Ndembo, The

An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920)

Or Kita is a secret society which has widespread ramifications on the lower Congo, and especially in the districts lying to the south of that river. Initiation is made through the ganga, or chief, who instructs the neophyte at a given signal suddenly to lie down as if dead. A shroud is spread over him, and he is carried off to an enclosure outside the village called vela, and is pronounced to have died a Ndembo. Perhaps twenty, thirty, or even fifty candidates " die " at the one time. It is then assumed that persons "dying" in this manner decay until only a single bone remains, and this the ganga takes charge of. The process varies from three months to as many years, and the ganga is supposed by art magic to bring every one of the dead back to life within that period. On a festival day of the Ndembo, the members march through the village in a grand procession amidst universal joy, carrying with them the persons who are supposed to have died. The neophytes who are supposed to have perished, comport themselves as if in reality they had come from another world. They take new names, pretend that everything in the terrestrial sphere is new to them, turn a deaf ear to their parents and relatives, and even affect not to know how to eat. They further desire to have everything they set eyes on, and if it is not granted to them immediately, they may fall upon the unhappy owner and beat and even kill him without any consequence to themselves; as it is assumed that they are mere children in the affairs of the terrestrial sphere, and therefore know no better. Those who have gone through this rite are called Nganga , or the "knowing ones," while the neophytes are designated Vanga . During their occupation of the vela they learn an esoteric language, which they constantly employ. Perhaps the best picture of their cult has been given by Bastian, who says:- " The Great Nkissi (who here replaces the fetish) lives in the interior of the woodlands where nobody can see him. When he dies the Nganga carefully collect his bones in order to bring them back to life, and nourish them that they may again put on flesh and blood. But it is not well to speak about it. In the Ambamba country everybody must have died once, and when the Nganga (replacing the fetishpriest) shakes his calabash against a village, those men and youths whose hour is, come fall into a state of lifeless torpor, from which they generally rise up in three days. But the man whom the Nkissi loves he carries off to the bush and often buries him for a series of years. When he again awakens to life, he begins to eat and drink as before, but his mind is gone, and the Nganga must himself educate him and instruct him in every movement, like the smallest child. At first that can only be done with the rod, but the senses gradually return, so that you can speak with him, and when his education is finished the Nganga takes him back to his parents. These would seldom recognise him but for the positive assurance of the Nganga, who at the same time reminds them of earlier occurrences. Whoever has not yet undergone the experience in Ambamba is universally despised, and is not allowed to join in the dances."