Palo Mayombe/Monte

[Ajaguna]

In Guinea Mayombe Was A Good Thing

The Rules Of Engagement For The Spiritual Systems Known As Palo Monte Or Palo Mayombe Derive From The West-central African Region Peopled By Several Ethnic Groups Who Collectively Is Known As Bantu, The Many Heads.

These Are Worlds Filled With Awe And Mystery, Sacred Rites And Orders That Include The Living And The Dead Or The Seen And The Unseen.

The Lands Of Nani Called In Bozal "tierra Nani" Is The Motherland Of
Africa, Who Gave Birth To Our Ways And Understandings Of Nature And How Man Walks On Solid Paths Toward Becoming More, Progress Is A Need For Our Sacred Ways To Continue Along And Lift Up The Creation Under The Governorship Of The Creator.

The New Lands Across The Big Waters Was Filled With A Mixing Of The Peoples And The Old Ways Of The Motherlands Were No More, New Ways Became To Be Developed To Contend With The New Realities Found To Exist In The Time Space Frames The African Found Themselves In. The Spiritual Systems Of The Kongos Were Old Ways Developed In New Lands.

Palo Monte, Palo Mayombe, Kimbisa, Briyumba, Viliyumba, Oriyumba, Briyumba Kongo, Erisi Balande, Lemba Sao,nfinda Kuna Lemba,vititi Kongo,brama Con Brama, Nkita Munankita, Iti Kongo, Mpati Kongo, Kongrama ,masongo, Sacara Empeñlo, Batalla Kongo, Guindavela, Paso Firme, Ntoto Changani, Busca Rastro, Muansambia, Jura Jura, Santo Cristo Buen Viaje, Santo Cristo Del Buen Viaje, Corta Lima And Many Many Many More Lines And Branches Derived From The Baracones Of The Slaves Or In The Palenques Of The Runaway Cimaroons That Lived In The Hills And Mountains Of The Island Of Cuba, Which Was First Called The Island Of Juana By The Spanish And Kubanacan By The Arawak Natives Prior To The Invasion By The Europeans.

Africans And Landinos [free Blacks] Arrived In Cuba Since 1513 And The Large Slave Imports Began In The Late 1600s To 1887 And Then Some [illegal Importing Continued Till The Early 1900s], This Was When The Traditions Collectively Known As Palo Kongo Took Form And Essence In The New World.

Survival Is An Ugly Word Which Speaks On Being A Victim Of Situation Or A Thing, Which Was Not A Word Used In Kosa Kongo Or The Kongo Things, Instead They Used The Word Quien Vence Who Overcomes Or Who Wins, It's A Combative Word For A Tradition That Was Forced To Fight For It's Right To Exist From The Beginning Of The Onslaught Against The Spiritual Systems Stemming Since The Days Of The Bakongo Empire And Loango Kingdoms, The Cristianos Forced Fed The Cross And The Dogma Of Rome By Capuchin Monks Who Were Also Collecting The Hidden Knowledge Of The Initiations Institutions Of Lemba, Wmelo, Kimpasi, Nkita, Kihimba, Ngoma, And Other Systems That Came From The Old Lands Of Africa From The Cradle Of The Bantu Birth Place And From Where Modern Man Emerged In The Lands Of Eriteria.

The Legacy Of The Old Ones Shipped Over From The Motherlands And
Placed On The Island Of Cuba Is What The Mpangui Have And In Return Left To Us The Present Owners Of Foundations And Traditions In Another New Land, Ntoto Kunanyuma, The Mainland And Continental United States, These Are The Times For The Continuum Of Our Ways.

In Palo Monte The Mount Has Thorns And Vines That Tie Up Trees, The Mystery Is Knowing How To Cut The Tree And Take The Branch With Essence And Under Treatise Established By The Elders.

The Nganga Is Not Dumb, It Is A Double Edge Knife, One Needs To Have
Skills In Order To Cut Palo Caimito, If You Don't Know How To Cut It Bad Thorns Will Sting You.

The Old Blade Takes Care Of Its Master, A Tata Is A Tata, Elder Council Guides You, Gray Hairs Don't Get Washed Out With Bath.

Learn Not To Take Up Space, Be Humble And In Silence One Learns By
Hearing The Elders Talk The Talk That They Have Walked On Paths Long And Winding With Many Pit Falls, You Need To Understand That There Are Trees That Are Good Only For Charcoal, And If A Tree Is Born Twisted, It's Trunk Will Never Grow Straight.

Jumping From Tree To Tree With Out Knowing Where You Are Going Or Attempting To Jump A Barbed Wired Fence May Cause You To Get Caught Up By The Wire.

The Rules Of Palo Monte Exist And No One Is Born Knowing Them.

Palo Monte Mayombe Is A Thing Of Magos As Were The Three Kings That You Need To Learn Before You Can Govern.

Nfinda Is The Forest, Anabutu Is Earth Mother, Nkunia Lemba Sao Is Sacred Land, And Kindembo Is The Calderon That Is A World In Miniature, In The Mother Lands The Old Ones Had Sacred Groves, In The New Lands This Due To Situation Could Not Be, So A Grove Was Done In Small And Placed In A Pot With Three Legs To Represent The Spiritual-physical-intellectual Existence That The Kindembo Stands On, It Also Locks Down All Currents Of Ndoki Bueno [good Ndoki] And Ndoki Malo [bad Ndoki] The Tri Legs Balances The Forces The Are Deep In Mystery And In Power.

