PALO MAYOMBE: What is it?, history, deities and more

Born from the cults and beliefs of the Kingdom of Congo and kingdoms with Bantu roots, the Palo Mayombe is one of the branches of the Palo or Congo, which arrived in America with the African slaves forced to come to the new world.

This religious branch that focuses its practices on nganga, venerates ancestors and nature, has spread to many countries, adding believers and practitioners throughout the American continent.

Learn much more about Palo Mayombe and its entire magical-religious world by reading this article.

What is Palo Mayombe?

El Palo or Congo are a group of religious beliefs, which bases its ideology and conviction on the veneration of ancestors and the powers of nature.

Four branches are derived from this belief, with certain differences between each one and their own rules. These are: Palo Briyumba, Palo Monte, Palo Mayombe and Palo Kimbisa.

The Palo Mayombe is considered by many to be the bad house or branch of the Palo or Congo, but basically its practice consists of channeling energies from nature and spirits, to provide a response and solution to the issues requested, for example, related with money, love, health, luck, etc.

as religion

Palo Mayombe is a religion with African roots that developed mainly in Cuba.

Its religious authorities and practitioners say that the Palo Mayombe is responsible for maintaining a balance between good and evil.

Towards the middle of the twentieth century these beliefs spread to other countries where there are Cuban communities, such as the United States, Venezuela, Colombia and Puerto Rico, being generally practiced by blacks and mulattoes, although it is indicated that the number of white adherents and believers is increasing.

It is important to note that on the island of Cuba the number of followers of the religion is not well specified, but it is not very high, located in areas such as Havana, Matanzas and some eastern areas of the island. (See article: Orula’s Hand)

History

Palo Mayombe has its roots in the traditional cults and beliefs of the Congo and other kingdoms of Bantu origin.

These cults came from eastern equatorial Africa, in the areas of extensive lakes, but they extended to a large part of the tropical forest and savanna area, in the area where the Congo River flows into the sea and high areas of the rivers. Cunene, Cubango, Cuito, Chobe and Kasai, this due to the wars.

The Bantu peoples were forced to mobilize and emigrate to areas far from their places of origin, escaping the conflictive Hamite peoples and their constant efforts to conquer other lands, then taking their customs and beliefs to the places where they went.

Those groups that are considered the African ancestors of those who practice this religion today, over time divided into nine clans, nine becoming their sacred number.

The Bakongo oral tradition tells stories and exploits about their loyalty and the formation of their kingdom, during times of war and peace.

Some time later, towards the end of the 16th century, the capture and transfer of slaves from the African continent to Cuba, along the coast of Santiago, began.

Many of these free men who were subdued and taken against their will were from the area of ​​West Africa, from southern Cameroon to the southern part of Angola, including Mozambique.

Brought to Cuba, a large number of Congos, Angolas and Cabins were forced to work in the sugarcane, coffee and tobacco plantations distributed throughout the island. With them came their creeds, songs and invocations, which represent the origins and history of Palo.

For this reason, a large number of songs and liturgical invocations of this religion are a combination of the Kikongo language and Spanish, changing over time thanks to the influences of the country to which it spreads.

Deities

The pantheon of the Palo Mayombe religion is diverse, but includes a central figure known as Nzambi, the creator of Nfinda or the universe.

The Mpungu or kimpungulu when mentioned in plural, are the spirits, deities or holy congos that are found in centers or Nkisi, and that represent some elements and phenomena of nature, for example, thunder, wind, sowing, etc. .

There are also other spirits that inhabit the Nkisi, known as:

The Nfuri are considered wandering spirits or the well-known ghosts. The Bakalu or the spirits of the ancestors. Nfumbe, name given to anonymous spirits.

Among the gods of the Palo Mayombe pantheon are:

Nzambi

Names: also called Nsambi, Sambia, Nsambiampungo, Pungun Sambia, Sambia Liri, Sambia Surukuru, Sambi Bilongo,

He is the creator god of the universe, the sky, the stars, the planet and the first human beings, a couple from which the rest of men and women descend.

He is the one who creates, thus arranging life and death, and he is also the one who punishes those who break or fail to comply with his laws. This deity is omnipotent and omnipresent; in religion he is not represented with any material or image.

He is considered a high deity in Palo Mayombe. In the Yoruba pantheon he is Olorun or Olófi, for Catholics God the Father.

Lungombe

Names: also known as Lukankanse or Kadiampembe.

They indicate that the work of this entity is to counteract the positive, so it is said that it works for the bad, it balances the forces, since it is the one that confronts the positive energies, so that both the good and the bad, the positive and the negative, commune.

Many consider this to be a negative or evil entity, what in Christianity would be known as a devil or demon, which is why it is considered very dangerous.

Cubayende

Names: Kobayende, Cobayende, Pata Llaga, Tata Pansua, Tata Nfumbe, Tata Funde, Tata Fumbe, Pungun Futila, Tata Kañeñe.

He is the god of death, plagues and diseases, he influences illness, healing and the mood of the dead.

