Exploring the Indigenous Religions and Spiritual Practices of Central Africa

Summary

• Central African religions support the worship of ancestors who act as intermediaries between a supreme being and humanity. Spiritual leaders (generally called nganga) in turn act as intermediaries between ordinary humans and the ancestors
• Central African religions have largely been influenced by Christianity so that some of them have evolved into syncretic forms. In such cases, Christianity fills the gaps left open in the traditional doctrines
• Rituals in Central African religions range from animal sacrifice, celebratory ceremonies to the consumption of psychedelic plants like iboga. All of these provide a way to connect with the spiritual realm

Deep Dive

The religions of Central Africa are as diverse and yet similar as the countries in the region. Some, like Kongo Religion, consist of complex theological frameworks that explain not just their immediate surroundings, but the whole universe. Others, like Bwiti Religion, are simpler as they focus on self-discovery and import their theology from Christianity—similar to the Zulu Religion of Southern Africa. Yet, in all of them, ancestors are revered as spiritual beings who have some influence on the living.

In this article, we will explore in depth the customs and doctrines of the indigenous religions of three major ethnic groups in Central Africa.

Luba Religion

Native to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Luba peoples (collectively called Baluba) number over 28 million. Before the White man came, there was the ancient and powerful Luba Kingdom which seemingly originated in the Upemba Depression, a long marshy bowl area which has offered great insights into Africa’s past. However, the advent of Belgian colonisation saw the fragmentation of the kingdom and a resultant breakdown in the cultural and religious structure of the Baluba. Today, the Baluba mainly practice Christianity and Islam, but there are still a few who follow their indigenous religions.

The Luba traditional religion supports the existence of a universal creator (Shakapanga) who is also the Supreme Being (Leza). However, the Baluba do not have shrines where Leza is worshipped because they believe Leza cannot be confined to a single place, but is everywhere. Instead, they regularly communicate with the ancestors (bankambo) who in turn relate with Leza. Adherence to ethical conduct is a prerequisite for being inducted into the community of ancestral spirits in the afterlife.

The bankambo live in an invisible world that mirrors the world of the living, with family groups, villages, forests and so on. From their world, the ancestors watch over their progeny and contact the living through dreams, divination (lubuko) sessions and by manifesting unusual occurrences. Thus, the Baluba see the interpretation of dreams as a way of decoding divine messages. They also practice lubuko to seek the will of the ancestors before making important decisions or to uncover the causes of misfortune.

The living must honour the bankambo by performing various rituals, including rites of passage, since the sustenance of the ancestors depends on the devotion of their living relatives. If their descendants fail to honour them, the bankambo can unleash various misfortunes such as crop failures, illnesses and evil omens.

The ancient Luba Kingdom was ruled by kings whose power was checked by an oral constitution based on the will of the ancestors (Kishila-kya-bankambo). This way, the king’s power was sustained within the limits of the people’s well-being. In some cases, a powerful religious council called the bambudye could even kill the king if he abused his power.

The Baluba also believe in the existence of other spirits called mikishi or bavidye. The priests (called kitobo or nsengha) and traditional healers (nganga) are essential figures in the Luba religion. The former act as intermediaries between the bankambo and the living during ritual ceremonies, which often involve prayer, singing, dancing, sacrifice and libations. Meanwhile, Nganga are the ones who perform lubuko as they are spirit-possessed and thus, able to offer prophetic utterances. Witches (mfwintshi) are believed to be the embodiment of evil and an opposition to the will of the bankambo.

The Baluba believe that each human being (muntu) has a single essence which in turn has many manifestations. The core part of each human being is the life shadow (umwe wa bumi) or soul (muja) as it is the seat of thought and emotion. Furthermore, a person’s muja and umbidi (body) are interconnected such that whoever destroys the body also destroys the soul and vice versa. Attacking the soul may look like casting a spell on someone, which will eventually harm the person physically too. This interconnectedness also guides the way the Baluba relate with each other, as it is believed that blessings or misfortune can be bestowed on someone by touching them. When someone dies in an urban area, it is expected that their bodily matter, such as hair or nail clippings, will be taken to their village so that their soul can be buried in ancestral ground.

