Palo (religion)

Palo, or Las Reglas de Congo are a group of closely related denominations or religions of largely Bantu origin developed by slaves from Central Africa in Cuba. Other names associated with various branches of this religion include Palo Monte, Palo Mayombe, Brillumba, and Kimbisa. The word "palo" ("stick" in Spanish) was applied to the religion in Cuba due to the use of wooden sticks in the preparation of the altar. Adherents of Palo are known generally as "Paleros"or "Nganguleros". Membership is by initiation into a "house" or "Temple". The organizational structure follows the model of a family. During slavery when blood families often were broken up by slave holders, this model was particularly significant and taken literally.

History

Palo has its roots in the Congo basin of central Africa, from where large numbers of African slaves were brought to Cuba. Accordingly, a great part of Palo Monte's liturgical chants and invocations are in a mixture of the Spanish and Kikongo languages, other influences being introduced through their presence in Spanish-speaking Latin America.

During the mid 20th century Palo began to spread out among Cuban communities in the United States, Venezuela, Colombia, and Puerto Rico. Eventually, members of non-African Latino groups, as well as Anglo-Americans, gained access to these traditions. The religion remains largely Cuban in character, however, and that is where it is practiced in its most traditional form. The lack of stable religious communities in the US has led to weaknesses in liturgical practice outside Cuba.

The number of followers of Palo in Cuba is not known, though it is assumed that a slight majority of Cubans, particularly in the African-influenced cities of Havana, Matanzas, and in the Eastern provinces, believe in all or part of its principles.

Belief system and rituals

The Palo belief system rests on two main pillars: the belief in natural ("earth") powers, and the veneration of the spirits of the ancestors.

Natural objects, and particularly sticks, are thought to be infused with powers, often linked to the powers of spirits. These objects are known as "nganga" and are the ritual focus of Palo's magical rites and religious practice.

A certain number of spirits called Mpungu inhabit the Nkisi (sacred cult objects, also spelled Inquice, Inquise, and Enkisi). Mpungu are well-known in name and deed, and are venerated as gods. They are powerful entities, but they are ranked below the High God Zambi or Nzambi.

The main worship and practice of Palo focuses upon the religious receptacle or altar known as a Nganga or Prenda. This is a consecrated vessel filled with sacred earth, sticks (palos), human remains, and other items. Each prenda is dedicated to a specific spiritual Nkisi. This religious vessel is also inhabited by a muerto or spirit of the dead (almost never the direct ancestor of the object's owner), who acts as a guide for all religious activities which are performed with the Nganga.

The divination methods used in Palo are various. One, called Chamalongo utilizes shells or disks of various materials, often coconut shells. A more traditional method, Vititi Mensu, is a form of envisioning or scrying, using a sanctified animal horn capped with a mirror.

Syncretism

Religious syncretism, in particular the use of the Christian cross and images of Catholic saints as representations of the Nkisi, can be seen in some houses of Palo, called Palo Cristiano, but in other houses, called Palo Judio, there is no syncreticization with Catholic imagery. The name Palo Judio literally means Jewish Palo, but the term "Jewish" as used here does not refer to the religion of Jews; rather it is metaphorical shorthand for "refusing to convert to Christianity," that is, in the case of Palo, "purely Congo African." It is important to note that the Kingdom of Kongo had officially converted to Catholicism while still an independent nation during the late 1400s and that the African-Catholic syncretic movement extended well into the era of slavery, reaching its height under the leadership of Kimpa Vita (1684 – 1706), who promoted Saint Anthony of Padua as "a second God." Thus it is obvious that much of Palo Cristiano's Christian syncretism, as well as Palo Judio's resistance to Christian syncretism, originated in Africa, not in Cuba.

The identity of the Nkisi is further clouded because authors, either outsiders to the religion or coming from houses of Palo Cristiano, have attempted to associate the Nkisi with the Orishas of Santeria, a different religion. Thus the entity "Nsambi Munalembe" (also known as "Nsasi", "Siete Rayos" and various other names) may be said by these authors to be the equivalent of Saint Barbara in Catholicism or Chango (Shango) in Santeria.

Because of Kardecian syncretism in many houses of Palo, a spiritual Misa is often held before the initiation, in order to identify the main spirits which will help to develop one's life. These guides often speak also through possession, and may give direct advice.

