Talk:Simbi

This article was nominated for deletion on 10 March 2020. The result of the discussion was keep.

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Why create a page about a Kongo deity (The name of this article is Simbi) and put up a statue of an Igbo deity?

Hello,

Why create a page about a Kongo deity and put up a statue of an Igbo deity? Kongo culture is not Igbo culture, nor Yoruba culture, nor Mbundu culture, nor Téké culture, etc.

Here's what User: MiddleOfAfrica says to justify the photo of the Igbo statue (https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mami_Wata_Figure_MIA.jpg#mw-jump-to-license , https://collections.artsmia.org/art/111879/mami-wata-figure-igbo) he/she put up: "It's also a Bantu word" Can he/she tell us which other people from the Bantu language group call Mami wata (mermaid) "Simbi"? Here's what else he/she (User: MiddleOfAfrica) says: "Mami Wata is not solely an Igbo deity" Each people has its own name, At no point am I going to go to an Igbo divinity article and put a photo of a Yoruba divinity on the pretext that the same divinity is found among the Igbo. The photo of the statue is already present on the Mami Wata article and has no place on the Simbi article.

And to finish, he/she (User: MiddleOfAfrica) says: "This page is not about Kongo culture! It's about Simbi, which are a part of more cultures than just the Kongo. Mami Wata IS also a Kongo spirit." What a contradiction! Simbi is part of Kongo culture! This article bears the name Kongo "Simbi"! Kongos don't call sirens "Mami Wata". Respect people's culture! Kongo culture is not Yoruba culture, nor Igbo culture, nor Ewe culture, nor Mbundu culture, nor Luba culture, nor Swahili culture, nor Téké culture, nor Punu culture, and so on. JustSomeone08 (talk) 06:55, 13 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, let's break this all the way down. A simbi is not a deity. A simbi is a nature spirit. In Bantu tradition, bisimbi exist across hundreds of cultures, not just the Bakongo people. While they began as a part of Bantu spirituality in Central and Southern African, Simbi are revered by people of African descent throughout the diaspora as well. Thus, this page is about global simbi lore, which include Mami Wata, who is celebrated in Central Africa, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, so no, it's not a contradiction to acknowledge both of those truths from a historical standpoint. You seem to be under the impression that the art has to be created by a Kongo person, but it doesn't because this page isn't about the Bakongo people; it's specifically about Bisimbi, which Mami Wata is, regardless of the heritage of the African person who created the art.

Source: https://fowler.ucla.edu/exhibitions/mami-wata-arts-for-water-spirits-in-africa-and-its-diasporas/

"A video of this event as well as sculptures and masks from the Ibibio and Igbo peoples of southeastern Nigeria illustrate Mami Wata’s role in their cultures, while numerous popular paintings from Democratic Republic of the Congo suggest how Mami Wata plays an important role in central African urban culture and spiritual practices." MiddleOfAfrica (talk) 13:34, 13 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]