The Luba Songye, a sub-ethnic group of the Baluba, believe that the soul returns to earth three times in a human body and then the fourth time in an animal’s body before it goes permanently to the spirit world. The Songye also believe in the existence of a divine figure called Kafilefile who has opposed Leza since the beginning of creation, similar to Satan in Abrahamic religions.

According to the Luba Religion, coming into one’s authentic personhood (bumuntu) is the goal of human existence. It is characterised by the concept of mucima muyampe (having a good heart) and buleme (dignity and self-respect). Without bumuntu, one cannot truly be faithful to the Luba Religion.

In 1945, a Belgian missionary named Placide Tempels’ published a book titled La Philosophe Bantoue (French for ‘Bantu Philosophy’). This book introduced the outside world to Luba Religion so that the religion would then form the bedrock of contemporary African philosophy.

Kongo Religion

The Kongo peoples (collectively called Bakongo) are a Bantu ethnic group with over 18 million members spread across the Republic of Congo (primarily), DRC and Angola. They originate from the ancient Kongo Kingdom which is now a part of these three countries. The Bakongo were among the first Africans to interact with Portuguese traders. Consequently, many of them adopted Catholicism and even had Catholic kings from as early as the 15^th century. The early penetration of this foreign religion has made it difficult to outline the elaborate tenets of the pure Kongo Religion, otherwise known as Bukongo. In this section of the article, we will try to identify them.

The Bakongo traditionally believe in a Supreme Being, called Nzambi Mpungu or Nzambi Kalunga, who has a female counterpart called Nzambici. Nzambi Mpungu is the omnipotent creator god while Nzambici is the mother of the moon, earth and sky. In line with the existence of both a male and female god, the Bakongo believe that each human had a dual male/female identity; the right side of the body was said to be male while the left side was female.

Additionally, Bukongo supports the existence of a pantheon of natural spirits and ancestors (bakulu) who intercede between Nzambi Mpungu and humanity. The spirits (called simbi, nkita or nkisi) are also guardians of water bodies, crop lands and high places. Evil, disorder and injustice are attributed to human actions motivated by envy, greed or maliciousness. The Bakongo also believe in the potence of witchcraft or sorcery, called kindoki.

When people cannot cope with their misfortunes, whether caused by kindoki or otherwise, they call on nganga, which in this context is an umbrella term for a diviner and priest. In Bukongo, banganga (plural for nganga) are able to manipulate spirits and humans, establish offices of authority and heal people of physical and mental illness. They go through extensive training and their power is supplied by the bakulu who live in an otherworldly realm called mpemba.

Mpemba is associated with the colour white and water bodies, while the land of humans (nseke) is associated with black and seen as the realm of ordinary human powers, partial and evil forces. The contrast between the colours of mpemba and nseke symbolises the ability of the ancestors to renew and purify the human world. Human death is followed by entry into mpemba. The sky, which is not associated with any colour, is seen as the third realm where other spiritual forces are present. The colour red is ascribed to transitory realms of life, celestial bodies and the rhythms of nature and human life.

Interestingly, the Bakongo have a theory for both the creation of the universe and the creation of the earth. According to them, Nzambi called forth a spark of fire (Kalunga) that grew until it filled a lifeless, circular void called mbungi. Kalunga then became a force of energy that could not be contained and consequently exploded across space, forming the universe with the sun, stars and planets. The earth was one of these planets and evolved in 4 stages. The first stage was the emergence of fire. The second was the red stage where the planet was burning but had not been formed. The third was the grey stage where the planet was cooling, but had not produced life. The fourth and final was the green stage when the planet became fully mature as it could sustain life.