This deity is said to be wise; they represent him as an old man full of skin lesions and suffering from great pain and tremors.

He is a deity who can grant miraculous cures, when he is honored and respected, but also serious illnesses that cause pain and stinging of the skin, when he is offended.

In Christianity he is related to Saint Lazarus and in Yoruba mythology he is the feared Babalú Ayé.

Centella Ndoki or Santa Muerte

Names: Mariguanda, Pungu Mama Wanga, Yaya Kengue, Mariwanga, Mama Linda, Campo Santo.

He is the protector or custodian of the door that separates life and death, with a proud and rebellious character, he is feared by the Mayomberos.

It is a divinity that has the power and rulership of cemeteries and the deceased, in nature it dominates the winds and storms. She is associated with Santa Teresa, Oyá Yansa and in Mexico, Santa Muerte.

Gurunfinda

Names: Ngúrunfinda or Burunfinda

Known as the witch, in Yoruba mythology he is Osain, the deity who governs nature, the mountains and the herbs, as he is considered the spirit of the plants.

This deity is the owner of nature’s resources and those essential for life on the physical plane.

He is the lord of health, herbs, minerals, food, money, protection and shelter. He has been making healing potions and medicinal mixtures from herbs, roots and sticks for a long time, which he preserves in gourds and does not reveal to anyone.

Gurunfinda remains hanging in a makuto, a type of bag, and would hardly be in a cauldron. He is associated with Saint Noberto Nonato or Saint Sylvester in Catholicism.

bright Star

Names: Nkuyu, Nkuyo, Mañunga, Lubaniba,

This divinity governs the four winds and the roads of the world. The Mayomberos say that he opens and closes the roads, and all the doors and fortunes are his property.

It is also responsible for guiding and balancing, attracting positive energies and keeping negative ones away.

Lucero Mundo is known as the messenger and mediator between Nsambi and people, in addition to giving balance to the energies that exist in the universe. This deity who opens paths is in charge of removing the obstacles that exist in them.

Represented with the colors red and black, Lucero Mundo, is the deity that is worshiped at the beginning and at the end of each rite, that is, he is the first and the last that is honored in the ceremonies of the Mayombe pantheon.

It syncretizes with Santo Niño de Atocha and is similar to Elegguá or Eshu. (See article: Zarabanda in Palo Mayombe)

Mother of Water

Names: also called Kalunga, Má Lango, Mama Kalunga, Pungo Kasimba, Mama Umba, Mbumba Mamba, Nkita Kiamasa, Nkita Kuna Mamba, Baluande.

She is the lady and owner of the waters and their momentum. She represents elegance, love, fertility and marriage, but also wealth and sorcery.

Your presence and help is requested when it comes to marriage, fertility, money, prosperity, blessings, protection and shelter on sea voyages.

It is also invoked for issues related to the psyche, spirituality and protection and destruction of many types of bad luck, bad omens, disasters or turkeys.

She is the daughter of Tremble Earth and mother of humanity, in Catholicism she is known as the Virgin of Regla, and is the Patroness of Havana. For Yoruba beliefs she is Yemayá, associated with the color blue and white.

Mama Chola or Oshun

Names: Chola Wenguere, Chola nengue, Chola Wengue.

She is known as the owner and mistress of wealth and all pleasures, but also divinity of the sweet waters that exist on earth. She can punish ruthlessly and is related to the firmness and rigidity of religion.

It can intervene or influence things related to fertility, prosperity and love; interested in the dispossessed and the poor, they also come to her for lack of health.

Requests, supplications and prayers to Mama Chola are generally to request her help in matters of love, pregnancy, childbirth and money, in addition to other things that are part of our daily lives.

It syncretizes with the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, patron saint of the Island of Cuba, called Oshún in the Yoruba pantheon, yellow and amber in color, related to birds.

Kimbambula

Names: Kabanga, Madioma, Mpungo Lomboan Fula, Nsambia Munalembe, Tonde, Daday, Munalendo, Father Time.

He is the deity of winds and divination, for this reason he is a Nkisi that is received when clairvoyance is required to make predictions and omens.

In the Yoruba pantheon he is known as Orunmila and in Catholicism he is related to Saint Francis of Assisi.

Watariamba

Names: Watariamba, Nkuyo Lufo, Nguatariamba Enfumba Bata, Saca Empeño, Cabo Rondo, Win Battle

God of hunting, war and swift justice, he is generally related to Zarabanda because they have a pact, so they give themselves together and the same tools accompany them.

It is associated with Saint John the Baptist, in the Catholic religion, and Ochosi in the Yoruba belief.

seven rays

Names: Nsambi Munalembe, Nsasi, Mukiamamuilo.

God of thunder, lightning, fire and the sky. He is described as a very powerful warrior, being an effective Nquisi, but with a fickle and changeable temperament.

He usually solves difficulties and problems with very subtle, hidden actions that hardly reveal his relationship with witchcraft.

He usually attacks his opponents with…