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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.
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.
They were also responsible for charging a nkisi, or physical objects intended to be the receptacle for spiritual forces that heal and protect its owner. When Kongo converted to Christianity in the late fifteenth century, the term nganga was used to translate Christian priest as well as traditional spiritual mediators. [3]
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 nkonde figurines, masks and drums are also made for ceremonies. [4] Their funerary figures are renowned for their realistic depictions. [5] The supreme deity of the Yombe is Ngoma Bunzi, who hails from an unreachable realm called Yulu. He is contacted via Nzambi a Tsi (earth spirits) and Simbi (river spirits).
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 ...