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150-500: Haitian Vodou ( / ˈ v oʊ d uː / ) is an 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 and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism . There is no central authority in control of the religion and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Vodouists, Vodouisants, or Serviteurs. Vodou teaches

300-535: A premye mèt bitasyon (original founder); their descent from this figure is seen as giving them their inheritance both of the land and of familial spirits. In other examples, particularly in urban areas, an ounfò can act as an initiatory family. A priest becomes the papa ("father") while the priestess becomes the manman ("mother") to the initiate; the initiate becomes their initiator's pitit (spiritual child). Those who share an initiator refer to themselves as "brother" and "sister." Individuals may join

450-411: A prèt Vodou ("Vodou priest"). Priestesses are termed manbo , alternatively spelled mambo . Oungan numerically dominate in rural Haiti, while there is a more equitable balance of priests and priestesses in urban areas. The oungan and manbo are tasked with organising liturgies, preparing initiations, offering consultations with clients using divination, and preparing remedies for

600-451: 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 Nu 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. For

750-635: A belief that all things occur in accordance with this divinity's will. Vodouists regard Bondye as being transcendent and remote; as the God is uninvolved in human affairs, they see little point in approaching it directly. While Vodouists often equate Bondye with the Christian God , Vodou does not incorporate belief in a powerful antagonist that opposes the supreme being akin to the Christian notion of Satan . Vodou has also been characterized as polytheistic . It teaches

900-512: A black sombrero, and in another by a statue of Star Wars -character Darth Vader . In Port-au-Prince, it is common for Vodouists to include human skulls on their altar for the Gede. In ounfòs where both Rada and Petwo deities are worshipped, their altars are kept separate. Various spaces other than the temple are used for Vodou ritual. Cemeteries are seen as places where spirits reside, making them suitable for certain rituals, especially to approach

1050-405: A circle with a cross inside. In this cosmogram or dikenga, the meeting point of the two lines of the cross is the most powerful point and where the person stands." 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

1200-486: A diaspora with little contact with the point of origin (Africa) to one that maintains active contact with the mother continent; all culminating in the birth of a unique African who straddles continents, worlds and cultures. There are several conceptual difficulties in defining the African diaspora—indeed, in defining the term diaspora . Contemporary theorizations of the term diaspora tend to be preoccupied with problematizing

1350-439: A home for the spirits. After the period of seclusion in the djèvo , the new initiate is brought out and presented to the congregation; they are now referred to as ounsi lave tèt . When the new initiate is presented to the rest of the community, they carry their pot tèt on their head, before placing it on the altar. The final stage of the process involves the initiate being given an ason rattle. The initiation process

1500-469: A host of nature spirits that were referred to as simbi , nkisi , nkita and kilundu spirits. In an attempt to convince Kongo people to convert to Catholicism, Portuguese missionaries often stressed that Nzambi was the Christian God . Similarly, the early missionaries used Kongo language words to integrate Christian ideas, such as using the words "nkisi" to mean "holy". Thus, church to Kongo people

1650-424: A man with a knowledge of Latin who is capable of administering Catholic baptisms, weddings, and the last rites , and who is willing to perform these at Vodou ceremonies. In rural areas especially, a congregation may consist of an extended family. Here, the priest will often be the patriarch of that family. Families, particularly in rural areas, often believe that through their zansèt (ancestors) they are tied to

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1800-418: A noble family. Christianity was growing again with new chapels built, services regularly held, missions of different Christian sects expanding, and church rituals a part of the royal succession. There were succession crises, ensuing conflicts when a local royal Kongo ruler died and occasional coups such as that of Andre II by Henrique III, typically settled with Portuguese intervention, and these continued through

1950-456: A particular ounfò because it exists in their locality or because their family are already members. Alternatively, it may be that the ounfò places particular focus on a lwa whom they are devoted to, or that they are impressed by the oungan or manbo who runs the ounfò in question, perhaps having been treated by them. Vodou is hierarchical and includes a series of initiations. There are typically four levels of initiation,

2100-558: A religion exhibiting diverse cultural influences. As formed in Haiti, Vodou represented "a new religion", "a creolized New World system", one that differs in many ways from African traditional religions. The scholar Leslie Desmangles therefore called it an "African-derived tradition", Ina J. Fandrich termed it a "neo-African religion", and Markel Thylefors called it an "Afro-Latin American religion". Several other African diasporic religions found in

2250-429: A role in the formation of Voudou in Haiti. The large Bakongo society features a diversity of occupations. Some are farmers who grow staples and cash crops. Among the staples are cassava , bananas , maize , taro and sweet potatoes . Other crops include peanuts (groundnuts) and beans . The cash crops were introduced by the colonial rulers, and these include coffee and cacao for the chocolate industry. Palm oil

2400-444: A thousand lwa , although certain ones are especially widely venerated. In Rada ceremonies, the first lwa saluted is Papa Legba , also known as Legba. Depicted as a feeble old man wearing rags and using a crutch, Papa Legba is the protector of gates and fences and thus of the home, as well as of roads, paths, and crossroads. In Petwo rites, the first lwa invoked is usually Mèt Kalfou . The second lwa usually greeted are

2550-618: A title, it is incorrect to call Kongo people by Ne Kongo or a Kongo person by Ne Kongo. The ancient history of the Kongo people has been difficult to ascertain. The region is close to East Africa, considered to be a key to the prehistoric human migrations. This geographical proximity, states Jan Vansina , suggests that the Congo River region, home of the Kongo people, was populated thousands of years ago. Ancient archeological evidence linked to Kongo people has not been found, and glottochronology – or

2700-544: Is monotheistic , teaching the existence of a single supreme God. This entity is called Bondye or Bonié, a name deriving from the French term Bon Dieu ("Good God"). Another term for it is the Gran Mèt , borrowed from Freemasonry. For Vodouists, Bondye is the ultimate source of power, the creator of the universe, and the maintainer of cosmic order. Haitians frequently use the phrase si Bondye vle ("if Bondye wishes"), suggesting

2850-539: Is sèvitè ( serviteurs , "devotees"), reflecting their self-description as people who sèvi lwa ("serve the lwa "), the supernatural beings that play a central role in Vodou. Many words used in the religion derive from the Fon language of West Africa; this includes the word Vodou itself. First recorded in the 1658 Doctrina Christiana , the Fon word Vôdoun was used in

3000-464: Is a strong undercurrent of messianic tradition among the Bakongo, which has led to several politico-religious movements in the 20th century. This may be linked to the premises of dualistic cosmology in Bakongo tradition, where two worlds exist, one visible and lived, another invisible and full of powerful spirits. The belief that there is an interaction and reciprocal exchange between these, to Bakongo, means