The Paths Travled Have Been Paso Guazo Or The Straight And Narrow Also The Firm Path Called Paso Firme.

Remembering To Give Honor To The Learned Legacy Left By The Elders And To Embark On It's Good Voyage Towards Nzile Palo Kongo [palo Kongo Paths].

Mayombe Batalla Sacara Empenyo,erisi Palo Balande, Briyumba Kongo, Nkita Munankita, All Bafiote Or Nkento [black Man]came From Africa,we Need To Be Aware Of This Axiom Yet Remember That We Are Criollo And If We Jump The Puddle Not To Get Wet.

Our Realty Is Not In Africa But In The New World And Now In Ntoto
Kunanyuma,this Is Why This Piece Is In English And Geard For The New Place Our Traditions Have Taken Us To, Spanish, Bozal, Kikongo Will Always Be A Part Of Palo, But We Are In A Land That The Dominating Language Is English So We Will Adapt As Palo Has Always Adapted.

The Wise Man Is Instructed So As To Be Able To Overcome In All Matters And Situations In Order To Govern, Wisdom Is Divided In To Many Heads, And Each Head Is A World.

How Can A Person Seek To Govern Warrior Actions Found In The Spirit Systems Of Palo Kongo But Then They Can Not Lay The Law Down In Their Own House, They Cry When Their Women Leave Them And Fret When They Can Not Discipline Children, Yet Want To Be Cheche Bacheche On Top Of A Nganga, Don't Be A Fool, Palo Kongo Is A Warrior Path With Warrior Ways But It Is Not Tyranny Nor A Dictatorship. A Good Son, A Good Brother, A Good Husband, A Good Father, And A Good Friend Is The Norms That Define A Tata That Is A Tata, Loyalty And Dedication Is The Banner Flown And To Be Seen.

We Are All Imperfect Beings In A World Made By A Perfect Creator Who Has Hopes That His Creation Learns To Live Alive And Not Just Exist.

Without Spiritual Faculties The Palero Is Just That, A Palero, To Be An Ngangulero An Nkisi Malongo Or A Kintuala Nkisi A Wise Elder And A Light On Dark Paths One Needs To Remember That These Systems Were Born From Resistance And War Yet They Strive For Light And Progress So As To Continue, those That Want To Believe Palo To Be Only Of The Dark Are Themselves Caught On The Barbed Wire And Lack The Firmament To Be Anything Other Then Minor League Players.

The Wise Man Instructs So As To Be Able To Govern, Thus It Is Life
That One Learns Does Not Occupy Space. Neither The Head Is Going To Grow More.

The Experience, Practices Makes The Perfect. The Love, Respect,
Devotion And Pursuit With Years And Diligence Under The Power Of
Nzambi A Mpungo (god).

This Is Being A Priest, Tata Of The Diverse Religions/trads.,
Knowledge Won Through Time, Blood, Sweat, Tears, And Sacrifice, Not Bartered For With Monies And Pretend Rites Having Titles Given But Not Earned In The Manner So Many Others Have Come To Hold These Plazas And Ranks Only Because They Can Pay The Price In Coin, When So Many Qualified Peoples Of Like Kind Were Not Chosen. why Would A Person Not Of The Blood Lines Or Spirit Lines Be Taken In And Given What The Sons And Daughters Of The Struggle Being Over Looked.

Why?

Because Of The Language, Because Of The Color Of Skin Or Because Of Monies Exchanged.

The State Of Being An Ngangulero Is One Of Doing The Do And Being Real In The Face Of Established Ways Not Ours But Forced On Us, We Are Forced To Play White Face And Black Face, Forced To Conceal Our Faith And Hide Our Ways, When In Guinea Mayombe Was A Good Thing.

now The Very Peoples That Have Taken So Much From So Many Continue Their Onslaught On Our Traditions, These Academics And Folklorist Who Play At Being Nganguleros But Refuse To Give Back To The Community, They Feed You Information They Horded And Stole And Now Claim Copy Write, Yes, These Are The Same People That Forget The Reason For Palo To Be Established In Cuba, As A Means Of Resistance And To Have An Edge Over Those That Have Made Theoretical Keepers Of Truth, Their Truth And Their His-story But Forgetting "ourstory" Because It Was Never In Them To Begin With.

Mayombe Was A Good Thing In Guinea, But It Has Fallen Under Bad Press And Hype Of Christian Supremacies That Have Attacked And Attempted To Committed Religious Genocide On Any Faith Not Of Their Liking, Yet When You Examine Well Their "history" You Discover Lies, Deceit, Murder And Invented Tales To Control The Masses And Place Them As Mild Shepherded To Whims Of The Shepard And Those That Claim Union With Him.

does The Anti Christ Exist?

Yes Indeed!

They Are Called Christians!

Oficio Kongo No Come Cuento / Kongo Office Does Not Eat Stories, When Kalunga The Sea Gets Angry One Needs To Know How To Navigate The Waters To Arrive On Dry Land, You Need To Tie Down Well Your Ship That Takes You Along The Waters.

