Death and the Invisible Powers: The World of Kongo Belief
"[Bockie’s] description of Kongo culture is vivid, beautifully clear, and absolutely authentic, as only a native could make it.... I don’t know of anything of its kind that is both as good, ethnographically, and as readable."—Wyatt MacGaffey\ "Simon Bockie has written an engaging, often personal account of the views and behaviors surrounding death in his own society, the Kongo of Lower Zaire, northern Angola, and the Congo." —Cahiers d’Etudes africaines\ "... excellent book of Kongo...
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"[Bockie's] description of Kongo culture is vivid, beautifully clear, and absolutely authentic, as only a native could make it.... I don't know of anything of its kind that is both as good, ethnographically, and as readable." — Wyatt MacGaffey"Simon Bockie has written an engaging, often personal account of the views and behaviors surrounding death in his own society, the Kongo of Lower Zaire, northern Angola, and the Congo." — Cahiers d'Etudes africaines"... excellent book of Kongo religious life and thought... " — Religion"It is a book that is remarkably well written, both for its readability and for its explanatory value.... the book is a superb starting place for understanding Kongo religion, and will work as an introduction to African religion in general as well." — International Journal of African Historical Studies"... an excellent introduction for anyone seeking to understand Kongo traditional culture and thought." — OshunRich in anecdote and case histories, Death and the Invisible Powers is a personal account of the spiritual life of the Kongo people. It describes the ancient traditions that nourish a culture whose name symbolizes the heart of Central Africa.
Preface1The Spirituality of a Communal People1Beginning with Community1The Kongo People2The Land of Manianga: Isolation and Rejection2Gender and Community Structure5The Cohesiveness of the Community7Communal Life as the Goal of Existence10The Clan11The Role of the Chief16The Flow of Living Power from the Ancestors18Family Relationships19Seniority22Marriage23The Individual31Tension between the Public and the Personal332The Communal Response to Death and Misfortune36Death by Natural Causes36The Response to AIDS38Death Due to Kindoki40Present-Day Belief in Kindoki41Kindoki: The Unique Power to Do Good or Evil43Harmful Kindoki45The Cleansing of Kindoki57How the Cleansing Rite Was Conducted61Priests of Divine Science66Ngang'a Ngombo, the Searchers of Causes67Ngang'a Mbuki, the Healers69Training in the Science of Kinganga71A New Type of Priesthood: Kingunza76An Overview of Kindoki823The Concept of Death83Death as an Opening to a Better or a Worse Life83Brief Visits to the Unknown (Near-Death Experiences)86Reaction of Survivors95Leave-Taking98Funeral Rites and Mourning99Christian Participation in Funeral Rituals126The Spirit's Survival of Bodily Death128The Total Spiritual Community of Living and Dead1314God134Epilogue. Kongo Belief in Its Contemporary Setting138Appendix. Kikongo Texts141Notes146Selected Bibliography152Index156