3150-533: Is also considered sympathetic to gay people, with many gay and bisexual individuals holding status as Vodou priests and priestesses, and some groups having largely gay congregations. Some Vodouists state that the lwa determine a person's sexual orientation. The lwa Èzili Dantò is sometimes regarded as a lesbian, and is also seen as the patron of masisi (gay men). The anthropologist Alfred Métraux described Vodou as "a practical and utilitarian religion". Its practices largely revolve around interactions with

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3300-467: Is also used to store clothing that will be worn by those possessed by the lwa during rituals. If space is available, the ounfò may also have a room set aside for the patron lwa of that temple. Many ounfòs have a room known as the djévo in which the initiate is confined during their initiatory ceremony. Every ounfò usually has a room or corner of a room devoted to Erzuli Freda. Some ounfò will also have additional rooms in which

3450-475: Is another export commodity, while the traditional urena is a famine food. Some Kongo people fish and hunt, but most work in factories and trade in towns. The Kongo people have traditionally recognized their descent from their mother ( matrilineality ), and this lineage links them into kinship groups. They are culturally organized as ones who cherish their independence, so much so that neighboring Kongo people's villages avoid being dependent on each other. There

3600-538: Is believed to reside. The first initiation rite is the kanzo ; this term also describes the initiate themselves. Initiation is generally expensive, complex, and requires significant preparation. Prospective initiates are for instance required to memorise many songs and learn the characteristics of various lwa . Vodouists believe the lwa may encourage an individual towards initiation, bringing misfortune upon them if they refuse. Initiation will often be preceded by bathing in special preparations. The first part of

3750-510: Is called an ounfò , varyingly spelled hounfò , hounfort , or humfo . An alternative term is gangan , although the connotations of this term vary regionally in Haiti. Most communal Vodou activities centre around this ounfò , forming what is called "temple Vodou". The size and shape of ounfòs vary, from basic shacks to more lavish structures, the latter being more common in Port-au-Prince. Their designs are dependent on

3900-407: Is considered a high ethic. Among Vodouists, a moral person is regarded as someone who lives in tune with their character and that of their tutelary lwa . In general, acts that reinforce Bondye's power are deemed good; those that undermine it are seen as bad. Maji , meaning the use of supernatural powers for self-serving and malevolent ends, are usually thought bad. The term is quite flexible; it

4050-469: Is limited and does not exhaustively cover all of the Kongo people. The evidence suggests, states Vansina, that the Kongo people were advanced in their culture and socio-political systems with multiple kingdoms well before the arrival of first Portuguese ships in the late 15th century. Kongo oral tradition suggests that the Kingdom of Kongo was founded before the 14th century and the 13th century. The kingdom

4200-553: Is linked with mango trees, and Danbala with bougainvillea . Selected trees in Haiti have had metal items affixed to them, serving as shrines to Ogou, who is associated with both iron and the roads. Spaces for ritual also appear in the homes of many Vodouists. These may vary from complex altars to more simple variants including only images of saints alongside candles and a rosary . Many practitioners will also have an altar devoted to their ancestors in their home, to which they direct offerings. Drawings known as vèvè are sketched onto

4350-450: Is one of the most popular deities in the pantheon. Danbala and his consort Ayida-Weddo are often depicted as a pair of intertwining snakes. The Simbi are understood as the guardians of fountains and marshes. Usually seen as a fanmi rather than a nanchon , the Gede are associated with the realm of the dead. The head of the family is Baron Samedi ("Baron Saturday"); he is associated with

4500-441: Is paid to the historical conditions and experiences that produce diasporic communities and consciousness—how dispersed populations become self-conscious diaspora communities. Kongo people The Kongo people ( Kongo : Bisi Kongo , EsiKongo , singular: Musi Kongo ; also Bakongo , singular: Mukongo or M'kongo ) are a Bantu ethnic group primarily defined as the speakers of Kikongo . Subgroups include

4650-518: Is practiced by individuals of various ethnicities. Having faced much criticism through its history, Vodou has been described as one of the world's most misunderstood religions. Vodou is a religion. More specifically, scholars have characterised it as an Afro-Haitian religion, and as Haiti's "national religion". Its main structure derives from the African traditional religions of West and Central Africa which were brought to Haiti by enslaved Africans between

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4800-584: Is responsible for Haiti's poverty , a view that in turn has been accused of being rooted in European colonial prejudices towards Africans. Although Vodou permeates every aspect of its adherent's lives, it offers no prescriptive code of ethics. Rather than being rule-based, Vodou morality is deemed contextual to the situation, with no clear binary division between good and evil. Vodou reflects people's everyday concerns, focusing on techniques for mitigating illness and misfortune; doing what one needs to in order to survive

4950-654: Is seen to have ended when the new initiate is first possessed by a lwa . Initiation is seen as creating a bond between a devotee and their tutelary lwa , and the former will often take on a new name that alludes to the name of this lwa . Finally, after the kouche , the new initiate may be expected to visit a Catholic church. The creation of sacred works is important in Vodou. Votive objects used in Haiti are typically made from industrial materials, including iron, plastic, sequins, china, tinsel, and plaster. An altar, or pè , will often contain images (typically lithographs ) of Roman Catholic saints. Since developing in

5100-686: Is sometimes used synonymously with nanchon or alternatively as a sub-division of the latter category. It is often claimed that there are 17 nanchon , of which the Rada and the Petwo are the largest and most dominant. The Rada lwa are seen as being 'cool'; the Petwo lwa as 'hot'. This means that the Rada are dous or doux , or sweet-tempered, while the Petwo are lwa cho , indicating that they can be forceful or violent and are associated with fire. Whereas

5250-430: Is the lwa of vegetation, and because he is seen to give healing properties to various plant species is considered the lwa of healing too. Ogou is a warrior lwa , associated with weapons. Sogbo is a lwa associated with lightning, while his companion, Bade , is associated with the wind. Danbala is a serpent lwa and is associated with water, being believed to frequent rivers, springs, and marshes; he

5400-554: 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. According to Molefi Kete Asante , "Another important characteristic of Bakongo cosmology

5550-407: 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

5700-496: Is thus a term primarily used by scholars and outsiders to the religion; many practitioners describe their belief system with the term Ginen , which especially denotes a moral philosophy and ethical code regarding how to live and to serve the spirits. Vodou is the common spelling for the religion among scholars, in official Haitian Creole orthography, and by the United States Library of Congress . Some scholars prefer

5850-511: Is to echofe ("heat things up"), thus bringing about change, whether that be to remove barriers or to facilitate healing. Secrecy is important in Vodou. It is an initiatory tradition, operating through a system of graded induction or initiation. When an individual agrees to serve a lwa , it is deemed a lifelong commitment. Vodou has a strong oral culture, and its teachings are primarily disseminated through oral transmission, although many practitioners began to use texts after they appeared in

