The Mpungos - The Bantu Deities Nsambi Known by various names such as: Nsambi, Sambia, Nsambiampungo, Pungun

Sambia, Sambia Liri, Sambia Surukuru, Samb i Bilongo; God, made the heavens, the stars, the sun, the moon, and the Earth. He created nature and their forces. After a time of watching the storms, blizzards, and heat, He decided to create t he animals. He created man and woman. After creating man and women, He taught them how to su rvive in the world, and He taught them how to work with the forces of nature and their spirits. He taught them about the nkisi, the Makutos, Ngangas, how to build them and how to work with them. Although he still watches over the activities of humans from a distance in compa rison with other Nkisi, he is still venerated with prayer, songs, and chants bef ore attempting to venerate any minister or nkisi. You will often hear such phrases among Paleros such as: "Sambia arriba, Sambia abajo, Sambia por lo cuatro costados" God above us, God below us, God in the four corners and: Primero Nsambi OR Primero Dio which means God is first. Lukankanse\Lucambe\Kadiampembe Many see him as the Christian devil. Some say he is an aspect of Nsambi and does not oppose him or his work in the Ch ristian sense. There are Munansos that have a special tratados (pact) with this entity. These forces of nature are considered playful, tricky and dangerous for those th at cannot handle their nature. Many Paleros, says that anything that is associated with Lucambe as ndoki, but t his may actually be a misuse of the word ndoki. Ndoki is anything that has "power." A Palero can be an Nganga Nsambi and be more Ndoki than another. In the Kongo society anyone that is extremely good at something may be referred to as ndoki. A doctor or dancer may be ndoki. It is for this reason that there e xists ndoki bueno and ndoki malo - good ndoki and bad ndoki . The main thing about the "ndokis" that are built is that "nsalan con el viento" - they work with the wind. Ndoki malo does not work with Christian imagery, it does not like anything that strictly refers to any signs of benevolence or mercy. It is for this reason that you will find some Prendas that contain no crucifix, these are often referred t o as Prendas Judias - Jewish Prendas and many say that they are considered to be used for malefic purposes only but this is a false notion. Unlike Nsambi, Lugambe can be directly worked with since he has his own fetish. Lugambe, has been described by one Tata who works with him as, "an entity of ext reme light but he is hard to control." Lucero\Nkuyo He is a warrior. He is the one that brings true balance, guides all things throu gh paths to accomplish the work that needs to be done and he is the stabilizer o f our lives and our health. Some people compare him to the Lukumi\Yoruba Esu or

Eleggua. There are some ramas that prepare Lucero in a cement bust with cowries for eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, which is very similar to Lukumi's Eleggua. But, there are several Munansos of Palo that prepare him in a clay or iron cauld ron. The name Lucero comes from the Spanish word "star." This is because the Kongo believed that the stars represented the spirits of the "Nkuyo", especially shooting stars. Zarabanda Zarabanda (Sarabanda), is the energy of working and strength. Zarabanda is a ver y popular and important Prenda. Zarabanda is of raw energy being focused into a solid existence. With his machete (Mbele), Zarabanda keeps man and spirits in line with threat of falling under the very weapons that he provided. He is one of the ultimate warriors in Kongo warfare. To the Briyumberos, he is the "tronco mayor," eldest, in the Briyumba rites. Many in Palo believe that a Palero is not complete until he has received Zaraban da because Zarabanda is the owner of the knife, the mbele, mbele kasuso and mbel e mbobo which allow the Tata to "work" by using the knife to sacrifice animals a nd initiate others. Siete Rayos AKA: Nsasi AKA Seven Lightning Bolts in English, or Nsasi in Bantu. He is the Tronco Mayor of Mayombe branches. In pure Mayombe he is the only Mpung o that is worked with. He is known to be the action of burning in all forms, from the candle to the lig htning bolt. He is the Kongo god of thunder. The royal palm found in the tropics and subtropi cs are known to be sacred to him. Siete Rayos is usually offered stones from the forest, at the foot of a Royal Pa lm tree, or anywhere that lightning has been known to strike. Cabo Rondo AKA: Vence Bataya and a few other names. He is the god of the hunt and war, he is usually accompanied by the tools of Zar abanda, with whom he has a pact. Due to the rarity of the contents of this Nkisi what is usually done is Zaraband a is given with a pact of Vence Bataya allowing the Palero to have both Mpungos in one Nkisi. He is swift justice just like Siete Rayos. NGuruNfinda NGuruNfinda is the nkisi of what the forest has to provide. He is the god of her bal medicine. Without GuruNfinda, no potion, remedy, medicine, or magic could ex ist. He is the literal owner of Palo (the sticks). GuruNfinda is hung in a pouch called a makuto, or resguardo de Seke in many hous es. He can also be seen in some other rare forms as well. GuruNfinda "completes" the Tata and giving him "licensia" to work with the stick s and plants that are needed. He is strikingly similar to what the Lucumi call O sain.