When Does The Water Eat The Land? When The Waters Are Disturbed,in The River Flood,in The Tsunami,the Waters Rise Up And Consumes The Earth, Changing It Upon Residing Or Engulfing It Whole, Do Not Be Fooled Kalunga Is Mother But Castigates Like The Father, And When The Whip Falls By The Whim Of Mother Of Waters You Recall The Sting For A Long Time.

Learn From The House Cat That Buries Its Kaka So That The Smell Is
Covered, This Is Regla Sutumutukuni, It Hides Its Essence And Reveals Not It's Truth, For The One That Wants To Know Much, Many Lies To Him?.

All Arrives In Timespace When Needed Not Before,in The Bad Time I Am The Mayoral, You Adapt And Relax, All Comes In It's Hour, Do Not Be Fooled By These Children Cutting And Claiming Plazas Without Gray Hairs And The Test Of Time Under Their Feet Walking On The Firm Path.

The Advise Of Elders Is Profit For The Future, Recall And Remember And Mayombe Will Shed Tears For Its Sons And Daughters Who Have Not Forgotten.

Mayombe Was A Good Thing In Guinea And It Will Be A Good Thing In
Ntoto Kunanyuma Ala Buena O Ala Mala.

Malembe Lembe Malembe Ya Y Bonsua Piti Kongo Malongo Yaya Ndoki Mi Cuadrilla Kongo Revienta Encima Mundo Por Que Mi Arele Si Vale Y Mi Nganga No Son Cobarde!

[Ajaguna]

The kongo cimmarones and the legacy of resistance to the established powers that exist by man.



1511 was the year that the native tainos on the islands of the carribbean were called extinct,in real,the taino took on many survival tactics to continue to exist despite the onslaught of the european invador.



Many taino commited suicide and killed there own offspring before submitting to the spanish slavers,others ran to the hills of the islands with their families and continued to live as before.



Upone the arival of africans who were mostly from central africa and the kongo kingdoms who were to replace the work force of the spanish landowners and slavers and to build the spanish wealth based on expolitation of other peoples.

Many of the kongo who arrived were of warrior clans and or nobels,as the MANIKONGO or bakongo emperor was playing politics and allowing the portugues to enslave opposition to the bakongo court,this produced not night time raids on sleeping villages,but betrayal and intrigue by ones own people,by the time the manikongo understood the mistake committed it was too late,the beast had been fed and liked the taste of slave trade flavors,which was different in each place but sanctioned by the royal courts of bantu and later other african nations.



The kongos that were taken captive were chained and placed on ships and transported on the waters which had a mystery for the bantu,since in the cosmology of the peoples they belived that the land of the dead was located on the waters and the name of the place of the dead was called “ KU NDU-OR KU MPEMPA�, many thought that they were dead,and on a vouage to the land of the dead taken by white men and white is the color of the dead,so for many they were no more on earth,or the earth that they knew.



On arrival to cuba many of the kongo were dociled to the acts performed on them,while others who’s warrior attitude and conviction did not allow this surrender of being and of essence to overcome them.

As soon that they were familiar with the circumstance they found themselvs,they prepared to escape,to evade and to run…………………..



These are the cimarrones the kongos that escaped to hills and mountains and fought for their continued freedom and survival in lands not known to them.

Cimmarrone kongos and tainos collaberated in this mission to exist despite the white slavers,the taino taught the kongo the fauna and the animals gave them the first “TRATADOS�, in regards to the land and the area they were in,the kongo gave the taino the chance to continue to exist and the hope to live and live alive despite how they found themselevs.



These peoples who founded exiled communities called PALENQUENS,which planted and raised livestock,but also RAIDED the spanish towns and settelments for whatever was needed and returned to the camp,from these people we find the first tratados and the beginning of what today is called palo kongo in cuba.

The kongo and taino runnaways constructed many mixed tratados and prendas,hidden in the camp with nkitas hidden in the landscape,just incase they were overran by the spanish.

The patikongo nkita lines of palo are famous for being born from this baptism of fire and rules of engament that live till today in many eastern cuban lines of palo and in some of the havana nzos which were born from this tiempo andilanga batalla mundo sin fin.



These lines of palo kongo are more criollo traditionalist and take on essence of seperation from the rest of the lines,they have been small communities and families which have continued the ways of the bakulu who first arrived and fought in cuba for freedom and for liberty from slavery.



The plantation kongo and the cimmarron kongo looked the same to the european but they were not the same in the essence that each lived,the cimmarron was a non conformist who also suffered for his independence and was always alert and on guard for the spanish to raid and return them to slavery,this caused the use of many treatise that the plantation kongo could not use nor could they act in the same way as the cimmarron who while being free was also an outlaw and later on even pirates.



After years of being hunted and chased some gave in other continued to exist others were killed in battles with the slavers or spanish,the ones that succeeded to live out were the smaller bands of runnaways who formed elaberate means of survival and for raiding the spanish towns.