Related religions

The religions of the Congo reached the Americas by other paths than through Cuba. In Brazil Congo religions are known as Umbanda, Quimbanda, Candomblé de Congo, or Condomble de Angola. The one most closely related to the Cuban Palo Tradition is Quimbanda.

In Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the Virgin Islands, Congo based religions are called Kumina or, when seen as a form of magic without liturgical worship, as Obeah.

Closely related to Palo in practice, but, like Obeah, lacking Palo's theological and liturgical aspcts, is the form of African American folk magic known as hoodoo, conjure, or rootwork. The reason for the striking similarity between these traditions is that the core beliefs underlaying hoodoo derive from the Congo.

Pantheon

The highest level of the Palo pantheon is ocupied by the creator god, Nzambi. The Mpungu (plural kimpungulu) of the Palo Mayombe cult are spirits or deities encapsulated in sacred vessels (Nkisi), representing aspects of nature, such as thunder, agriculture, wind. Other sprits that can inhabit the Nkisi are Nfuri (wandering spirits or wraths), Bakalu (spirits of ancestors) and Nfumbe (anonymous spirits).

Higher gods

• Nzambi (Nsambi, Sambia, Nsambiampungo, Pungun Sambia, Sambia Liri, Sambia Surukuru, Sambi Bilongo) - not an actual Mpungu, but a higher god, creator of the universe. Equivalent to Yoruban Olorun.
• Lungombe (Lukankanse, Kadiampembe) - negative aspect of Nzambi, in many ways similar to the christian devil.

Mpungu

• Kobayende (Cobayende, Pata Llaga, Tata Pansua, Tata Funde, Tata Fumbe, Pungun Futila, Tata Kañeñe) - king of the dead, god of diseases, associated with San Lazaro, eq. Babalu Aye.
• Mariguanda (Pungu Mama Wanga, Centella Ndoki, Yaya Kengue, Mariwanga) - gatekeeper between life and death. Associated with Santa Teresa
• Gurunfinda - god of forest and herbs. Associated with San Noberto non Nato or San Silvestre.
• Nkuyu (Nkuyo, Mañunga, Lubaniba, Lucero) - Deity of woods and roads, guidance and ballance. Associated with San Antonio, eq. Eshu.
• Má Lango (Madre de Agua, Kalunga, Mama Kalunga, Pungo Kasimba, Mama Umba, Mbumba Mamba, Nkita Kiamasa, Nkita Kuna Mamba, Baluande) - goddesst of water and fertility. Known also as the Virgin of Regla, the patroness of Havana harbor, eq, Yemaja.
• Chola Wengue (Mama Chola, Chola nengue) - goddess of richness and pleasures. Associated with La Virgin de la Caridad del Cobre, the Patron Saint of Cuba, eq. Oshun.
• Kimbabula (Kabanga, Madioma, Mpungo Lomboan Fula, Nsambia Munalembe, Tonde, Daday, Munalendo, Padre Tiempo) - god of divination and winds. Associated with Saint Francis, eq. Orunmila.
• Watariamba (Watariamba, Nkuyo Lufo, Nguatariamba Enfumba Bata,Saca Empeño, Cabo Rondo, Vence Bataya) - god of hunt and war. Associated with John the Baptist.
• Nsasi (Nsambi Munalembe, Siete Rayos, Mukiamamuilo, Nsasi) - god of thunder and fire, equivalent to Santa Barbara, eq. Shango.
• Ma Kengue (Yola, Tiembla Tierra, Pandilanga, Mama Kengue) - spirit of wisdom and justice.This mpungo is associated with La Virgin de las Mercedes.
• Sarabanda (Zarabanda, Rompe Monte) - deity of work and strength. Associated with Saint Peter, eq. Ogoun.

References

• Lydia Cabrera. 1993 "El Monte". La Habana: Editorial Letras Cubanas.
• Lydia Cabrera. "Palo Monte Mayombe: Las Reglas de Congo" .
• Lydia Cabrera. "La Regla Kimbisa del Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje".
• Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui. "Ta Makuenda Yaya"
• Miguel Barnet. "AfroCuban Religions".
• Robert Farris Thompson. "Flash of the Spirit".

External links

• Nganga.org, an introduction to Kongo religions including Palo by Dr. Eoghan Ballard.
• Palomayombe.com, general Palo information.
• DMOZ Open Directory - Palo, Congo, Inkisi