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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]
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.
These practices from the Kongo in the Americas were done to ward places from evil spirits, conjure spirits of the dead and ancestral spirits, and for spiritual protection against withcraft. The Nkisi Nkondi is made by an nganga and the spirit of the Nkondi is used to hunt and punish evil witches. [29] [30] [31]
Nkisi nkondi of the Bakongo.They are a subclass of nkisi, objects believed to be inhabited by spirits, common across the Congo Basin. The beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse, and include various ethnic religions.
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.
Nkisi were mainly destroyed by missionaries when the area was colonized. However, artistic traditions relating to them are present in contemporary art in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For instance, the idea of physical manifestations that alter one’s relationship with the world is a spiritual element possessed in contemporary Congo art.
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For example, archeologists found the remains of an nkisi nkondi with iron wedges driven into the figure to activate its spirit in one of the cabins called the "curer's cabin." Researchers also found a Kongo bilongo , which enslaved African Americans created using materials from white porcelain to make a doll figure.