Santo cruz del sur in camaguey providence which was called puerto principe at the time gave fame a nd way to several of these cimmarrons and palenquens that were the forefathers of the mambi army of guajiros and kongos who took on the spanish crown in the wars of independence or what became the later on the spanish american war,who was at an end by the time of Teddy and the rough riders.



The spirit of the cimmarrones was the motivator for the mambi in the ten year war,which was continued to be fought after many so called cuban patriots sold out to spain and signed a peace treaty,for exchange of lands and titles in other places.



Jose Marti, Antoino Maceo, and many others refused to compromise the freedom of cuba and of the cuban people for self wealth,this warrior essence and resolve born form the hills of eastern cuba in the stance of fighting on a foundation of honor,valor and merit is the spirit that arrived from the african slaves and tainos survivors of a epoc in spacetime not writen about in “ HIS-STORY�,but is sealed in the bloodlines of many and in the spiritlines of many more.



In short today the same actions and behaviors of peoples exist as they did before,some currents are comformist while others willnever give in.



Palo kongo has benifited form the kongo of the ingenio as it has from the palenquen and cimmarrons have left a legacy of warriorship and of being resourcefull in the eye pf the storm.

We are blessed by all the kongos and the taino that in tiempo andilanga placed the incentive to be more then what has been dished out.



Con mbele yo ngo,yo ngo con mbele,nchile bakongo yo ngo con mbele

Con mbele yo ngo,yo ngo con mbele,patikongo nkita yo ngo con mbele

Con mbele yo ngo,yo ngo con mbele,nzile palo kongo yo ngo con mbele

Con mbele yo jura,con mbele yo kwuenda,con mbele yo ngo,yo ngo con mbele !



Arriba ntoto con mi mbele

Aribba lango con mi mbele

A rriba ntuna con mi mbele

Arriba arele con mi mbele

Cuatro cuatro con mi mbele



Con mi mbele yo ngo,yo ngo con mi mbele,kimbisa mayor mayombe yo ngo con mi mbele,yo ngo con mi mbele yo ngo con mi mbele hasta mundo no mas yo ngo con mi mbele !





MAMBI, AL MACHETE !

[Ajaguna]

Lucero Mundo, World Star Paso Karyre Encima Ntoto Lucero Mundo Kimpa Kimbiza Patikongo Nkita……………………………, In The Scbvlm Linage Is A Major Ancestor In Our Branch Of Palokongo.

Syncretizing Of Lucero Mundo With Elegua Is Done By Some People Who Are Ocha Influenced Because They Serve Similar Purposes And In Ways That Are Alike, Yet Lucero Is Not Elegua Nor Is He A Trickster Or Prankster.
The Four Luceros :
Madruga- Dawn
Mundo - Noon
Prim - Dusk
Medianoche -midnight

All Are The Same Action In Diverse Currents That Operate As Messengers And Sentinels For The Cosmic Realities That Exist On Earth And Upone People Or Animated Objects Such As Prendas Or Makutos Having A Common Origen.

The Nkuyu Or Nkuyo Is An Ancestores That Is Paying Debts Owed For Negitive Action Done While Living As Human On Earth,they May Also Be Spirits That Incompleat On Earth.
These Spirits Operate As Nkisi, Nkondi, Ndundu Or Ndoki And Are Tied To Other Prendas Or Operate Alone As Is The Case With Nkuyo Nfinda Or Also Known As Lucero Mundo Who Is Nkuyo Ndoki.

In Scbvlm The Difference Of Actions Are Based On The Kongo Cross, Each Spirit Works As A Current And Brings Something Special To The Table, The Bakongo Reality With Its Royal Courts And Seperations By Kanda And Class Occulted Many Variables In The Treatise And Pacts.


The Difference Between A Spirit And A Ghost Or Spector [ Fwa Ka Fwa] Is On Being Propitiated By The Decendents, When This Doe Not Happen A Spirit Becomes Lost And Unattached This Causes Confusion In The Progress Of The Spirit And Interfears With Harmony Of A House Or Family. These Wandering Spirits Are The Center Of What Is A Nkuyo Which Is Pacted To Do Service For The Owner And To Guard Them From Other Actions Or Spirits. Sometimes These Spirits Are Captured Or Traped And Other Times They Are Called In By A Superior Nkuyo,such As Lucero Mundo,who Then Opens The Path For This Spirit To Become A Nkuyo/lucero In The Service Of An Mpangui Who Is Initiated Or Soon To Be Cut.

The Minkuyo Or The Bankuyo Are Ancestores That Progressed Or Degressed Due To How They Interacted With The Community At Large And With The Communities They Came From.

These Are In Fact Types Of Spirits That Are Paying A Debt By Being Of Service To Man And The Communitiy So As To Progress And Evoulve To Other Levels.

Luceros Are Stars And Sucha As Venus Or Sirius And Falling Stars Are Ntetembwa Which Are Concidered By The Kongo To Be Spirits Or Signs Of Spirits Returning To Earth As Ancestores Of The Clan Or Peoples Of A Tribe.

In Cuban Palokongo Which Is Derived From The Kongo Understanding Of Things As Existing In The Communities Of Criollos Of Bantu Linages By Blood Or By Spirit Some Things Became Mixed Up With Other Traditions And Religions,
This New Land Gave Way To Other Ways Of Understanding And Of Veneration Then Was The Norm In Africa.