6000-461: Is traditionally depicted with snakes, or with Moses , whose staff turned into serpents. The Marasa, or sacred twins, are typically equated with the twin saints Cosmos and Damian . Scholars like Desmangles have argued that Vodouists originally adopted the Roman Catholic saints to conceal lwa worship when the latter was illegal during the colonial period. Observing Vodou in the latter part of

6150-509: Is usually used to denigrate other Vodouists, although some practitioners have used it as a self-descriptor in reference to Petwo rites. The extended family is of importance in Haitian society, with Vodou reinforcing family ties, and emphasising respect for the elderly. Although there are accounts of male Vodou priests mistreating their female followers, in the religion women can also lay claim to moral authority as social and spiritual leaders. Vodou

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6300-425: The drapo often feature either the vèvè of specific lwa they are dedicated to or depictions of the associated Roman Catholic saint. These drapo are understood as points of entry through which the lwa can enter the peristil . African diasporic religions Afro-American religions involve ancestor veneration and include a creator deity along with a pantheon of divine spirits such as

6450-466: The gwo bonnanj is thought capable of leaving the head and travelling while a person sleeps. Vodouists believe that every individual is connected to a specific lwa , regarded as their mèt tèt (master of the head). They believe that this lwa informs the individual's personality. Vodou holds that the identity of a person's tutelary lwa can be identified through divination or by consulting lwa when they possess other humans. Some of

6600-475: The lwa Loco; in Vodou mythology, he was the first oungan and his consort Ayizan the first manbo . The oungan and manbo are expected to display the power of second sight , something regarded as a gift from Bondye that can be revealed to the individual through visions or dreams. Many priests and priestesses are often attributed fantastical powers in stories told about them, and may bolster their status with claims to have received revelations from

6750-482: The lwa are believed to remove their protection from their devotees, or to inflict misfortune, illness, or madness on an individual. Although there are exceptions, most lwa derive their names from the Fon and Yoruba languages and originated as deities venerated in West or Central Africa. New lwa are nevertheless added to the pantheon, with both talismans and certain humans thought capable of becoming lwa , in

6900-535: The lwa are capable of offering people help, protection, and counsel in return for ritual service. Each lwa has its own personality, and is associated with specific colors, days of the week, and objects. Particular lwa are also associated with specific human family lineages. These spirits are not seen as moral exemplars for practitioners to imitate. The lwa can be either loyal or capricious in their dealings with their devotees; they are easily offended, for instance if offered food they dislike. When angered,

7050-457: The lwa at an ounfò (temple), run by an oungan (priest) or manbo (priestess). Alternatively, Vodou is also practised within family groups or in secret societies like the Bizango . A central ritual involves practitioners drumming, singing, and dancing to encourage a lwa to possess one of their members and thus communicate with them. Offerings to the lwa , and to spirits of

7200-429: The lwa of agriculture, is for instance associated with Saint Isidore the farmer. Similarly, because he is understood as the "key" to the spirit world, Papa Legba is typically associated with Saint Peter , who is traditionally depicted holding keys in Roman Catholic imagery. The lwa of love and luxury, Èzili Freda, is associated with Mater Dolorosa . Danbala the serpent is often equated with Saint Patrick , who

7350-417: The lwa , and incorporate song, drumming, dance, prayer, possession, and animal sacrifice. Practitioners gather together for sèvices (services) in which they commune with the lwa . Ceremonies for a particular lwa often coincide with the feast day of the Roman Catholic saint which that lwa is associated with. The mastery of ritual forms is considered imperative in Vodou. The purpose of ritual

7500-580: The lwa , sometimes via visits to the lwa 's own abode. There is often bitter competition between different oungan and manbo . Their main income derives from healing the sick, supplemented with payments received for overseeing initiations and selling talismans and amulets. In many cases, oungan and manbo become wealthier than their clients. Oungan and manbo are generally powerful and well-respected members of Haitian society. Being an oungan or manbo provides an individual with both social status and material profit, although

7650-401: The lwa . Their authenticity is often challenged, and they are referred to as hungan-macoutte , a term bearing some disparaging connotations. Becoming an oungan or manbo is expensive, often requiring the purchase of ritual paraphernalia and land on which to build a temple. To finance this, many save up for a long time. Vodouists believe that the oungan 's role is modelled on

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7800-399: The lwa . Vodou also promotes a belief in destiny , although individuals are still deemed to have freedom of choice. This view of destiny has been interpreted as encouraging a fatalistic outlook, something that the religion's critics, especially from Christian backgrounds, have argued has discouraged Vodouists from improving their society. This has been extended into an argument that Vodou

7950-450: The nanm , or sometimes the espri , which is divided in two parts . One of these is the ti bonnanj ("little good angel"), understood as the conscience that allows an individual to engage in self-reflection and self-criticism. The other part is the gwo bonnanj ("big good angel") and this constitutes the psyche, source of memory, intelligence, and personhood. Both parts are believed to reside within an individual's head, although

8100-568: The oungan or manbo lives. The area around the ounfò often contains objects dedicated to particular lwa , such as a pool of water for Danbala, a black cross for Baron Samedi, and a pince (iron bar) embedded in a brazier for Criminel. Sacred trees, known as arbres-reposoirs , sometimes mark the ounfò 's external boundary. Hanging from these trees can be found macounte straw sacks, strips of material, and animal skulls. Various animals, particularly birds but also some mammal species such as goats, are sometimes kept within

8250-406: The ounsi becomes the hungenikon or reine-chanterelle , the mistress of the choir. They are responsible for overseeing the liturgical singing and shaking the chacha rattle which dictates the rhythm during ceremonies. They are aided by the hungenikon-la-place , commandant general de la place , or quartermaster , who is charged with overseeing offerings and keeping order during

8400-399: The peristil , sacrificing animals, and taking part in the dances at which they must be prepared to be possessed by a lwa . The oungan and manbo conduct initiatory ceremonies whereby people become ounsi , oversee their training, and act as their counsellor, healer, and protector. In turn, the ounsi are expected to be obedient to their oungan or manbo . One of

8550-450: The ti bonnanj proceeds to face judgement before Bondye. This idea of judgement is more common in urban areas, having been influenced by Roman Catholicism, while in the Haitian mountains it is more common for Vodouists to believe that the ti bonnanj dissolves into the navel of the earth nine days after death. The land of the Ginen is often identified as being located beneath the sea, under

8700-611: The Beembe , Bwende , Vili , Sundi , Yombe , Dondo , Lari , and others. They have lived along the Atlantic coast of Central Africa , in a region that by the 15th century was a centralized and well-organized Kingdom of Kongo , but is now a part of three countries. Their highest concentrations are found south of Pointe-Noire in the Republic of the Congo , southwest of Pool Malebo and west of

