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The Kongo cosmogram (also called yowa or dikenga cross, Kikongo: dikenga dia Kongo or tendwa kia nza-n' Kongo) is a core symbol in Bakongo religion that depicts the physical world (Ku Nseke), the spiritual world (Ku Mpémba), the Kalûnga line that runs between the two worlds, the sacred river that forms a circle through the two worlds, the four moments of the sun, and the four elements.
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 ]
The cross, a primary emblem of Christian ritual, was also a fundamental motif at the core of Kongo belief systems. The Kongo cosmogram, also called the Four Moments of the Sun, is a circle around a cross. It depicts the four divisions of the day—dawn, noon, dusk, and midnight—which represents the cyclical journey of a human life from birth ...
Together, Kalûnga and the mbûngi circle form the Kongo cosmogram, also called the Yowa or Dikenga Cross. [7] A simbi (pl. bisimbi) is a water spirit that is believed to inhabit bodies of water and rocks, having the ability to guide bakulu , or the ancestors, along the Kalûnga line to the spiritual world after death.
Christianity is the predominant religion in the Republic of the Congo, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. Different sources give varying population figures for various denominations. The 2012 census reported 55% of the native-born population is Catholic, 32% Protestant, and 2% Muslim. [ 2 ]
Half of Congolese people follow traditional beliefs, and there are 15 principle Bantu groups and more than 70 subgroups. The other half are 35% Roman Catholic, 15% other Christian and 2% Muslim. The region was dominated by Bantu-speaking tribes, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin.
Christianity is the majority religion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is professed by a majority of the population. According to the 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom, an estimated 48.1% of the population are Protestant (including evangelical Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth) and 47.3% are Catholic ...
Nzambi Mpungu was recorded as the name of the God of the Kongo people as early as the early 16th century by Portuguese who visited the Kingdom of Kongo. [1] [2]European missionaries along with Kongo intellectuals (including King Afonso I of Kongo) set out to render European Christian religious concepts into Kikongo and they chose this name to represent God.