Nowadays, the main religion of Congo is Christianity. Still, many native people practice religious traditions which were popular before Christianity was introduced t the African land. Some experts admit that religion of Congo is very similar to another one form Africa, Yoruba. It is obvious that due to its geographical location Congo people interacted with other tribes who followed traditions of Yoruba. Still, despite the fact that some elements of Yoruba were borrowed, tribes which inhabited contemporary territory of Congo preserved their religion. The origin of Congo traditions and religion was Bantu (Barnet 82).
Traditional religion of Congo people represents an endless interrelation of “this” world, in which we live, and the world of dead, “another world”. Religion of Congo is highly systemized: Congo people even have their own hagiography where all gods and their functions and roles are described. Congo people believe that everything around them has soles: from a stone to a tree. In other words Congo traditions and beliefs are closely connected with animism, and their religion is based on this principle. As it has been mentioned above, Congo religion depicts close relation between “this” and “that” worlds. There are two main tendencies in Congo as for this connection. According to the first there is a link between the world of death and alive, ancestors. People who live in this world can communicate with gods, dead people, etc, through ancestors. In other words, ancestors are the link between Congo people and gods. The relation between ancestors and people is double-sided. On the one hand, ancestors may go down to people and migrate into their bodies in order to share their wisdom and knowledge. On the other hand, people may ask through ancestors for rain, good harvest, etc. The communication is held within the nature, as ancestors inhabit different natural objects and phenomena. The second tendency in the religion of Congo presupposes that communication between this that world is held through people who are similar to Orishas. In this aspect Congo religion is close to Yoruba (Thompson and Cornet 147).
There are many objects which symbolize interaction of this and that world. First of all, alternation of day and night symbolizes migration of soles from one world to another: night is a symbol of death, the time when sole moves to another world; day is rebirth of a sole. The movement of the Sun symbolizes the process of soles migration. White color is also an important symbol for Congo people. Women use it to express both grief and strength to overcome it. When people die and their soles move to another world, women color themselves in white color which symbolizes both mourning and strength to overcome difficulties. As a rule, different objects are places round the body of a dead person. Congo people believe that soles of dead people would take these things with them into another world. Dances also play a great role in funerary traditions of Congo people and communication with ancestors and dead people. They are performed in circles. The aim of a dance is to reach the state of trance. When it happens, the sole of an ancestor comes into the body of a man or woman. An ancestor shares his energy with a man in whose body he migrated. The connection between a person and a spirit is kept until all people who participate in a dance help him to release the energy of a dead person (Heale and Lin 96). All in all, the traditional religion of Congo people is meant to keep connection with their ancestors.
Works Cited
Barnet, Miguel. Afro-Cuban religions. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2001. Print.
Heale, Jay, and Lin, Yong Jui. Democratic Republic of the Congo. London: Marshall Cavendish, 2009. Print.
Thompson, Robert Farris, and Cornet, Joseph. The Four Moments of the Sun: Kongo Art in Two Worlds. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1981. Print.