8850-613: The Caribbean , originally applied the term Bafiote (singular M(a)fiote ) to the slaves from the Vili or Fiote coastal Kongo people, but later this term was used to refer to any "black man" in Cuba, St Lucia and other colonial era Islands ruled by one of the European colonial interests. The group is identified largely by speaking a cluster of mutually intelligible dialects rather than by large continuities in their history or even in culture. The term "Congo"

9000-627: The Kwango River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , north of Luanda , Angola and southwest Gabon . They are the largest ethnic group in the Republic of the Congo, and one of the major ethnic groups in the other two countries they are found in. In 1975, the Kongo population was reported as 4,040,000. The Kongo people were among the earliest indigenous Africans to welcome Portuguese traders in 1483 CE, and began converting to Catholicism in

9150-447: The Marasa or sacred twins. In Vodou, every nanchon has its own Marasa, reflecting a belief that twins have special powers. Another important lwa is Agwe , also known as Agwe-taroyo, who is associated with aquatic life and is the protector of ships and fishermen. Agwe is believed to rule the sea with his consort, La Sirène . She is a mermaid , and is sometimes described as Èzili of

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9300-556: The Négritude movement have sought to remove Roman Catholic influences. Most Haitians practice both Vodou and Roman Catholicism, seeing no contradiction in pursuing the two different systems simultaneously. Smaller Vodouist communities exist elsewhere, especially among Haitian diasporas in Cuba and the United States . Both in Haiti and abroad Vodou has spread beyond its Afro-Haitian origins and

9450-594: The Orisha , Loa , Vodun , Nkisi and Alusi , among others. In addition to the religious syncretism of these various African traditions, many also incorporate elements of folk Catholicism including folk saints and other forms of folk religion , Native American religion , Spiritism , Spiritualism , Shamanism (sometimes including the use of Entheogens ) and European folklore . Various "doctoring" spiritual traditions also exist such as Obeah and Hoodoo which focus on spiritual health. African religious traditions in

9600-575: The 1560s, over 7,000 slaves per year were being captured and exported by Portuguese traders to the Americas. The Kongo people and the neighboring ethnic groups retaliated, with violence and attacks, such as the Jaga invasion of 1568 which swept across the Kongo lands, burnt the Portuguese churches, and attacked its capital, nearly ending the Kingdom of Kongo. The Kongo people also created songs to warn themselves of

9750-423: The 1660s. In 1665, the Portuguese army invaded the Kingdom, killed the Kongo king, disbanded his army, and installed a friendly replacement in his place. The 1665 Kongo-Portuguese war and the killing of the hereditary king by the Portuguese soldiers led to a political vacuum. The Kongo kingdom disintegrated into smaller kingdoms, each controlled by nobles considered friendly by the Portuguese. One of these kingdoms

9900-400: The 16th and 19th centuries. Of these, the greatest influences came from the Fon and Bakongo peoples. On the island, these African religions mixed with the iconography of European-derived traditions such as Roman Catholicism and Freemasonry , taking the form of Vodou around the mid-18th century. In combining varied influences, Vodou has often been described as syncretic , or a "symbiosis",

10050-411: The 19th-century Scramble for Africa split the Kongo people into Portuguese, Belgian and French parts. In the early 20th century, they became one of the most active ethnic groups in the efforts to decolonize Africa, helping liberate the three nations to self-governance. The origin of the name Kongo is unclear, and several theories have been proposed. According to the colonial era scholar Samuel Nelson,

10200-405: The 20th century, Donald J. Cosentino argued that by that point, the use of Roman Catholic saints reflected the genuine devotional expression of many Vodouists. The scholar Marc A. Christophe concurred, stating that most modern Vodouists genuinely see the saints and lwa as one, reflecting Vodou's "all-inclusive and harmonizing characteristics". Many Vodouists possess chromolithographic prints of

10350-483: The Americas can vary. They can have non-prominent African roots or can be almost wholly African in nature, such as religions like Trinidad Orisha . The nature and composition of the African diaspora have undergone significant changes over time: from the forced migration of African captives of the Old and New Worlds to the voluntary emigration of free, skilled Africans in search of political asylum or economic opportunities; from

10500-540: The Americas formed in a similar way, and owing to their shared origins in West African traditional religion, Vodou has been characterized as a "sister religion" of Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé . Vodou has no central institutional authority, no single leader, and no developed body of doctrine . It thus has no orthodoxy , no central liturgy, and no formal creed. Developing over the course of several centuries, it has changed over time. It displays variation at both

10650-509: The Bakongo, a person is a kala-zimikala , which means a "living-dying-living being." A simbi (pl. bisimbi) is a water spirit that is believed to inhabit bodies of water and rocks, having the ability to guide the bakulu , or the ancestors, along the Kalûnga River to the spiritual world after they pass away. They are also present during the baptisms of African American Christians , according to Hoodoo tradition . The religious history of

10800-463: The Christian ruling classes, as well as in the villages. The later Portuguese missionaries and Capuchin monks upon their arrival in Kongo were baffled by these practices in the late 17th century (nearly 150 years after the acceptance of Christianity as the state religion in the Kingdom of Kongo). Some threatened to burn or destroy the shrines. However, the Kongo people credited these shrines for abundance and defended them. The Kongo people's conversion

10950-598: The Democratic Republic of Congo also speak French . In the Democratic Republic of the Congo most also speak French and others speak either Lingala , a common lingua franca in Western Congo, or Kikongo ya Leta (generally known as Kituba particularly in the Republic of the Congo), a creole form of Kikongo spoken widely in the Republic of the Congo and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Bakongo believe that in

11100-463: The Kongo is complex, particularly after the ruling class of the Kingdom of Kongo accepted Christianity at the start of the 16th century. According to historian John K. Thornton , "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 ideas best developed in

11250-436: The Kongo nobility and traders, and the coastal ports were flooded with "war captives turned slaves". The other effect of this violence over many years was making the Kongo king heavily dependent on the Portuguese protection, along with the dehumanization of the African people, including the rebelling Kongo people, as cannibalistic pagan barbarians from "Jaga kingdom". This caricature of the African people and their dehumanization

11400-736: The Kongo people disputed each other's boundaries and rights, as well as those of other non-Kongo ethnic groups bordering them, leading to steady wars and mutual raids. The wars between the small kingdoms created a steady supply of captives that fed the Portuguese demand for slaves and the small kingdoms' need for government income to finance the wars. In the 1700s, a baptized teenage Kongo woman named Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita claimed to be possessed by Saint Anthony of Padua and that she had been visiting heaven to speak with God. She started preaching that Mary and Jesus were not born in Nazareth but in Africa among

11550-665: The Kongo people exchanged ivory and copper objects they made with luxury goods of Portuguese. But, after 1500, the Portuguese had little demand for ivory and copper, they instead demanded slaves in exchange. The settled Portuguese in São Tomé needed slave labor for their sugarcane plantations, and they first purchased labor. Soon thereafter they began kidnapping people from the Kongo society and after 1514, they provoked military campaigns in nearby African regions to get slave labor. Along with this change in Portuguese-Kongo people relationship,

