the concept of
nkisi
or (plural varies: , , , or ) are spirits or an object that a spirit inhabits. It is frequently applied to a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa, especially in the Territory of Cabinda that are believed to co ...
to include consecrated objects or charms that contained the essence of nature spirits and their spiritual powers. These ''minkisi'' (sing. nkisi) were used for protection and healing.
Minkisi were also used to make
''mojo,'' or ''conjure, bags''. These mojo bags were essentially small bags where magical items were normally stored. They were also believed to contained the spiritual power of nkisi.
A ''
nganga'' created mojo bags for individuals, using ingredients connected to a specific simbi to invoke the spirit into the mojo bag. Bakongo spiritual philosophy influenced the creation of mojo bags, with
Black Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
including certain natural ingredients or animal bones, to house the simbi spirit or an ancestral spirit inside a bag for either protection or healing.
The Americas
Due to the Atlantic slave trade, Bakongo religion was translocated to the Americas along with its enslaved practitioners. Some surviving traditions include conjure, dreaming, possession by the dead to learn wisdom from the ancestors, traditional healing and working with minkisi. The spiritual traditions and religions that have preserved Kongo traditions include
Winti
Winti is an Afro-Surinamese traditional religion that originated in Suriname. It is a syncretization of the different African religious beliefs and practices brought in mainly by enslaved Akan, Fon and Kongo people during the Dutch slave tra ...
,
Hoodoo,
Palo Monte,
Lumbalú,
Kumina,
Haitian Vodou
Haitian Vodou () is an African diasporic religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West Africa, West and ...
,
Candomblé Bantu, and Venezuelan Yuyu.
United States
The concept of mfinda as a spiritual space also emerged in the colonial United States through
trans-Atlantic slavery and became known locally as ''finda''. The finda then became a sacred space, where sightings of "cymbee" spirits were often recorded by
Black Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
. Today, the finda is still a significant element in
Hoodoo.
Brazil
In Brazil, kalunga embodies the idea that, in the realm of the living, we stand erect, but in the realm of the ancestors, everything operates in a reversed manner. Inhabitants of the netherworld (or the ancestral realm) are inverted compared to us, as viewed from our mirrored perspective. With this particular worldview, practitioners of African martial arts deliberately invert themselves physically to emulate the ancestors, and drawing strength and power from the ancestral realm.
See also
*
African diaspora religions
African diaspora religions, also described as Afro-American religions, are a number of related beliefs that developed in the Americas in various areas of the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Southern United States. They derive from traditional ...
*
Bantu religion
*
Hoodoo
*
Nyambe
*
Nzambi Mpungu
References
{{Bantu, state=collapsed
African diaspora
African mythology
Afro-American religion
Bantu religion
Kongo culture
Kongo religion
Religion in Africa
Religion in Angola
Religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Traditional African religions