Some Lines And Branches Treat Lucero/nkuyo More Like Elegua And Others Have A More Kongo Traditional Mode Of Operation In The Rules Of Engagement They Set Up To Run Under In A Collective Agreement Of Doing.


The People That Have A Mix Of Both Traditions Are Not Right Or Wrong In The Way They Venerate And Contend With Lucero/nkuyo.its Just The Way They Do It,which Is Different Then The Way Others May See And Or Understand How They Should Behave Toward This Action Or Many Other Actions And Spirits Of The Criollo Experience.

Kimbisa Seems To Deal With The Mix In Different Ways,some Nzos Are Very Influanced By Ocha While Others Are Very Traditional,the Difference Is More Based On Regional Inspiration And Communal Agreement Then History Or What Is Deemed Orthodox.
The Proff Is In The Tasting,what Works For One May Not Work For Another.

[Jahness]

Greetings Ajaguna!

Thank you for sharing this most BlackNificent piece with us.

I would have to disagree with the author of the article in the
first post in this Thread when he/she said

"Our Realty Is Not In Africa But In The New World And Now In Ntoto Kunanyuma,this Is Why This Piece Is In English And Geard For The New Place Our Traditions Have Taken Us To, Spanish, Bozal, Kikongo Will Always Be A Part Of Palo, But We Are In A Land That The Dominating Language Is English So We Will Adapt As Palo Has Always Adapted"

We may be in the new world and it goes without saying that we have had to adapt if by no other means but forcefully. With that said, I know Our reality is in Afrika and will always be, because that is our source. We cannot keep ouselves disconnected from our source and at the same time say we are giving true honor and respect to our sacred traditions like Palo. To me the reason why nowadays so much of our sacred traditions are only based on how much they cost is why we are having these problems, because we have adapted too much to the ways of our oppressors forgetting that learning and honestly practicing these traditions is supposed to be used to help our people and the community.

Stay Blessed and thank you again for providing this very informative article.

[Ajaguna]

I agree with you sis. Many Africans that have inherited African traditions via the diaspora share this type of "double consciousness" perspective. I definitely have problems with it. There needs to be less focus on adapting the traditions to our current surroundings and more focus on purging the traditions of European and harmful influences. In addition our focus needs to be on rebuilding the cultural, societal, and familial context that gave birth to these traditions originally. This is where nationbuilding needs to be synthesized with afrikan spirituality. Otherwise we are succumbing to these oppressive conditions rather than challenging them.

I posted the articles though, because there is a rich history in palo, which comes out Cuba, of armed resistance and spritual warfare against crakkas. I think Africans need to appreciate and understand this phenomenon. I ts also an example of how Africans in the diaspora have retained huge chunks of our Afrikan reality and have passed that down to our children for generations. As long as we recognize the contamination, we can keep what is useful and leave what ain't.

Ayinde

[IfasehunReincarnated]

What would you tell Paleros that feel they have to maintain relationships w/ White Latinos to get all the ritual info they need? It seems that Palo, even more than Orisa worship in Cuba is tied to dealing w/ White Latinos.

[Ajaguna]

Yea, I'm aware of the white cuban involvement in Palo. Personally, I couldn't be involved in any spiritual tradition that would require me to go through Yurugu in order to grow in that tradition. If we are about Afrikan liberation then this is NECESSARILY out of the question.

I have a good amount of personal experience with Palo though, and I know that there are many (I might even venture to say the majority) ramas or lineages that do not allow Yurugu. I have witnessed a Palo nfumbi (egun) give an explanation for this. The nfumbi said that many Palo spirits of nganga lived during our period of captivity and carry the anger with them into the next world. From what I understand, many restrictions in Palo come very directly and explicitly from the nganga. And because Palo deals primarily with spirits of the dead these restrictions are of a more immediately binding nature than those of Lucumi and Orisa. Of course you always have those who will attempt to buck the system.

Back to the point though. I would recommend for Afrikans that have been advised, through consultation of some sort,that Palo is their path to seek out an initated Afrikan elder, preferably with character and consciousness, to guide them in the tradition. The tradition can be EXTREMELY harmful if aspiring paleros are not guided by srupulous and knowledgable elders.

[Jahness]

Greetings brothers Ifasehun & Ajaguna.

Ifasehun, you have asked a very valid question. There are still too many Afrikans here in the United Snakkkes who for some reason feel as if they can only justify our Traditional Sacred Sciences if it is approved and sanctioned by white Latinos.

My experience in Cuba is a bit different when it comes to Palo. The couple of Paleros that I have been introduced to by my spiritual elder who is from Cuba and very well known has always been Afrikans, and I mean Afrikans who look like they just came from the congo last week :o

Seriously, I have not interacted via my Ocha lineage (Lukumi) much with white Cubans or my Palo Lineage either. I know they exist in great amounts, but again I have not interacted with them much from my experience with traveling, or participating in rituals with my Spiritual elder.

Staying grounded in the true essence of Palo with it's original congo traditions is key for me, as with all my studies and practicing of these ancient traditions.

Thank you both for sharing!

Peace & Blessings!