11700-580: The Kongo people's Atlantic port settlement. They also found exchange of goods easy and the Kongo people open to ideas. The Kongo king at that time, named Nzinga a Nkuwu allegedly willingly accepted Christianity, and at his baptism in 1491 changed his name to João I, a Portuguese name. Around the 1450s, a prophet, Ne Buela Muanda, predicted the arrival of the Portuguese and the spiritual and physical enslavement of many Bakongo. The trade between Kongo people and Portuguese people thereafter accelerated through 1500. The kingdom of Kongo appeared to become receptive of

11850-400: The Kongo people. She created a movement among the Kongo people which historians call as Kongo Antonianism . Dona Beatriz questioned the wars devastating the Kongo people, asked all Kongo people to end the wars that fed the trading in humans, and unite under one king. She attracted a following of thousands of Kongo people into the ruins of their old capital. She was declared a false saint by

12000-487: The Portuguese-appointed Kongo king Pedro IV, with the support of Portuguese Catholic missionaries and Italian Capuchin monks then resident in Kongo lands. The 22 year old Dona Beatriz was arrested, then burnt alive at the stake on charges of being a witch and a heretic. After the death of Dona Beatriz in 1706 and another three years of wars with the help of the Portuguese, Pedro IV was able to get back much of

12150-593: The Rada are generally righteous, their Petwo counterparts are more morally ambiguous and associated with issues like money. The Rada owe more to Dahomeyan and Yoruba influences; their name probably comes from Arada , a city in the Dahomey kingdom of West Africa. The Petwo derive largely from Kongo religion, although also exhibit Dahomeyan and creolised influences. Some lwa exist andezo or en deux eaux , meaning that they are "in two waters" and are served in both Rada and Petwo rituals. Vodou teaches that there are over

12300-592: The United States with modern Paganism . Vodou has also absorbed elements from other contexts; in Cuba, some Vodouists have adopted elements from Spiritism . Influenced by the Négritude movement, other Vodouists have sought to remove Roman Catholic and other European influences from their practice of Vodou. In English , Vodou's practitioners are termed Vodouists ; in French and Haitian Creole , they are called Vodouisants or Vodouyizan . Another term for adherents

12450-544: The Vili and Yombe do not believe in the power of ancestors in the same degree as to those living farther south. Furthermore, she and John Janzen state that religious ideas and emphasis have changed over time. The slaves brought over by the European ships into the Americas carried with them their traditional ideas. Vanhee suggests that the Afro-Brazilian Quimbanda religion is a new world manifestation of Bantu religion and spirituality, and Kongo Christianity played

12600-464: The Waters because she is believed to bring good luck and wealth from the sea. Also given the name Èzili is Èzili Freda or Erzuli Freda, the lwa of love and luxury who personifies feminine beauty and grace, and Ezili Dantor , who takes the form of a peasant woman. Azaka is the lwa of crops and agriculture, usually addressed as "Papa" or "Cousin". His consort is the female lwa Kouzinn. Loco

12750-455: The West African kingdom of Dahomey to signify a spirit or deity. In Haitian Creole, Vodou came to designate a specific style of dance and drumming, before outsiders to the religion adopted it as a generic term for much Afro-Haitian religion. The word Vodou now encompasses "a variety of Haiti's African-derived religious traditions and practices", incorporating "a bundle of practices that practitioners themselves do not aggregate". Vodou

12900-444: The area well before the fifth century CE, begun a society that utilized the diverse and rich resources of region and developed farming methods. According to James Denbow, social complexity had probably been achieved by the second century CE. According to Vansina small kingdoms and Kongo principalities appeared in the current region by the 1200 CE, but documented history of this period of Kongo people if it existed has not survived into

13050-511: The arrival of the Portuguese, one of the famous songs is " Malele " (Translation: "Tragedy", song present among the 17 Kongo songs sung by the Massembo family of Guadeloupe during the Grap a Kongo ). The Portuguese brought in military and arms to support the Kingdom of Kongo, and after years of fighting, they jointly defeated the attack. This war unexpectedly led to a flood of captives who had challenged

13200-407: The beginning, the world was circular void, called mbûngi , with no life. Then Nzambi Mpungu , the creator god , summoned a great force of fire, called Kalûnga , which filled this empty circle. Then 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

13350-401: The child of a particular lwa , their mèt tèt . This is followed by a period of seclusion within the djèvo known as the kouche . A deliberately uncomfortable experience, it involves the initiate sleeping on a mat on the floor, often with a stone for a pillow. They wear a white tunic, and a specific salt-free diet is followed. It includes a lav tèt ("head washing") to prepare

13500-474: The dead, include fruit, liquor, and sacrificed animals . Several forms of divination are utilized to decipher messages from the lwa . Healing rituals and the preparation of herbal remedies and talismans also play a prominent role. Vodou developed among Afro-Haitian communities amid the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. Its structure arose from the blending of the traditional religions of those enslaved West and Central Africans brought to

13650-399: The demand and accepted an export of those who willingly accepted slavery, and for a fee per slave. The Portuguese procured 2,000 to 3,000 slaves per year for a few years, from 1520, a practice that started the slave export history of the Kongo people. However, this supply was far short of the demand for slaves and the money slave owners were willing to pay. The Portuguese operators approached

13800-480: The earth, or above the sky. Some Vodouists believe that the gwo bonnanj stays in the land of the Ginen for a year and a day before being absorbed into the Gede family. However, Vodouists usually distinguish the spirits of the dead from the Gede proper, for the latter are lwa . Vodou also teaches that the dead continue to participate in human affairs, with these spirits often complaining that they suffer from hunger, cold, and damp, and thus requiring sacrifices from

13950-448: The estimation of ethnic group chronologies based on language evolution – has been applied to the Kongo. Based on this, it is likely the Kongo language and Gabon-Congo language split about 950 BCE. The earliest archeological evidence is from Tchissanga (now part of modern Republic of the Congo ), a site dated to about 600 BCE. However, the site does not prove which ethnic group was resident at that time. The Kongo people had settled into

14100-533: The existence of a transcendent creator divinity, Bondye , under whom are spirits known as lwa . Typically deriving their names and attributes from traditional West and Central African deities, they are equated with Roman Catholic saints. The lwa divide into different groups, the nanchon ("nations"), most notably the Rada and the Petwo , about whom various myths and stories are told. This theology has been labelled both monotheistic and polytheistic . An initiatory tradition, Vodouists commonly venerate

14250-485: The existence of beings called the lwa , a term varyingly translated into English as "spirits", "gods", or " geniuses ". These lwa are also known as the mystères , anges , saints , and les invisibles , and are sometimes equated with the angels of Christian cosmology. Vodou teaches that there are over a thousand lwa . Serving as Bondye's intermediaries, they communicate with humans through their dreams or by directly possessing them. Vodouists believe

