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Nkisi or Nkishi (plural varies: minkisi, mikisi, zinkisi, or nkisi) 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 contain spiritual powers or spirits.
Because they are aggressive, many nkondi with human figures are carved with their hands raised, sometimes bearing weapons. The earliest representation of an nkisi in this pose can be seen in the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Kongo, designed around 1512 and illustrated between 1528 and 1541, where a broken "idol" is shown with this gesture at the base of the shield. [5]
Nzambi is the "sovereign master"; he created the earth, then withdrew from the world. Nzambi Mpungu remains responsible for rainfall and health. [3]Aluvaiá (also Bombo Njila, Pambu Njila, Nzila, Mujilo, Mavambo, Vangira, Njila, Maviletango) is an intermediary between human beings and other Nkisi; he is additionally the protector of the houses.
These Nkisi and minkisi bundles became the conjure bags in Hoodoo. [300] After 1679, the majority of Africans imported to colonial New York were from West Africa because the colonial rule of New York shifted from the Dutch to the English in 1664. West Africans imported to the colony included Akan, Fon, Yoruba, and other ethnic groups. These ...
The Vili culture is rich in a secular history, a Matrilineality society which is the foundation of a Vili language full of nuances where proverbs have a prominent place; of an original measurement system, [1] of a spirituality whose Nkisi, [2] Nkisi Konde or nail fetishes are the famous physical representation. These artifacts are "commentaries ...
Nkisi had a square pouch of lion's skin filled with shells, stones, iron bells and other ingredients. It was portable; travelers and merchants carried such a pouch with them on their journeys. In the town of Kiko there was the nkisi called Lykikoo, which was a wooden statue in the shape of a man.
The Kongo people believed in the Creator God Nzambi Mpungu, his female counterpart Nzambici, and a host of nature spirits that were referred to as simbi, nkisi, nkita and kilundu spirits. [63] In an attempt to convince Kongo people to convert to Catholicism, Portuguese missionaries often stressed that Nzambi was the Christian God.
An English missionary describes how an nganga looks during his healing performance: Thick circles of white around the eyes, a patch of red across the forehead, broad stripes of yellow are drawn down the cheeks, bands of red, white, or yellow run down the arms and across the chest....