All plants and sticks that grow in the forest are alive and inhabited with a str ength that is derived from the earth, the sky, water that falls on it for it gro w. Gurufinda is the deified representation of such pacts. Madre de Agua Rules over Yimbi or Simbi Nkita - spirits of the water that are consecrated and put into Nkisi Masa Water Spirits are also called Nkisi Mamba as is the sacred mix of plants with wa ter that is often consecrated and used for a variety of purposes. Spirits from the woods - Nkisi Misenga, Nkita Minseke, Minseke. Mother of the Water, or Kalunga and Baluande in Bakongo, is the energy of protec tive motherhood. A Palero will call upon her to release the force of an enraged mother to show her wrath on a deserving person. She is the force that heals , or harms as the case needs. Water is her attribute. Water which gives all life, and takes it at will. Its fo rce is the life giving fluid, or drowning flood. All water is her domain. Unlike the Lukumi her power extends beyond that of motherhood and fishes to the land of the dead. Because water is seen as the dividing line between the living and the dead she is one of the most feared Nkisi. Mama Chola Mama Chola, or Choya Wengue in Bakongo, is the richness of the river, the energy to give riches, luxuries, pleasures, and to take them away. Choya Wengue is the jealous girlfriend, beauty and grace. If she isn't cared for correctly, or an offense is visited upon her followers, she responds with insan ity and rage. She is the passion of a new found love, and the death by domestic abuse. Mama Chola is propitiated by the river. Centella Ndoki Perhaps one of the most feared and essential nkisi of all is called Centella Ndo ki. She is the gate keeper between life and death and owns the dominion of the cemet ery. As her name implies, she works with Ndoki and plays a very important role in Pal o rites because of her relationship with the dead. She is propitiated at the cem etery. Kobayende AKA Pata Llaga, Tata Fumbe and others. He is the action of contracting and spreading disease and to many he is consider ed the king of the dead. Propitiated correctly, his power can be called upon to remove disease, or to spread it to the enemy of the Kongo. He is described as a distorted, cloaked figure, whose speech is rough and raspy, prowling the Congo i n the heat of the sun to spread his disease on enemies. He is the wrath of Nsamb i, punishing the wicked with torturous scabs, scabies, fevers, and boils. His role in ceremonies is important and only a Tata that knows the pact (tratado ) with this Mpungu can rectify whether or not an Nkisi has been properly seated. He is also an nkisi that works closely with the dead. Tiembla Tierra Tiembla Tierra, or Yola in Bakongo, is the energy of fatherhood, wisdom, and jus

tice. There are paths of this nkisi that becomes the messenger to Nsambi. A path of Tiembla Tierra has a pact with the Ceiba tree which is considered the tree that is the house of God, Nkunia Munanso Sambia. Padre Tiempo The four winds, this is the mpungo of divination. In some houses he is the last nkisi that is received. Receiving this mpungo give s the Tata the rank of Tata Ngombo. Nfumbe Nfumbe refers to the spirit which becomes part of the nkisi. This is usually rep resented by a human bone (which is done legally in the U.S. now a days). The bone does not play a fundamental role to the valid construction of the nkisi . Nfuiri Nfuiri (originated from the word nfwa "death"), and refers to spirits which can be broken down to Bakulu ( Ancestors), Ndundu and Nkuyo. The Nkuyo and Ndundu refer to wandering spirits, "wraths" while Bakulu refer to ancestors.