14400-476: The fame and reputation of individual priests and priestesses can vary widely. Respected Vodou priests and priestesses are often literate in a society where semi-literacy and illiteracy are common. They can recite from printed texts and write letters for illiterate members of their community. Owing to their prominence in a community, the oungan and manbo can effectively become political leaders, or otherwise exert an influence on local politics. A Vodou temple

14550-472: The floor of the peristil using cornmeal, ash, coffee grounds, or powdered eggshells; these are central to Vodou ritual. Usually arranged symmetrically around the poto-mitan , these designs sometimes incorporate letters; their purpose is to summon lwa . Inside the peristil , practitioners also unfurl ceremonial flags known as drapo (flags) at the start of a ceremony. Often made of silk or velvet and decorated with shiny objects such as sequins,

14700-408: The fourth of which makes someone an oungan or manbo . There is much variation in what these initiation ceremonies entail, and the details are kept secret. Each initiatory stage is associated with a state of mind called a konesan ( conaissance or knowledge). Successive initiations are required to move through the various konesans , and it is in these konesans that priestly power

14850-505: The growing import of Christian missionaries and luxury goods, the slave capture and exports through the Kongo lands grew. With over 5.6 million human beings kidnapped in Central Africa, then sold and shipped as slaves through the lands of the Kongo people, they witnessed the largest exports of slaves from Africa into the Americas by 1867. According to Jan Vansina, the "whole of Angola's economy and its institutions of governance were based on

15000-468: The help of non-Kongo ethnic groups such as the Chokwe people , which were then exported with the labor of Kongo people. Swedish missionaries entered the area in the 1880s and 1890, converting the northeast section of Kongo to Protestantism in the early twentieth century. The Swedish missionaries, notably Karl Laman , encouraged the local people to write their history and customs in notebooks, which then became

15150-472: The initiate for having the lwa enter and reside in their head. Voudoists believe that one of the two parts of the human soul, the gwo bonnanj , is removed from the initiate's head, thus making space for the lwa to enter and reside there. The initiation ceremony requires the preparation of pot tèts (head pots), usually white porcelain cups with a lid in which a range of items are placed, including hair, food, herbs, and oils. These are regarded as

15300-404: The initiation rite is known as the kouche or huño , and is marked by salutations and offerings to the lwa . It begins with the chire ayizan , a ceremony in which palm leaves are frayed and then worn by the initiate. Sometimes the bat ge or batter guerre ("beating war") is performed instead, designed to beat away the old. During the rite, the initiate comes to be regarded as

15450-426: The interior of West Central Africa who were, indeed, different Mbangala groups. There are other scholars, such as Joseph Miller, that believed this 16th and 17th centuries' one-sided dehumanization of the African people was a fabrication and myth created by the missionaries and slave trading Portuguese to hide their abusive activities and intentions. From the 1570s, the European traders arrived in large numbers and

15600-482: The island of Hispaniola , among them Kongo , Fon , and Yoruba . There, it absorbed influences from the culture of the French colonialists who controlled the colony of Saint-Domingue , most notably Roman Catholicism but also Freemasonry . Many Vodouists were involved in the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to 1801 which overthrew the French colonial government, abolished slavery, and transformed Saint-Domingue into

15750-411: The large inland region of Africa went to Belgium (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and the southern parts (now Angola ) remained with Portugal. The Kongo people in all three colonies (Angola, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo) became one of the most active ethnic groups in the efforts to decolonize Africa, and worked with other ethnic groups in Central Africa to help liberate

15900-468: The late 15th century. They were among the first to protest slave capture in letters to the King of Portugal in the 1510s and 1520s, then succumbed to the demands for slaves from the Portuguese through the 16th century. The Kongo people were a part of the major slave raiding, capture and export trade of African slaves to the European colonial interests in 17th and 18th centuries. The slave raids, colonial wars and

16050-570: The latter case through their strength of personality or power. Vodouists often refer to the lwa living in the sea or in rivers, or alternatively in Ginen, a term encompassing a generalized understanding of Africa as the ancestral land of the Haitian people. The lwa divide into nanchon or "nations". This classificatory system derives from the way in which enslaved Africans were divided into "nations" upon their arrival in Haiti, usually based on their African port of departure rather than their ethno-cultural identity. The term fanmi (family)

16200-523: The latter refuses then misfortune may befall them. A prospective oungan or manbo must normally rise through the other roles in a Vodou congregation before undergoing an apprenticeship with a pre-existing oungan or manbo lasting several months or years. After this apprenticeship, they undergo an initiation ceremony, the details of which are kept secret from non-initiates. Other oungan and manbo do not undergo any apprenticeship, but claim that they have gained their training directly from

16350-406: The living. Vodou ethical standards correspond to its sense of cosmological order, with a belief in the interdependence of things playing a role in Vodou approaches to ethical issues. Serving the lwa is central to Vodou and its moral codes reflect the reciprocal relationship that practitioners have with these spirits; for Vodouists, virtue is maintained by ensuring a responsible relationship with

16500-407: The mid 19th-century. After Henrique III died in 1857, competitive claims to the throne were raised by his relatives. One of them, Pedro Elelo, gained the trust of Portuguese military against Alvero XIII, by agreeing to be vassal of the colonial Portugal. This effectively ended whatever sovereignty had previously been recognized and the Kongo people became a part of colonial Portugal. In concert with

16650-419: The mid-19th century, chromolithography has also had an impact on Vodou imagery, facilitating the widespread availability of images of the Roman Catholic saints who are equated with the lwa . Various Vodouists have made use of varied available materials in constructing their shrines. Cosentino encountered a shrine in Port-au-Prince where Baron Samedi was represented by a plastic statue of Santa Claus wearing

16800-513: The mid-20th century. The terminology used in Vodou ritual is called langaj . Unlike in Santería and Candomblé, which employ Yoruba as a liturgical language not understood by most practitioners, in Vodou the liturgies are predominantly in Haitian Creole, the everyday language of most Vodouists. Male priests are referred to as an oungan , alternatively spelled houngan or hungan , or

16950-542: The military wing of the African National Congress (ANC) during its struggle against apartheid. Douglas Harper states that the term means "mountains" in a Bantu language, which the Congo river flows down from. The Kongo people have been referred to by various names in the colonial French, Belgian and Portuguese literature, names such as Esikongo (singular Mwisikongo ), Mucicongo , Mesikongo , Madcongo and Moxicongo . Christian missionaries, particularly in

17100-531: The modern era. Detailed and copious description about the Kongo people who lived next to the Atlantic ports of the region, as a sophisticated culture, language and infrastructure, appear in the 15th century, written by the Portuguese explorers. Later anthropological work on the Kongo of the region come from the colonial era writers, particularly the French and Belgians (Loango, Vungu, and the Niari Valley), but this too

