Kumina Spirit Possession in St Thomas Parish
SOURCE : Report of a Kumina gathering in Jamaica
Kumina is both a religion and dance that has been retained from the African heritage. It is kept alive in St. Thomas by people who drum and dance while speaking the Bantu language of the Congo.
It is the practice of bringing down spirits of the dead to [...]
Kongo Religion in Jamaica : Kumina
SOURCE : Kongo Religion in Jamaica : Kumina
Kumina, otherwise known as kalunga or kaduunga, features flat-footed inching of the feet (or the kongo step), a steady, but often subtle, forward-thrusting of the hip with the rib cage and arms moving against the hip, followed by wild spins and sudden breaks, signalled by the lead drum. [...]
McCartney: Ten, Ten the Bible Ten : Obeah in the Bahamas
SOURCE : McCartney: Ten, Ten the Bible Ten : Obeah in the Bahamas
This classic work on magic and psychology in the Bahamas provides a unique and fascinating glimpse into the traditional sorcery of the African diaspora as it evolved in the British Bahamas. Because it is both the best and the most oft-cited book on [...]
Kongo Shamanism and the World of the Unseen
In the world of Kongo witchcraft, people don’t go to a “better place” when they die, but instead linger on as powerful spirits with their own appetites and agendas, the inhabitants of a hidden realm just as vast, bewildering and morally ambiguous as our own.
Brazilian Quimbanda: Who are Exu and Pomba Gira?
SOURCE : Brazilian Quimbanda: Who are Exu and Pomba Gira?
For Quimbanda, the Exú are but men who died in impurity, spirits of dead people chained to evil, who, having been human can better carry out human wishes. Neither Exú nor Pomga-gira are demonic. Rather, they are entities working from death in favor of the [...]
The Kongo Cosmogram or Solar Cross
SOURCE : The Kongo Cosmogram or Solar Cross
What animal walks on 4 legs at dawn, 2 legs at noon and 3 legs at dusk?
Oedipus’ answer to this question was ‘man’. And rightly so, as becomes clear when one parallels the apparent passage of the sun around the Earth with a human life-span…
1 – midnight – [...]
Caribbean Espiritismo altars: the Indian and the Congo
SOURCE : Caribbean Espiritismo altars: the Indian and the Congo | Art Bulletin, The | Find Articles at BNET
The creation of a firma is considered both an act of faith and an aesthetic act. In literal translation, firma means signature, and a cluster of firmas can act as a system of ideographic writing. Because they [...]
Ndoki bueno ndoki malo: Kongo religion in the African diaspora
SOURCE : Ndoki bueno ndoki malo: Historic and contemporary Kongo religion in the African diaspora
The religious traditions of Central Africans have been less a focus of attention than those from West Africa. Despite being often more widespread in the American diaspora, these traditions are often overlooked by academic studies or characterized as witchcraft rather than [...]
Conviction of Angolans on child cruelty charges raises concerns about exorcism
Conviction of three Angolans on child cruelty charges raised concerns about exorcism practices among some African communities
Belief in witchcraft has spread rapidly in some parts of central and southern Africa over the last few years, says Dr Richard Hoskins, senior research fellow in sociology and religion at King’s College, London.
‘Ndoki’ was said to target children [...]
