Kongo Vodou

[batalla9]

Some of the music and ritual is Petwo, from the Kongo. The other is Voudoushi which is Fon. In Cuba and other parts of the Carribean, Kongo dialects are still spoken. That would infer that the ancestry of the Kongo speakers are Kongo. Many are now intermarried, but there used to be 7 separate Kongo languages spoken in Cuba, along with Karabali, Yoruba, Fon, etc. As to Kongo people, we have Yombe, Lemba, Vili and others.

[BabyGirlGoddess]

just out of curiousity,

why is it in black and white?

[writingdance]

i'm in the mood for voodoo

[maille2]

I really want to watch the whole movie.pls any reference? i look mostly everywhere, Maya Deren wrote the book.,,,,,,,Ayibobo

[LouisEuropa]

My God! haitians are amazing people in the Caribbean. They have great culture... Chapeau!!!

[lod8atla]

The Kongos rock!!!!

[rawkinsuperstar]

Is the entire documentary online?

[lennoxido]

Vodou is life!

[rawkinsuperstar]

I agree!

[augustina91]

I was wondering; is voodoo like a african kind of paganism (worshipping nature and the elements) (I apologise for my restricted knowledge)could anyone explain what voodoo `s about?(I saw a documentary about voodoo where a woman explained `everything is voodoo,the earth which we walk upon is voodoo`but I couldn`t form a clear picture of what she meant..I would like to learn more about this..

[Viracocha10450]

It's pretty complicated. The religion is called Voodoo in Louisiana, Vodou in Haiti, both of which are descended from Vodun in West Africa. As it's practiced in the Csribbean, Vodou arises from a complex mixture of West African, Kongo, and Catholic beliefs. There are a number of deities: an all-powerful God named Bondye (usually identified with the Christian god), and a number of lesser spirits named "loa" which can be thought of as a combo of West African deities and Catholic saints.

[Viracocha10450]

So as a more direct answer to your question, they believe that Bondye/God is everywhere but is unreachable, so they direct most prayers toward the loa. This is very similar to Catholic conceptions, which makes sense considering Vodou is in some sense a Catholic offshoot. It should by no means be considered a "pagan" religion (actually, almost no religion should be). Hope that answers your question!

[malanduye]

Vodou could be define in 4 words "INTROSPECTION to the UNKNOWN"

[sbvlogideos]

Voodoo, often glamourized by Hollywood in recent decades, was originally born in Africa. Through the generations of the African diaspora from slavery has, like all religions, evovled and changed in certain respects. The changes have created slightly varied "voodoos" in different regions from Benin to Haiti to Jamaica to the US etc Primarily, it is about spirits, sometimes considered ancestors.

[jerrydon22]

Augustina, everything is voodoo. from the christians bowing before their wooden cross & invisible god -- to the Muslims who prostrate five times a day before the big black box, called the Kaba (which contains a big black rock), located in Mecca. Everything is Voodoo ---IF YOU KNOW what Voodoo is ;-).

u can see it everywhere and in everything.

hotep sis

[GoddessQueen4life]

@jerrydon22 ...HOTEP!!!

[unannounced72]

Oye pariguayo esa baina es de Haiti, no venga con tu pendejada que eso es autentico dominicano. Los haitianos llevaron lo que es el rara que es lo mismo que el gaga. Esa gente no se entiende lo que dicen, esa baina es de Africa no es dominicano. ja ja ja!!!!!

[SuperConejo]

No leite la decripcion. Explique que tenia raize en lo do pueblo, Quisqueya y Ayiti(Haiti). Si este video es en Haiti, pero en Quisqueya exite lo mimo, lo que pasa es que alla ya se syncretizo mas, pero hay mucho paise en el mundo que tienen mucha influenzia congo, incluyendo, a cuba, brazil, colombia, y partes de Jamaica, Quisqueya no e excepcion, en ese video no hay nada de Rara(Gaga) no se de donde salio eso, si el gag es haitiano, pero el video no se trata de eso, como quiera somos un pueblo

[cpthen007]

@unannounced72 ANIMALITO IMBECIL: República Dominicana no existian cuando en esta isla ya se practicaba vudu, con los AFRICANOS traidos por la fuerza a la esclavitud. Que son tus acentros y mis ancestros. A veces da lástima TANTA MALDITA ESTUPIDEZ QUE SÍ ES "NETAMENTE" DOMINICANA.