17250-547: The new traders, allowed them to settle an uninhabited nearby island called São Tomé , and sent Bakongo nobles to visit the royal court in Portugal. Other than the king himself, much of the Kongo people's nobility welcomed the cultural exchange, the Christian missionaries converted them to the Catholic faith, they assumed Portuguese court manners, and by early 16th-century Kongo became a Portugal-affiliated Christian kingdom. Initially,

17400-409: The northern coast) and speakers of Kisansolo (the central dialect) would have trouble understanding each other. In Angola, there are a few who did not learn to speak Kikongo because Portuguese rules of assimilation during the colonial period was directed against learning native languages, though most Bakongo held on to the language. Most Angolan Kongo also speak Portuguese and those near the border of

17550-425: The old Kongo kingdom. The conflicts continued through the 18th century, however, and the demand for and the caravan of Kongo and non-Kongo people as captured slaves kept rising, headed to the Atlantic ports. Although, in Portuguese documents, all of Kongo people were technically under one ruler, they were no longer governed that way by the mid-18th century. The Kongo people were now divided into regions, each headed by

17700-478: The perimeter of the ounfò for use as sacrifices. Forming a spiritual community of practitioners, the ounfò 's congregation are known as the pititt-caye (children of the house). They worship under the authority of an oungan or manbo , below whom is ranked the ounsi , individuals who make a lifetime commitment to serving the lwa . Members of either sex can join the ounsi , although most are female. The ounsi 's duties include cleaning

17850-671: The phallus, the skull, and the graveyard cross, the latter used to mark out his presence in a Haitian cemetery. His consort is Gran Brigit, who has authority over cemeteries and is mother to many of the other Gede. The Gede regularly satirise the ruling authorities, and are welcomed to rituals as they are thought to bring merriment. The Gede's symbol is an erect penis, while the banda dance associated with them involves sexual-style thrusting, and those possessed by these lwa typically make sexual innuendos. Most lwa are associated with specific Roman Catholic saints. These links are reliant on "analogies between their respective functions"; Azaka,

18000-415: The pillar through which the lwa enter the room during ceremonies. It is around this central post that offerings, including both vèvè patterns and animal sacrifices, are made. However, in the Haitian diaspora many Vodouists perform their rites in basements, where no poto mitan are available. The peristil typically has an earthen floor, allowing libations to the lwa to drain directly into

18150-513: The publication of newspapers in various dialects of the language. In 1910 Kavuna Kafwandani (Kavuna Simon) published an article in the Swedish mission society's Kikongo language newspaper Misanü Miayenge (Words of Peace) calling for all speakers of the Kikongo language to recognize their identity. The Bakongo people have championed ethnic rivalry and nationalism through sports such as football. The game

18300-618: The regional and local level—including variation between Haiti and the Haitian diaspora—as well as among different congregations. It is practiced domestically, by families on their land, but also by congregations meeting communally, with the latter termed "temple Vodou". In Haitian culture, religions are not generally deemed totally autonomous. Many Haitians thus practice both Vodou and Roman Catholicism, with Vodouists usually regarding themselves as Roman Catholics. In Haiti, Vodouists have also practiced Protestantism , Mormonism , or Freemasonry; in Cuba they have involved themselves in Santería, and in

18450-432: The relationship between diaspora and nation and the dualities or multiplicities of diasporic identity or subjectivity; they are inclined to be condemnatory or celebratory of transnational mobility and hybridity. In many cases, the term diaspora is used in a fuzzy, ahistorical and uncritical manner in which all manner of movements and migrations between countries and even within countries are included and no adequate attention

18600-436: The religion's priests and priestesses are deemed to have "the gift of eyes", capable of seeing the identity of a person's tutelary lwa . Vodou holds that Bondye has preordained the time of everyone's death, but does not teach the existence of an afterlife realm akin to the Christian ideas of heaven and hell . Instead, a common belief is that at bodily death, the gwo bonnanj join the Ginen, or ancestral spirits, while

18750-520: The republic of Haiti. The Roman Catholic Church left for several decades following the Revolution, allowing Vodou to become Haiti's dominant religion. In the 20th century, growing emigration spread Vodou abroad. The late 20th century saw growing links between Vodou and related traditions in West Africa and the Americas, such as Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé , while some practitioners influenced by

18900-421: The resources and tastes of the oungan or manbo running them. Each ounfò is autonomous, and often has its own unique customs. The main ceremonial room in the ounfò is the peristil , understood as a microcosmic representation of the cosmos . In the peristil , brightly painted posts hold up the roof; the central post is the poto mitan , which is used as a pivot during ritual dances and

19050-412: The rites. Another figure is le confiance (the confidant), the ounsi who oversees the ounfò 's administrative functions. Congregants often form a sosyete soutyen ( société soutien , support society), through which subscriptions are paid to help maintain the ounfò and organize the major religious feasts. Another ritual figure sometimes present is the prèt savann ("bush priest"),

19200-399: The saints, while images of these Christian figures can also be found on temple walls, and on the drapo flags used in Vodou ritual. Vodouists also often adopt and reinterpret biblical stories and theorise about the nature of Jesus of Nazareth . Vodou holds that Bondye created humanity in its image, fashioning humans from water and clay. It teaches the existence of a soul, usually called

19350-475: The sick. There is no priestly hierarchy, with oungan and manbo being largely self-sufficient. In many cases, the role is hereditary. Historical evidence suggests that the role of the oungan and manbo intensified over the course of the 20th century. As a result, "temple Vodou" is now more common in rural areas of Haiti than it was in historical periods. Vodou teaches that the lwa call an individual to become an oungan or manbo , and if

19500-467: The slave trade" in 18th and 19th century, until the slave trade was forcibly brought to an end in the 1840s. This ban on lucrative trade of slaves through the lands of Kongo people was bitterly opposed by both the Portuguese and Luso-Africans (part Portuguese, part African), states Vansina. The slave trade was replaced with ivory trade in the 1850s, where the old caravan owners and routes replaced hunting human beings with hunting elephants for their tusks with

19650-529: The slave trading through the Kongo people territory dramatically increased. The weakened Kingdom of Kongo continued to face internal revolts and violence that resulted from the raids and capture of slaves, and the Portuguese in 1575 established the port city of Luanda (now in Angola) in cooperation with a Kongo noble family to facilitate their military presence, African operations and the slave trade thereof. The Kingdom of Kongo and its people ended their cooperation in

19800-536: The small northern Kikongo-speaking area, and this region neither converted to Christianity nor participated in slave trade until the 19th century. There is abundant description about Kongo religious concepts in the Catholic missionary and colonial era records, but states Thornton, these are written with a hostile bias and their reliability is problematic. The Kongo people believed in the Creator God Nzambi Mpungu , his female counterpart Nzambici , and

