Description
Book SynopsisPresented by a native of the spiritual life of the Kongo region of Africa, this is a study of the reaffirmation of African cultural identity. It shows that Kongo life is communal, rather than individualistic.
Table of ContentsPREFACE
ONE The Spirituality of a Communal People
Beginning with Community
The Kongo People
The Land of Manianga: Isolation and Rejection
Gender and Community Structure
The Cohesiveness of the Community
Communal Life as the Goal of Existence
The Clan
The Role of the Chief
The Flow of Living Power from the Ancestors
Family Relationships
Seniority
Marriage
The Individual
Tension between the Public and the Personal
TWO The Communal Response to Death and Misfortune
Death by Natural Causes
The Response of AIDS
Death Due to Kindoki
Present-Day Belief in Kindoki
Kindoki: The Unique Power to Do Good or Evil
Harmful Kindoki
The Cleansing of Kindoki
How the Cleansing Rite Was Conducted
Priests of Divine Science
Ngang'a Ngombo, the Searchers of Causes
Ngang'a Mbuki, the Healers
Training in the Science of Kinganga
A New Type of Priesthood: Kingunza
An Overview of Kindoki
THREE The Concept of Death
Death as an Opening to a Better or a Worse Life
Brief Visits to the Unknown (Near-Death Experiences)
Reaction of Survivors
Leave-Taking
Funeral Rites and Mourning
Christian Participation in Funeral Rituals
The Spirit's Survival of Bodily Death
The Total Spiritual Community of Living and Dead
FOUR God
EPILOGUE, KONGO BELIEF IN ITS CONTEMPORARY SETTING
APPENDIX, KIKONGO TEXTS
NOTES
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