The Bakongo have a symbol (called yowa or dikenga cross) that depicts the Kongo cosmology. It is believed that when Kalunga had filled the mbungi circle, it transformed into a water body that acted as a line of division between nseke and mpemba. Mbungi then became the universe with the sun at the centre. All living things exist on either side of the Kalunga line and simbi spirits transport the Bakongo across the line at birth and death. The yowa represents these elements, as well as the four phases of life as they correspond to the four phases of the sun. The sun’s rising is tied to conception (musoni), its peaking to birth (kala) its setting to maturity (tukula) and its absence to death (luvemba). The cosmogram also relates each life phase to the four elements of nature: musoni is air, luvemba is water, tukula is earth and kala is fire. This elaborate symbol was the guiding philosophy of the Bakongo for centuries, before Christian theology took a hold of the people.

During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, many Bakongo slaves held on to their traditional beliefs as they settled in the Americas. Today, these beliefs are represented in Candomblé Bantu, Hoodo, Haitian Vodou and other religions practiced by slave descendants.

Bwiti Religion

In early 20^th century, a religion called ‘Bwiti’ emerged amongst the Fang people of northern Gabon and later spread to other Gabonese ethic groups like the forest-dwelling Punu people and Mistogo people. Bwiti Religion, which is one of Gabon’s three official religions, took its name from an earlier Gabonese secret society of the same name. The syncretic religion blends (Catholic) Christian symbolism and theology with the animism and ancestor worship found in the traditional Byeri religion of the Fang people.

Followers of the Bwiti religion use the hallucinogenic root bark of the Tabernanthe iboga plant for a variety of reasons including: promoting radical spiritual growth, resolving pathological problems, and stabilising the community. Iboga, considered a divine plant, is consumed at Bwiti rite of passage ceremonies, initiation rites and during acts of healing. It changes one’s perception of reality and induces visions which Bwiti followers consider to be spiritually significant.

Bwiti ceremonies are led by a spiritual leader called N’ganga, similar to the nganga of the Luba and Kongo religions. The N’ganga is well-versed in traditional healing practices, hexes and spells and is highly esteemed in the community. One of the most important Bwiti ceremonies is the initiation ceremony, during which young Gabonese adults are introduced to iboga for the first time. In separate gender-specific huts, initiates are given doses large enough to induce a temporary state of unconsciousness, which is symbolic of death. While they are unconscious, their bodies lay there while their souls travel through the universe in pursuit of knowledge of one’s true self and the world. Upon returning to consciousness, the initiates become superior versions of themselves and can then be members of the Bwiti religion. They will also be able to consume the plant for the rest of their lives during various Bwiti rituals. The iboga is usually made into tea or ingested directly after being crushed into a powdery form. Care must be taken when administering the doses of iboga according to the weight and health of the initiate, as an overdosage can lead to death. The initiation ceremony is usually conducted around the age of 15 for regular Gabonese people, and around the age of 7 for those from the N’ganga lineage.

Other Bwiti ceremonies may be for healing, exorcism, or paying homage to the ancestors. They involve singing and the playing of musical instruments such as drums and the Ngombi harp. At the ceremonies, the N’ganga and other participants are typically clad in red, black and white cloth, animal fur, raffia skirts, and small shells or beads. Bwiti ceremonies usually begin at night and may last for days, the time required for the effects of iboga to wear off.

Bwiti religion easily allows for syncretism since the traditional aspects of it are mostly about self-knowledge, morality and the quest for a deeper perception of reality. Followers of the religion believe in a Creator God called Zame ye Mebege, but do not concern themselves with worshipping him. They also don’t believe in the worship of lesser deities. Thus, the God of Christianity can easily be inserted into the Bwiti religious framework. Devotees of the Bwiti religion attend Catholic services and make prayers to the Christian God, while performing their Bwiti rituals alongside. They also modify celebrations of Christian festivals. For example, Easter is celebrated over four days with group dancing, singing and iboga-infused drinks.