19950-446: The soil; where this is not possible, libations are poured into an enamel basin. Some peristil include seating around the walls. Adjacent rooms in the ounfò include the caye-mystéres , also known as the bagi , badji , or sobadji . This is where stonework altars, known as pè , stand against the wall or are arranged in tiers. Also present may be a sink dedicated to the lwa Danbala-Wedo. The caye-mystéres

20100-524: The source for Laman's famous and widely cited ethnography and their dialect became well established thanks to Laman's dictionary of Kikongo. The fragmented Kongo people in the 19th century were annexed by three European colonial empires, during the Scramble for Africa and Berlin Conference , the northernmost parts went to France (now the Republic of Congo and Gabon), the middle part along river Congo along with

20250-507: The spellings Vodoun , Voudoun , or Vodun , while in French the spellings vaudou or vaudoux also appear. The spelling Voodoo , once common, is now generally avoided by practitioners and scholars when referring to the Haitian religion. This is both to avoid confusion with Louisiana Voodoo , a related but distinct tradition, and to distinguish it from the negative connotations that the term Voodoo has in Western popular culture . Vodou

20400-507: The spirits of the dead. In rural Haiti, cemeteries are often family owned and play a key role in family rituals. Crossroads are also ritual locations, selected as they are believed to be points of access to the spirit world. Other spaces used for Vodou rituals include Christian churches, rivers, the sea, fields, and markets. Certain trees are regarded as having spirits resident in them and are used as natural altars. Different species of tree are associated with different lwa ; Oyu, for example,

20550-467: The succession system within Kongo kingdom changed under Portuguese influence, and in 1509, instead of the usual election among the nobles, a hereditary European-style succession led to the African king Afonso I succeeding his father, now named João I. The slave capture and the export of slaves caused major social disorder among the Kongo people, and the Kongo king Afonso I wrote letters to the king of Portugal protesting this practice. Finally, he succumbed to

20700-505: The term Kongo is possibly derived from a local verb for gathering or assembly. According to Alisa LaGamma , the root may be from the regional word Nkongo which means "hunter" in the context of someone adventurous and heroic. It may be derived from the proto-bantu word for hunter, similar to the IsiZulu term khonto, which means spear as in "umkhonto we sizwe", Spear of the Nation, the name for

20850-503: The three nations to self governance. The French and Belgium regions became independent in 1960. Angolan independence came in 1975. The language of the Kongo people is called Kikongo (Guthrie: Bantu Zone H .10). It is a macrolanguage and consists of Beembe , Doondo, Koongo, Laari, Kongo-San-Salvador, Kunyi, Vili and Yombe sub-languages. The Kongo language is divided into many dialects which are sufficiently diverse that people from distant dialects, such as speakers of Kivili dialect (on

21000-478: The traders at the borders of the Kongo kingdom, such as the Malebo Pool and offered luxury goods in exchange for captured slaves. This created, states Jan Vansina, an incentive for border conflicts and slave caravan routes, from other ethnic groups and different parts of Africa, in which the Kongo people and traders participated. The slave raids and volume of trade in enslaved human beings increased thereafter, and by

21150-409: The week. Larger market gatherings were rotated once every eight days, on Nsona Kungu. The Haplogroup L2a is a mtdna clade that was found to be common in the Democratic Republic of Congo amongst Bantu groups, including the Bakongo. Haplogroup E1b1a8 was the most commonly observed y-chromosome clade. The idea of a Bakongo unity, actually developed in the early twentieth century, primarily through

21300-451: 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 rise 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 Nu Mpémba , with of the ancestors, or bakulu . Because Bakongo people have

21450-505: The world of spirits can possess the world of flesh. Article about Kongo clans  [ fr ] Article about Vili clans  [ fr ] The Kongo week was a four-day week: Konzo, Nkenge, Nsona and Nkandu. These days are named after the four towns near which traditionally a farmer's market was held in rotation. This idea spread across the Kongo people, and every major district or population center had four rotating markets locations, each center named after these days of

21600-503: Was nzo a nkisi , which means "another shrine," and the Bible was mukanda nkisi , which means "a consecrated charm." Kongo people maintained both churches and shrines, which they called Kiteki . Their smaller shrines were dedicated to the smaller deities, even after they had converted to Christianity. These deities were guardians of water bodies, crop lands and high places to the Kongo people, and they were very prevalent both in capital towns of

21750-601: Was about 200 kilometers inland from the Atlantic coast. The Portuguese arrived on the Central African coast north of the Congo River, several times between 1472 and 1483 searching for a sea route to India , but they failed to find any ports or trading opportunities. In 1483, south of the Congo river they found the Kongo people and the Kingdom of Kongo, which had a centralized government, a currency called nzimbu , and markets, ready for trading relations. The Portuguese found well developed transport infrastructure inlands from

21900-435: Was based on different assumptions and premises about what Christianity was, and syncretic ideas continued for centuries. The Kongo people, state the colonial era accounts, included a reverence for their ancestors and spirits. Some BaKongo people shaved their heads to keep it smooth “for spirits that might want to land there.” However, some anthropologists report regional differences. According to Dunja Hersak, for example,

22050-476: Was modeled not on hereditary succession as was common in Europe, but based on an election by the court nobles from the Kongo people. This required the king to win his legitimacy by a process of recognizing his peers, consensus building as well as regalia and religious ritualism. The kingdom had many trading centers both near rivers and inland, distributed across hundreds of kilometers and Mbanza Kongo – its capital that

22200-703: Was more widely deployed to identify Kikongo-speaking people enslaved in the Americas. Since the early 20th century, Bakongo (singular Mkongo or Mukongo ) has been increasingly used, especially in areas north of the Congo River , to refer to the Kikongo-speaking community, or more broadly to speakers of the closely related Kongo languages . This convention is based on the Bantu languages, to which Kongo language belongs. The prefix "mu-" and "ba-" refer to "people", singular and plural respectively. Ne in Kikongo designates

22350-459: Was the kingdom of Loango. Loango was in the northern part, above the Congo River, a region which long before the war was already an established community of the Kongo people. New kingdoms came into existence in this period, from the disintegrated parts in the southeast and the northeast of the old Kongo kingdom. The old capital of the Kongo people called São Salvador was burnt down, and was in ruins and abandoned in 1678. The fragmented new kingdoms of

22500-495: Was vociferous and well published by the slave traders, the missionaries and the colonial era Portuguese historians, which helped morally justify mass trading of slaves. Modern scholars such as Estevam Thompson have shown that there is much confusion between the "original" Jagas, who left the land of Yaka on the eastern bank of the Kwango River and invaded Mbata and mbanza Kongo, and other later references to "Jaga warriors" roaming

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