| Nganga Kiyangala Cuba was a site of the massive importation of enslaved Africans, who carried their spirituality with them to the New World. Although many people confuse the variety of religious and cultural traditions that came from Africa to Cuba, there is an incredible diversity that continues to be practiced today. This detailed documentary untangles the ties between the Santería religious practices of the Yoruba people, the Abakuá sects of the people of the Calabar, and the Nganga, Mayombe, and Palo Monte religions of the Bantu-speaking peoples of central Africa – known in Cuba as Congo. All of these religions are very fluid, and adherents of one often practice another as well, but each has a solid core. The Congo religions are based in the power of Nsambi, the Supreme Being who is also a divine substance that manifests itself in everything that exists in the universe. But the more everyday practice of the Congo religions centers on honoring the nganga, ancestor spirits to whom the faithful pay homage with tobacco, rum, candles, and animal sacrifice. With gripping footage of Congo ceremonies and testimony from scholars and practitioners, the documentary shows the incredible aesthetic tradition of Congo design and its influence on modern Cuban artists such as Wilfredo Lam, and the integral presence of Congo-derived music in the Afro-Cuban musical expression of rumba. The video also documents and explains the role of spiritual trance in the Congo religions, showing it as a powerful and intimate connection to the forces of life and spirituality. Nganga Kiyangala makes an important contribution toward the understanding of a little-known phenomenon: Congo religiosity in Cuba. Nganga Kiyangala dir. Tato Quiñones & Luis Soto Cuba, 1991, 33 minutes Spanish with English subtitles Bibliography Barnet, Miguel. Afro-Cuban Religions. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2001. Wetli, Charles V. and Rafael Martínez. “Brujería: A Manifestation of Palo Mayombe in South Florida.” Journal of the Florida Medical Association 70 August: 629-634 http://www.inquiceweb.com/index.html
|
