ᐈ Palo Mayombe 【Scratching, Jobs, Signatures and MORE】

Since ancient times there have been in the world an infinite number of ways that the human being seeks to try to understand it. Among them we find religions. One of these religions is mayombe stickfrom central Africa.

If you are looking to learn more about this religion, continue reading this article.

Palo Mayombe: What is it?

It is one of the religions that came to America through Africans who were treated as slaves. He mayombe stick, also known by different names such as Palo, Palo Congo, Regla Palo Monte, Regla Conga and its branches: Brillumba and Kimbisa. The slaves specifically came from the Bakongo people belonging to the Congo and their dialect is Kikongo.

He mayombe stick It has a strong presence in Cuba, although we can find it in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

It is a religion that is based on the belief of a single God and he occupies the highest place in the Pantheon, he is called nzambi. Creator of the universe and everything in it, an omnipotent God. Below him are the mpungu, Superior Spirits or Divine Entities (can be compared to the Orishas of the Yoruba religion). The nkisi They represent forces of nature, such as: water, fire, earth, wind, volcanoes, stones, sticks, etc.

And they are influenced or inhabited by the mpungu. Although this term lends itself to confusion, since some believers state that nkisi It is called the container used in this religion, but due to transculturation the translation was confused.

The most important thing in religion Palo Mayombe

It is knowing that it is linked to nature and the veneration of ancestral spirits. In addition, we work mainly and directly with the Nfumbi or Nfumbe, which are all the spirits of the dead, who are enslaved through a ritual so that they do all the jobs that are asked of them. In a few words, it is a pact that is made between the Ngangulero (person who works the Nganga, can also be called mayomberos or paleros) and the dead. A pact between life and death, in which the mayomberos give energy, light and attention through magical elements to the nfumbi and in return he works for the mayomberos.

One of the main tools with which one works in the mayombe stick is the Nganga or Pledge. It consists of a receptacle (cauldron, usually an iron vessel with three legs) into which several natural elements are introduced that basically represent the relationship with nature and with the environment. nfumbi. We can find in the Nganga sacred earth, sticks, metals, stones, water from different places, insects, herbs, blood, mainly human bones and the skull (Kiyumba) of the main dummy with whom he makes the pact. It can also contain hair, threads, chains and a crucifix when working for good.

Each Nganga It has his signature on the bottom. This signature is unique, there are no 2 identical signatures and it is made by Tata or Yaya. It is a link between Ngueyo (started), the mpungo and the nfumbi. It allows among other things that the nfumbi with him matari (stone) is identified and can move in time and space responding to the call of the drainer.

However, there may be a Pledge without nfumbi. This happens because it is the Matari revived in the garment, the heart of the Nganga. And the matari based on the mpungoThey are the ones that give life to the garment. Explained in another way, we can say that in the nganga o Garment a mystical and magical microuniverse is formed. To the people who receive these in ceremony ngangas they are given to him by a certain situation. In such a way that when receiving this garment they are told “Retired Pledge”.

History

The roots of this religion come from the traditions of the Congo and other original Bantu peoples. These cults from East Africa spread throughout the tropical forest and savannah zone. Right where the Congo River flows into the sea, also in the upper areas of the Cubango, Chobe, Cunene, Cuito and Kasai rivers, this extension is motivated by the wars that took place there.

Forced to emigrate to areas far from their place of origin, the Bantu peoples escaped the troublesome Hamite peoples and their relentless drive to conquer other lands. Thus they took their beliefs and customs wherever they went.

The practitioners of this religion consider these groups the African ancestors. Over time these ancestors divided into nine clans, and thus nine became their sacred number. Within their Bakongo tradition they tell stories and feats orally, they talk about loyalty and the way in which they formed their kingdom during times of peace and times of war.

At the end of the 16th century, the capture and transfer of Africans as slaves began, they were taken to Cuba along the coasts of Santiago de Cuba and to Central and South America. They were free men who were taken against their will from southern Cameroon and Angola, including Mozambique. This large number of Congós they were forced to work tirelessly throughout the island in the coffee, tobacco and sugarcane plantations. Already enslaved, they did not put aside their beliefs, they always maintained their songs and invocations.

we have to the mayombe stick He traveled with the Congós and, when he settled in Cuba and part of America, he combined the Kinkongo language and Spanish in his invocations and songs.

Palo Mayombe Scratching

The rayamiento (oath), also known as nkimbais a ceremony by which the Ngueyo initiate and become part of the cult of the mayombe stick. This is a complicated process because a pact with death is established.