[Kweku_Omowale]

those are the names of white brits and white amerikans in afrikan spirituality

ross heaven bntish
phillip nienmark white jewish amerikan
sally an glassman,jewish amerikan
and there are many more whites infiltritating our tradition because we dont respect and we dont value it,pretty soon,they will be saying that the orisas images are all white and thats why haitians are messed up like kentake said it bluntly.

brazilians keeps iot real jahness it is in portuguese check this web site sister jahness www.orixas.com.br and look for the images of the orisas

[Ndongo]

Originally Posted by Ajaguna

In Guinea Mayombe Was A Good Thing

The Rules Of Engagement For The Spiritual Systems Known As Palo Monte Or Palo Mayombe Derive From The West-central African Region Peopled By Several Ethnic Groups Who Collectively Is Known As Bantu, The Many Heads.

These Are Worlds Filled With Awe And Mystery, Sacred Rites And Orders That Include The Living And The Dead Or The Seen And The Unseen.

The Lands Of Nani Called In Bozal "tierra Nani" Is The Motherland Of
Africa, Who Gave Birth To Our Ways And Understandings Of Nature And How Man Walks On Solid Paths Toward Becoming More, Progress Is A Need For Our Sacred Ways To Continue Along And Lift Up The Creation Under The Governorship Of The Creator.

The New Lands Across The Big Waters Was Filled With A Mixing Of The Peoples And The Old Ways Of The Motherlands Were No More, New Ways Became To Be Developed To Contend With The New Realities Found To Exist In The Time Space Frames The African Found Themselves In. The Spiritual Systems Of The Kongos Were Old Ways Developed In New Lands.

Palo Monte, Palo Mayombe, Kimbisa, Briyumba, Viliyumba, Oriyumba, Briyumba Kongo, Erisi Balande, Lemba Sao,nfinda Kuna Lemba,vititi Kongo,brama Con Brama, Nkita Munankita, Iti Kongo, Mpati Kongo, Kongrama ,masongo, Sacara Empeñlo, Batalla Kongo, Guindavela, Paso Firme, Ntoto Changani, Busca Rastro, Muansambia, Jura Jura, Santo Cristo Buen Viaje, Santo Cristo Del Buen Viaje, Corta Lima And Many Many Many More Lines And Branches Derived From The Baracones Of The Slaves Or In The Palenques Of The Runaway Cimaroons That Lived In The Hills And Mountains Of The Island Of Cuba, Which Was First Called The Island Of Juana By The Spanish And Kubanacan By The Arawak Natives Prior To The Invasion By The Europeans.

Africans And Landinos [free Blacks] Arrived In Cuba Since 1513 And The Large Slave Imports Began In The Late 1600s To 1887 And Then Some [illegal Importing Continued Till The Early 1900s], This Was When The Traditions Collectively Known As Palo Kongo Took Form And Essence In The New World.

Survival Is An Ugly Word Which Speaks On Being A Victim Of Situation Or A Thing, Which Was Not A Word Used In Kosa Kongo Or The Kongo Things, Instead They Used The Word Quien Vence Who Overcomes Or Who Wins, It's A Combative Word For A Tradition That Was Forced To Fight For It's Right To Exist From The Beginning Of The Onslaught Against The Spiritual Systems Stemming Since The Days Of The Bakongo Empire And Loango Kingdoms, The Cristianos Forced Fed The Cross And The Dogma Of Rome By Capuchin Monks Who Were Also Collecting The Hidden Knowledge Of The Initiations Institutions Of Lemba, Wmelo, Kimpasi, Nkita, Kihimba, Ngoma, And Other Systems That Came From The Old Lands Of Africa From The Cradle Of The Bantu Birth Place And From Where Modern Man Emerged In The Lands Of Eriteria.

The Legacy Of The Old Ones Shipped Over From The Motherlands And
Placed On The Island Of Cuba Is What The Mpangui Have And In Return Left To Us The Present Owners Of Foundations And Traditions In Another New Land, Ntoto Kunanyuma, The Mainland And Continental United States, These Are The Times For The Continuum Of Our Ways.

In Palo Monte The Mount Has Thorns And Vines That Tie Up Trees, The Mystery Is Knowing How To Cut The Tree And Take The Branch With Essence And Under Treatise Established By The Elders.

The Nganga Is Not Dumb, It Is A Double Edge Knife, One Needs To Have
Skills In Order To Cut Palo Caimito, If You Don't Know How To Cut It Bad Thorns Will Sting You.

The Old Blade Takes Care Of Its Master, A Tata Is A Tata, Elder Council Guides You, Gray Hairs Don't Get Washed Out With Bath.

Learn Not To Take Up Space, Be Humble And In Silence One Learns By
Hearing The Elders Talk The Talk That They Have Walked On Paths Long And Winding With Many Pit Falls, You Need To Understand That There Are Trees That Are Good Only For Charcoal, And If A Tree Is Born Twisted, It's Trunk Will Never Grow Straight.

Jumping From Tree To Tree With Out Knowing Where You Are Going Or Attempting To Jump A Barbed Wired Fence May Cause You To Get Caught Up By The Wire.

The Rules Of Palo Monte Exist And No One Is Born Knowing Them.

