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Nkisi Nkondi Influence On The Kongo People

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When archaeologist searched the plantation they found many different artifacts under the floorboards that they believe is what the Jordan family used. They have found real and “fake” knife blades, nails, spikes, and small porcelain dolls, which appear to be all the remains of a wooden Nkisi. A Nkisi Nkondi (also known as minkisi) are spirits, or an object that a spirit inhabits. It is frequently enforced to a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa that are believed to contain spiritual powers or spirits.They believe that this is the spiritual doll of the Kongo people. The Kongo People, also referred to as the Congolese, are a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola. They are mainly defined by the speaking of Kikongo, a common language. …show more content…

The Bakongo believe that the great god, ne Kongo, brought the first sacred medicine ( or Nkisi) down from heaven in an earthenware vessel set upon three stones or termite bounds.A nkisi (or minkisi) is loosely translated a ‘spirit’ yet it is represented as a container of sacred substances which are activated by supernatural forces that can be summoned into the physical world. Visually, these minkisi can be as simple as pottery or vessels containing medicinal herbs and other elements determined to be beneficial in curing physical illness or alleviating social ills. In other instances minkisi can be represented as small bundles, shells, and carved wooden figures. Minkisi represent the ability to both ‘contain’ and ‘release’ spiritual forces which can have both positive and negative consequences on the

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