Bantu Religion + Kongo Shamanism in California
Trying to learn Palo Mayombe from a book is like trying to learn karate from a movie – without hands-on instruction from a legitimate teacher, you will have no idea what you are doing and will probably just wind up injuring yourself.
On the other hand, if you are interested in learning about more Kongolese shamanism, [...]
SOURCE : About the Mayombe and Briyumba (Brillumba) Ramas of Palo
Most of today’s Mayombe ramas have Brillumba elements in them. Brillumba has been described as “an intelligent technique” used to construct an nkisi. This is why some people will hear some “Briyumberos” refer to “caminos” or “paths” of a prenda such as Siete Rayos Tronco [...]
SOURCE : An introduction to Palo Mayombe
Palo is a direct method of comunication with the Spirits: the belief is strongly animistic and similar to shamanism: all that exists is considered as animated by spirits, man in particular can become a doorway to other worlds through mediumship.
The spirits which are the most relevant for Palo are: [...]
SOURCE : Memory of student slain in human sacrifice lives on
It’s been 20 years since pre-med student Mark Kilroy vanished during a Spring Break jaunt across the border in Matamoros, Mexico.
What followed was one of the most harrowing investigations in memory along the Texas border, ending with the discovery of 13 shallow graves and a [...]
SOURCE : Activity: Doll Making and Resolving Conflict
Among the BaKongo people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa, the figures may be made of wood, cloth and stones. Ancestor figures are never carved as realistic representations of specific individuals, but rather represent an idealized portrayal of the individual. The head of such [...]
For some reason I love reading true crime accounts, and this one’s especially sensationalistic:
SOURCE : NYPD Investigates Palo Mayombe
The detective went on with Palo Mayombe, explaining the shrines, shaman relics, and other objects in the apartment as well as the basics of the religion. In this religion that worships spirits, the spirits that are the [...]
SOURCE : Prenda de Lucero Mundo – Palo Monte Shrines and Ritual
The mpungu of the nganga does its bidding through a principal spirit of the dead (muerto or nfumbi), conjured from the cemetery and incorporated into the pot through the presence of human relics… This muerto is considered to be the “general” or “overseer” [...]
A touching and textured article – I can see why it won an award. It really describes what Palo is actually like for the people who practice it:
SOURCE : Spirits of the Dead: Palo Mayombe, a Mixture of African and Catholic Beliefs, Stirs Controversy
But Palo’s real problem may not be the “dark side,” on which [...]
SOURCE : Palo Monte
A Prenda (foundation, cauldron) is like the whole world, only small which you use to dominate; that is why the “Ngangulero” (owner of the cauldron), introduces in his cauldron all the spirits; there he has the cemetery, the mountain, the river, the seas, thunder, the swirl, the sun, the moon and the [...]
![[Bob Burman, race car driver] (LOC)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2037/2163470598_fb7571cdab_m.jpg "[Bob Burman, race car driver] (LOC)")
SOURCE : solomonic : Message: Clarifications on my Spirit Pots posting
There is a world of difference between knowing ABOUT Palo (even if one has had extensive conversations with Paleros, or studied the subject extensively), and having the LICENSE to work with a prenda. Why? Because initiation confers SOMETHING directly via the physical and spiritual body [...]