Palo Monte Mayombe Is A Thing Of Magos As Were The Three Kings That You Need To Learn Before You Can Govern.

Nfinda Is The Forest, Anabutu Is Earth Mother, Nkunia Lemba Sao Is Sacred Land, And Kindembo Is The Calderon That Is A World In Miniature, In The Mother Lands The Old Ones Had Sacred Groves, In The New Lands This Due To Situation Could Not Be, So A Grove Was Done In Small And Placed In A Pot With Three Legs To Represent The Spiritual-physical-intellectual Existence That The Kindembo Stands On, It Also Locks Down All Currents Of Ndoki Bueno [good Ndoki] And Ndoki Malo [bad Ndoki] The Tri Legs Balances The Forces The Are Deep In Mystery And In Power.

The Paths Travled Have Been Paso Guazo Or The Straight And Narrow Also The Firm Path Called Paso Firme.

Remembering To Give Honor To The Learned Legacy Left By The Elders And To Embark On It's Good Voyage Towards Nzile Palo Kongo [palo Kongo Paths].

Mayombe Batalla Sacara Empenyo,erisi Palo Balande, Briyumba Kongo, Nkita Munankita, All Bafiote Or Nkento [black Man]came From Africa,we Need To Be Aware Of This Axiom Yet Remember That We Are Criollo And If We Jump The Puddle Not To Get Wet.

Our Realty Is Not In Africa But In The New World And Now In Ntoto
Kunanyuma,this Is Why This Piece Is In English And Geard For The New Place Our Traditions Have Taken Us To, Spanish, Bozal, Kikongo Will Always Be A Part Of Palo, But We Are In A Land That The Dominating Language Is English So We Will Adapt As Palo Has Always Adapted.

The Wise Man Is Instructed So As To Be Able To Overcome In All Matters And Situations In Order To Govern, Wisdom Is Divided In To Many Heads, And Each Head Is A World.

How Can A Person Seek To Govern Warrior Actions Found In The Spirit Systems Of Palo Kongo But Then They Can Not Lay The Law Down In Their Own House, They Cry When Their Women Leave Them And Fret When They Can Not Discipline Children, Yet Want To Be Cheche Bacheche On Top Of A Nganga, Don't Be A Fool, Palo Kongo Is A Warrior Path With Warrior Ways But It Is Not Tyranny Nor A Dictatorship. A Good Son, A Good Brother, A Good Husband, A Good Father, And A Good Friend Is The Norms That Define A Tata That Is A Tata, Loyalty And Dedication Is The Banner Flown And To Be Seen.

We Are All Imperfect Beings In A World Made By A Perfect Creator Who Has Hopes That His Creation Learns To Live Alive And Not Just Exist.

Without Spiritual Faculties The Palero Is Just That, A Palero, To Be An Ngangulero An Nkisi Malongo Or A Kintuala Nkisi A Wise Elder And A Light On Dark Paths One Needs To Remember That These Systems Were Born From Resistance And War Yet They Strive For Light And Progress So As To Continue, those That Want To Believe Palo To Be Only Of The Dark Are Themselves Caught On The Barbed Wire And Lack The Firmament To Be Anything Other Then Minor League Players.

The Wise Man Instructs So As To Be Able To Govern, Thus It Is Life
That One Learns Does Not Occupy Space. Neither The Head Is Going To Grow More.

The Experience, Practices Makes The Perfect. The Love, Respect,
Devotion And Pursuit With Years And Diligence Under The Power Of
Nzambi A Mpungo (god).

This Is Being A Priest, Tata Of The Diverse Religions/trads.,
Knowledge Won Through Time, Blood, Sweat, Tears, And Sacrifice, Not Bartered For With Monies And Pretend Rites Having Titles Given But Not Earned In The Manner So Many Others Have Come To Hold These Plazas And Ranks Only Because They Can Pay The Price In Coin, When So Many Qualified Peoples Of Like Kind Were Not Chosen. why Would A Person Not Of The Blood Lines Or Spirit Lines Be Taken In And Given What The Sons And Daughters Of The Struggle Being Over Looked.

Why?

Because Of The Language, Because Of The Color Of Skin Or Because Of Monies Exchanged.

The State Of Being An Ngangulero Is One Of Doing The Do And Being Real In The Face Of Established Ways Not Ours But Forced On Us, We Are Forced To Play White Face And Black Face, Forced To Conceal Our Faith And Hide Our Ways, When In Guinea Mayombe Was A Good Thing.

now The Very Peoples That Have Taken So Much From So Many Continue Their Onslaught On Our Traditions, These Academics And Folklorist Who Play At Being Nganguleros But Refuse To Give Back To The Community, They Feed You Information They Horded And Stole And Now Claim Copy Write, Yes, These Are The Same People That Forget The Reason For Palo To Be Established In Cuba, As A Means Of Resistance And To Have An Edge Over Those That Have Made Theoretical Keepers Of Truth, Their Truth And Their His-story But Forgetting "ourstory" Because It Was Never In Them To Begin With.

Mayombe Was A Good Thing In Guinea, But It Has Fallen Under Bad Press And Hype Of Christian Supremacies That Have Attacked And Attempted To Committed Religious Genocide On Any Faith Not Of Their Liking, Yet When You Examine Well Their "history" You Discover Lies, Deceit, Murder And Invented Tales To Control The Masses And Place Them As Mild Shepherded To Whims Of The Shepard And Those That Claim Union With Him.

does The Anti Christ Exist?

