Kongo religion

Common card · No. 256138

Kongo religion (Kikongo: Bukongo or Bakongo) encompasses the traditional spiritual 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. As a result, many other ethnic groups and kingdoms in West-Central Africa, like the Chokwe and Ambundu, adopted elements of Bakongo spirituality. The spirituality is based on a complex animistic system and a pantheon of spirits. The principle Creator God of the world is Nzambi Ampungu, the sovereign master, and his female counterpart, Nzambici. While Nzambi Ampungu, who gave birth to the universe and the spirits who inhabit it, is vital to the spirituality, ancestor veneration is the core principle. 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. Expert healers, known as Banganga, undergo...

Read on Wikipedia · Image CC BY-SA 2.5