The main objective of this ceremony is to get rid of all previous evils and start a new way of life. It can be understood as the process of dying and resurrecting in a new life. To do this, before being initiated, the person must learn the most basic thing, which is the name and branch of the house of her godfather (Tata). In the same way, learn the correct greeting to the foundation, Congo vocabulary, knowledge of herbs and songs. Knowledge of herbs is essential, all drainers have extensive knowledge of them, because they use them in their spells and their deities are based on nature.

After mastering this knowledge, the person who will receive the scratching should consult with the Tata or Yaya, who through the Chamalongo divination system (it is a system where four pieces of the coconut shell are used without the pulp to communicate with the nganga). and will consult the spirits through the Nganga. There it will be known if the initiated person is suitable and accepted for the Rayamiento or not. This is the first step.

If the person is accepted, the Tata will determine the date of the ceremony and what must be done before continuing. One of the things to do before the ceremony is that the person will not have sexual intercourse seven days before it, they must enter clean because it is a consecration ceremony.

Already on the agreed day, in the ceremony, the second step is that the initiate will make a spiritual offering to his ancestors who will give the authorization to proceed. This consultation is very important for the success of the scratching. On the other hand, these ceremonies can be done in a group or with a few people.

Step three is the ritual itself. We must note that the entire scratching process is not explained completely or in detail for reasons of religious protection, but we can name some elements that contemplate it. Between them we have:

Wear totally new and white clothes. A white handkerchief. A white plate. Three candles. A coconut. A pack of cigars. White rum. A new towel.

Then, the Tata proceeds to literally scratch various parts of the body, mainly the back, while Ngueyo. This will allow the evils that inhabit the body to come out and the person is deeply purified. In addition, in this ritual the person is presented and agreed with the powers that dominate nature, with the very zambian and with the dead.

Mother Water Palo Mayombe

Also known as Baluande or Mama Kalunga, it is a mpungo who rules over water, is the authority and mistress of the ocean. She represents motherhood, love, elegance, marriage, creativity, fertility and wealth. To her devotees, she grants protection and peace, as well as the balance of the family and home. The dances for this mpungo They are compared to the waves of the sea.

Known as caring and compassionate and incredibly protective of her children. She can be compared in the Yoruba religion with Yemaya and in the Catholic religion with Our Lady of the Rule. Blue is the color that represents her and her offerings to her are: mangoes, watermelons, rum and molasses.

Prayer to Mother Water

Mother of water, seven salts Mother of the ocean, never abandon me. With your clear waters, cleanse my path. With your murky waters, destroy evil. With your seven sayas, open seven paths to prosperity, tranquility and growth In the name of God.

Palo Mayombe Works

The jobs that are carried out are mostly for good, this does not mean that there are no Paleros who are dedicated to doing jobs for evil. Either way, the Tata will start the ritual and, raising a prayer to the Nganga or Garment, will request his permission to start the corresponding work as follows:

Sala Malekum Malekum Nsala, Va with license Nzambi Mpungo, license Nzambi nzulu, Nzambi Ntoto, License nsuso que Kuenda nganga, license Nganga que kuenda ntoto, Nzambi nsukururu, nzambi bilongo. I ask for a license to’Mpungo cheche that mbisa up Kandango, I ask for a license for to’Nfumbe that leka leka to santoentierro, With a guarda raya license and a kinto piso pumbansile license, the license for to’Nfumbe, To’Nkisi Ntango Ngonda that mbisa inside camafuiri, guardian license Nganga dundu Nganga, license Ngurufinda nganga cheche that never leka. Leg sore cart driver license, license saluting the battle, Licensed by tata Nkisi Malongo, check how I was so kongo land, license to tata Nkisi de lo ngao, Says bellow with bellow, weeds keep going, bad wind dies or bursts, Trunk license nganga Santa Teresa Sáca Pawn, License my tatandó and oath until ntoto urie my Nkombo, Tanda kongono are fachenda, Tata are not butter. Open kutu wirindinga, open kutu to Mpungola Nganga, I myself cheche (name), there is mbola cheche risiako. Up to the Nfumbe of Kindembo, from kunanchila nchila nko, deliver me from my invisible enemies, give me health, give me firmness and tranquility. Malekum hall Kongo cheche, Malekum hall.

To dominate

One of the jobs that the Tata can do or to dominate a person is the following:

Take a piece of paper, on it write the name of the person you want to dominate in the form of a cross. Then, inside this paper, hairs from his head and pieces of fingernails and toenails are placed. Then it is folded and tied with black thread. We take the rolled and wrapped paper and put it at the foot of the star asking for dominance over that person.

Of love

For the love:

Has to…