Yes Indeed!

They Are Called Christians!

Oficio Kongo No Come Cuento / Kongo Office Does Not Eat Stories, When Kalunga The Sea Gets Angry One Needs To Know How To Navigate The Waters To Arrive On Dry Land, You Need To Tie Down Well Your Ship That Takes You Along The Waters.

When Does The Water Eat The Land? When The Waters Are Disturbed,in The River Flood,in The Tsunami,the Waters Rise Up And Consumes The Earth, Changing It Upon Residing Or Engulfing It Whole, Do Not Be Fooled Kalunga Is Mother But Castigates Like The Father, And When The Whip Falls By The Whim Of Mother Of Waters You Recall The Sting For A Long Time.

Learn From The House Cat That Buries Its Kaka So That The Smell Is
Covered, This Is Regla Sutumutukuni, It Hides Its Essence And Reveals Not It's Truth, For The One That Wants To Know Much, Many Lies To Him?.

All Arrives In Timespace When Needed Not Before,in The Bad Time I Am The Mayoral, You Adapt And Relax, All Comes In It's Hour, Do Not Be Fooled By These Children Cutting And Claiming Plazas Without Gray Hairs And The Test Of Time Under Their Feet Walking On The Firm Path.

The Advise Of Elders Is Profit For The Future, Recall And Remember And Mayombe Will Shed Tears For Its Sons And Daughters Who Have Not Forgotten.

Mayombe Was A Good Thing In Guinea And It Will Be A Good Thing In
Ntoto Kunanyuma Ala Buena O Ala Mala.

Malembe Lembe Malembe Ya Y Bonsua Piti Kongo Malongo Yaya Ndoki Mi Cuadrilla Kongo Revienta Encima Mundo Por Que Mi Arele Si Vale Y Mi Nganga No Son Cobarde!

Nsala Malekun Malekun Nsala. Sambia Enpungo Sambia Sucururu Manansulu Me Los Cutare To La Moana Congo. Bokanyula Enganga Mariquilla Yayi. Encunia Lembasao Enfinda Cunanfinda Buen Lumbo Buen Lumbo Sambia Ensulu Sambia Entoto

[NgangaVentana]

Nsala Maleko

I am Antonio 'Ventana', aka Tata Mulonga Lemba Kongo Kriyumba Ngo, also malumalu bwala bambuta (I can translate that for those of you not proficient in Kikongo - feel free to ask). I am a Palo Priest of the Briyumba branch and I is a 'white boy'. Some of you may have heard of me on the net.

Palo is a spiritual warrior tradition, descended from whatever knowledge Bantu slaves managed to bring over from the Kongo when they were captured and taken to Cuba.

IfasehunReincarnated:
What would you tell Paleros that feel they have to maintain relationships w/ White Latinos to get all the ritual info they need?

True Paleros do not care about the ethnicity of those who teach them.
Racism, whether used against blacks or whites, is cowardice and so plays no part in any of the Palo Ramas. God has many names yet has no colour. And if anyone came to me to learn Palo with that kind of reacist attitude, be they black or white, I would refer them to a babalao for IFA training.

Kweku_Omowale:
and there are many more whites infiltritating our tradition because we dont respect and we dont value it

'Our' traditions?, Kindiambo? kinani munanso kwenda Nge?
Are you a Palero? or is that you believe Palo is somehow 'owned' by people of very dark skin? Nganga bebe sangre.. and all blood is red.

Jahness:
My experience in Cuba is a bit different when it comes to Palo. The couple of Paleros that I have been introduced to by my spiritual elder who is from Cuba and very well known has always been Afrikans, and I mean Afrikans who look like they just came from the congo last week :o

Do you think their looks somehow magnify their spirituality or their effectiveness as Palo Nganguleros? No matter how black the darkest Cuban is, he will have a large share of Spanish/Moorish blood in him. Did you speak to him in some strange African tongue or in Spanish? The last Negro de Nacion, died years ago..

Ajaguna:
now The Very Peoples That Have Taken So Much From So Many Continue Their Onslaught On Our Traditions, These Academics And Folklorist Who Play At Being Nganguleros But Refuse To Give Back To The Community, They Feed You Information They Horded And Stole And Now Claim Copy Write, Yes, These Are The Same People That Forget The Reason For Palo To Be Established In Cuba, As A Means Of Resistance And To Have An Edge Over Those That Have Made Theoretical Keepers Of Truth, Their Truth And Their His-story But Forgetting "ourstory" Because It Was Never In Them To Begin With.

I'd like to hear your story - which Bantu tribe are you a member of?
Which community would you like us to 'give back to'?

Only a moron would expect to learn a magico/religious path from an academic.. you have to LIVE Palo in order to work it. Not just write about it.

Palo is a Secret Society. We do not teach outsiders, be they black or white.
Not everyone has a Palo Path. And that proviledge is decided by God, not by the colour of the person's skin.

Nzambi kutani na beno,
VENTANA

nganga.ventana@yahoo.com