Palo (religion)

Palo, or Las Reglas de Congo are a group of closely related religions or denominations, which developed in Cuba amongst Central African slaves of mostly Bantu ancestry. Other names associated with various branches of this religion include Mayombe, Briyumba 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 altars, which were also called "la Nganga", "el caldero" or "la prenda". Adherents of Palo are known generally as "Paleros", "Ngangeros", 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 and the Americas, as well as to the colony of Santo Domingo, the present capital of the Dominican Republic. 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 Black Spanish-speaking Latin America.

During the mid 19th century Palo began to spread among the Hispaniola Island (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and Afro-Latino 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 Afro-Latino in character. The most traditional form can be found in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

The number of followers of Palo in Cuba and the Dominican Republic is not known. In Puerto Rico the Palo Religion has grown among non-black people. In this Caribbean island, a commonwealth of the United States, an extensive study by Prof. Eric M Miletti, revealed that over 5,000 people are active as "paleros."

Belief system and rituals

The Palo belief system rests on two main pillars: 1. The veneration of the spirits of the ancestors. 2. The belief in natural ("earth") powers.

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 Kimpungulu (singular: Mpungu) inhabit the Nkisi (sacred objects, also spelled Inquice, Inquise, and Enkisi). Kimpungulu 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, bones and other items. Each Nganga 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), also referred to as "Nfumbe", who acts as a guide for all religious activities which are performed with the Nganga.

Various divination methods are used in Palo. One, Shamalongos uses shells or disks of various materials, often coconut shells. A more traditional method, Vititi Mensú, is a form of envisioning or scrying, using a sanctified animal horn capped with a mirror.

There are many Ramas that have developed through the ages such as Brillumba - This rama has separated into branches such as Siete Brillumba Congo. The branch born when seven Tata's from Brillumba combined their ngangas to create an Nsasi Ndoki. This rama has grown through the years and is well known today.

Syncretism

Religious syncretism, Jewish in nature, but in particular turned Christian with the use of the 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 Jewish religion; 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 because of European economic pressure 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 colonial Africa, not 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 aspects, is a form of African American folk magic known as hoodoo, conjure, or rootwork, which developed from African slave beliefs in the United States. The reason for the striking similarity between these traditions is that the core beliefs underlying hoodoo derive from Congo and Angola. In Haiti there is a Vodou denomination known as Makaya that is similar to Palo.

Pantheon

The highest level of the Palo pantheon is occupied by the creator god, Nzambi. The Kimpungulu (singular: Mpungu) of Palo Mayombe are spirits or deities encapsulated in sacred vessels (Nkisi), representing aspects of nature, such as thunder, agriculture, or wind. Palo Mayombe beliefes Other spirits that can inhabit the Nkisi are Nfuri (wandering spirits or wraiths), 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 cosmos. Equivalent to Yoruba Olodumare.
• Lungombe (Lukankanse, Kadiampembe) - negative aspect of Nzambi

Kimpungulu

• Kobayende (Cobayende, Pata Llaga, Tata Pansua, Tata Nfumbe, 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, Mama Linda, Campo Santo) - gatekeeper between life and death. Associated with Santa Teresa & Oya Iansan
• Gurunfinda - god of forest and herbs. Associated with San Noberto non Nato or San Silvestre, eq. Ozain.
• Nkuyu (Nkuyo, Mañunga, Lubaniba, Lucero) - Deity of woods and roads, guidance and balance. Associated with San Antonio, eq. Elegua.
• Má Lango (Madre de Agua, Kalunga, Mama Kalunga, Pungo Kasimba, Mama Umba, Mbumba Mamba, Nkita Kiamasa, Nkita Kuna Mamba, Baluande) - goddess 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, eq. Ochosi
• 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 Mpungu is associated with La Virgin de las Mercedes & Obatala.
• Sarabanda (Zarabanda, Rompe Monte) - deity of work and strength. Associated with Saint Peter, eq. Oggun.

Grave desecration

Palo has been linked to a rash of grave robbing in Venezuela. Residents report that many of the graves at Caracas' Cementerio General del Sur have been pried open to have their contents removed for use in Palo ceremonies. In Newark, N.J., a Palo follower was found to have the remains of at least two dead bodies in pots in his basement, along with items looted from one of the tombs.

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".
• Jesús Fuentes Guerra and Armin Schwegler 2005.Lengua y ritos del Palo Monte Mayombe:...
• Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui. "Ta Makuenda Yaya"
• Miguel Barnet. "AfroCuban Religions".
• Robert Farris Thompson. "Flash of the Spirit".
• Jeff Lindsay. "Dexter in the Dark". 2007.

External links

• The Palo and Lukumi Organization - General Palo Kongo information and Web Forum.
• Nganga.org, an introduction to Kongo religions including Palo by Dr. Eoghan Ballard.
• Palomayombe.com, general Palo information.
• Palo, Congo, Inkisi at Curlie
• Video of palo dance performed by Cutumba