[cpthen007]

En tiempo de la colonia ya se le prohibia a los habitantes de Santo Domingo "bailar Judú" es decir, que el VUDÚ está aquí y es tan dominicano como TÚ. Pero los racistas, los imbéciles, la gente sin orgullo, lo han ocultado y han diezmado la practica por diferentes medios... Por su parte, el Gagá es sólo una de las celebraciones y cultos vinculados al Vudú, pero eso que ves no es Gagá. Pero igual: También el Gagá estaba aquí, en este pueblo, antes de la declaración de independencia. EN NUESTRO.

[MyBand87]

voodoo is for dick fucks! hey sacrifice this monkey cum! u cum eaters! lol.

[lQuantumTheoryl]

very informative

[PrincessaGianna]

Why are people getting so fired up about this Congo business? This is clearly a VINTAGE video. Just take it for what it is and stop complaining. Obviously we have come a long way to appease people with names, but after all, they are ONLY names.

[crazyfountains]

Yes but names is what society has sadly marked us by.

[Fadinntomtom]

These uneducated idots. They think that we can't find out ther real truth. The Congo is a white man made name anyways!!!!! Your wright when you ask which ethnicity. There is a documented 300 diffrent tounges in the CONGO!!!!

[bike103]

Kongo with a "k" is the name of homogeneous tribe, they had one language and at one point in time all the kongo peoples were citizen of the same kingdom. Congo with a "c" is the country The slave trade brought chaos and civil war to the kingdom and many Kongolese were taken as slaves, many of of those slaves were sent to Haiti. it is aslo true though, that other tribes in the central Africa were captured as slaves and many of these different tribesmen were incorrectly classified as kongolese.

[sbvlogideos]

central Africa also suffered a holocaust through enslavement at the hands of King Leopold of Belgium. When the people were freed and gained independence, the United States assisinated their beloved leader because he was considered a leftist danger.

[eliyale99]

one point, the Kongo aka the semi-bantu were a very heterogenous group of people. There were several dialects of Kongo such as kikongo, yombe, bakongo and so on. They had different initiatic cults such as Kimbisa of Loango, and so on. But the essence of what you stated is correct. Many people who were technically not from the protectorate of the Mani-Kongo, they were technically not of that kingdom. But the Bantu complex was huge and they dominate the culture of the diaspora. NDOKI BUENO!

[Ishbaka]

Kongo Tribe ? I have never herd of such thing Lingala people yes they are from the congo region, Haitans were deported and stolen from what is now known as Benin the EWE they are neighbours of the Yoroba and have similarities in thier god concept. IT is well doccumented where each batch of slaves came from. the records get s foggy and lost when we were sold upon arrival, GET youw FACTS straight narrator.

[SuperConejo]

I agree there are MANY congo ethnic groups, i personally have a lingala friend. But despite the fact that maybe 50% of the slaves were from Benin, the 2nd largest Kingdom of origin was the Kongo kingdom. This refelcts on alot of Haitian words and some foods. For example Mambo is obviously a Kikongo word, thats the name of a female vodoun priestess. And theres much more.

[Rasprogress]

Lingala is a language. Kikongo is a language. The people are called 'Bakongo'.

[MeAndHubbyToo]

@SuperConejo I believe the narrator means "bakongo" tribe, which quite simply means "people of kongo". This group is what made the African-Americans, particularly those in the south, of bantu origin post 1700's. Previously, the majority were from the Senegambia region.

Bakongo also saturated Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, and more (the maroons of Brazil speak languages that are easily recognizable to a Bantu or Kongo). The Kongo empire was broken up (by Europe) and most are now in the Americas.

