Basongye of Congo A Rich Tradition Before Colonialism

Background Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as Zaire, has a population of about 40 million people and the major ethnic group are the Bantu; the country is also made up of about 200 tribes.

Worldview

Efile Mukulu is a beneficent god who controls everything. “The earth is a flat circle, resting on water below and covered by water in the sky. The Congo is the center, and at the edges and the United States, Portugal, and Belgium.”

Relationships The male sun dries things up and the female moon gives light at night and is the mother of everything. The moon symbolizes water and together with the sun crops grow.

Basongye Religion A Feast for Diviners

Evil in Basongye Religion There is an evil god called Kafilefile and although he has "departed" he left his evil influence. Some times the good god Efile Mukulu will intervene in special situations.

The Power of Diviners Sorcerers, witches and buchi (who are evil) are feared. The Basongye use divination, magic, spells, to carry out their wishes through witches, sorcerers, etc. and therefore, humans are responsible for evil. Magic influences the lives of the people.

Sorcerers and Witches Although witches were created by Efile Mukulu they do the work of Kafilefile. Witches can become shape-shifters and attack their prey like animals. "A person can become a sorcerer only by giving up a family member to be killed."

The Spirit A human, whose "essential part" is the spirit, can be reincarnated up to three times. The human spirit called a kikudu can return as a male or female child and have some family resemblance. Consciousness goes beyond the body and a spirit can travel while the body is asleep.

Sources shasa.jpg shasa.jpg tml tml curator.jsc.nasa.gov/outreach1/expmetmys/slideset/M oon.jpg curator.jsc.nasa.gov/outreach1/expmetmys/slideset/M oon.jpg divination/divination.html divination/divination.html ld_Eshop_Figure_Heads_16.html