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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, its leaders were able to influence much of the traditional religious practices across the Congo Basin.[1] As a result, many other ethnic groups and kingdoms in West-Central Africa, like the Chokwe and Mbundu, adopted elements of Bakongo spirituality.[2][3]
The spirituality is based on a complex animistic system and a pantheon of spirits. The principle Creator God of the world is Nzambi Mpungu, the sovereign master, and his female counterpart, Nzambici.[2] While Nzambi Mpungu, who gave birth to the universe and the spirits who inhabit it, is vital to the spirituality, ancestor veneration is the core principle.[4]
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.[2] Expert healers, known as Banganga, undergo extensive training to commune with the ancestors in the spiritual realms and seek guidance from them.[1]
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
:2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c Asante, Molefi Kete; Mazama, Ama (2009). Encyclopedia of African Religion. SAGE Publications. pp. 120–124, 165–166, 361. ISBN 978-1412936361.
- ^ "NPS Ethnography: African American Heritage & Ethnography". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ Muyingi, Mbangu Anicet (2014-07-02). "The Place of African Traditional Religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the Advent of Christianity". Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences. 5 (14): 539. ISSN 2039-2117.