Kinshasa, May 19th, 2025 (CPA) – Bakongo spirituality has established itself as the basis of civilisation for this people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a sociologist said in Kinshasa on Monday, calling for this spiritual memory to be rehabilitated with a view to restoring a strong cultural identity within Central African communities. ‘Bakongo spirituality, centered on ancestor worship and the interconnection between the visible and invisible worlds, has established itself as a system of knowledge. This wisdom is expressed through the Nkisi (objects of power), the Dii lukula (symbol of cosmic balance), as well as knowledge of traditional medicine and astronomy’, said Abbot Bandwenga Bakebanga, sociologist and President of the NGO “Congo ya Ba kulutu”. ‘Among the Bakongo, every social, political and medical organization was built on a spiritual vision of the world. We can’t understand their historical greatness without exploring their cosmology’, he added.
A sacred science handed down by the elders
‘Our ancestors were not ignorant. They passed on a sacred science, integrated into daily life, which enabled them to heal, read the signs in the sky and guide societies according to precise spiritual laws’, he maintained. Abbot Bandwenga Bakebanga also recalled that the Kongo Kingdom, one of the oldest and most structured on the African continent, drew its cohesion from this deeply rooted spirituality. He also deplored the current marginalization of these foundations in favor of imported values. Through the NGO Congo ya Bakulutu, Abbot Bandwenga called for the rehabilitation of this spiritual memory, seen as a way of re-establishing identity and mental sovereignty. ‘What we call modernity has tried to erase our ancestral truths. Our children need to know that our ancestors prayed, healed and taught with wisdom’, he said. He also invited young researchers, artists and educators to revisit Kongo cosmology as a source of inspiration. ‘The African renaissance has always drawn on our spiritual strengths. Without it, all development would have remained superficial’, he concluded.