[porokondo]

@Ishbaka True, Haitians came from Modern Benin, but not all of them. Some came from the Kongo Kingdom, which is today, North of Angola, West of Zaire, South of Congo Brazzaville and South of Gabon. There is also the "BANGALA" tribe in north of Zaire and north of Congo Brazzaville, that's where LINGALA language came from. The Kongo people are one the largest tribe in Africa and I am one of them. Please, next time do some research before making comments.

[WALAIy]

superConejo,False!!!some africans descent just claim any part of africa as their origin but they not sure about it nothin prouves it,any african descent can clain any african tribe as he's but theres nothing to back it up,yes slaves from brazil ,cuba,and many other country claim to be yoruba i know it but can they speak yoruba?do they have yoruba names?what make u beleiv 100% that they are yoruba?the voodoo?or what?myself i can claim to be from an african tribe thats not my ancestors tribe

[SuperConejo]

WALAly, yes they do speak yoruba and many of them have yoruba names. The cuban Abakua members can even speak Efek and as a matter of fact Yorubas from Nigeria and Efeks can understand Cubans and Brazilians when they speak. You forgot about the maroons, the secret socities that existed all throughout the western hemisphere.

[Therion131]

What do you think they speak in the Lukumi rites? its Yoruba, and in Mayombe it's the bantu language with a mix of spanish, I DARE you to tell a true mayombero that the Nkisi of his ANCESTORS is bullshit and that he doesnt really know where he is from, man you should only speak when you know for sure, my Grandfather was a Babalawo part of la rama de Miguelito Febles and I dare you to tell me that the tradition he was part of is LIES because the slaves didnt know where they where from.

[eliyale99]

wait...I happen to know exactly my tribe. I am a "jelofe"...wolof...how do I know? My great grandfather's baptismal certificate in his hometown church in puerto rico. Trust me, just because YOU don't know doesn't mean that others don't. For many people in spanish colonized areas, finding out is as easy as going to the general archives. the spaniards and their priests kept excellent records of slave origins.

[MeAndHubbyToo]

@WALAIy Of course they speak Yoruba, in fact, they speak an original form of the language, one that has been preserved in the diaspora for centuries. Also, there is PLENTY to back up the origins of our people in the diaspora, including Afro-Brazilians, African-Americans, Afro-Cubans, etc. I'd advise you to read more, including the studies on the Bakongo influence in the Americas (I made a short video on it, which I may revise to include pics), and the works of Lorenzo Dow Turner, our ancestor.

[WALAIy]

Next time somebody else will say they came from ghana,all lies.

[WALAIy]

somebody else claim haitian africans came from benin,stop telling lies.

[WALAIy]

stepjean stop telling lies to peaple nobody can't really tell which country of africa african slaves came from,peaple always try to say that to claim something,even the science cannot tell which part of africa all african descents from all over america,and the west indies came from ,but for sure they came from all over africa ,as they were captured from different country and put in ships,they won't coming from a particular country,and countrys did not exist then,countrys came after colonisation

[SuperConejo]

WALAly, there are still descendants who know their exact ethnic group. Some Cubans, Brazilians and Haitians can tell you they are Yoruba, Igbo, Mondongo(Congo), Ewe, Fon, Etc. So yes in some cases people still KNOW. I understand the countries are a new creation but the ethnic groups arent. As a matter of fact brazilian yorubas have been traveling back to nigeria for decades now! Cuban Efeks have been traveling to South Nigeria and they still have the same cultures.

[PrincessaGianna]

You are right, and they follow their traditions as closely as possible.

[ambreginny]

Yes, teach them, SuperConejo.

I'm auditing this class though.

[amphotep]

Western science are trying to build machines and gadets, but WE are the spiritual antennas. they are just not tuned in to the vibrational frequences beyond what the five senses can detect.

[amphotep]

in the so-called civilized West, all this stuff is looked @ as mombo-jumbo. but in all actuality traditional Africans are far more spiritually advanced than epirical science. they can only observe, measure, and experiment on tangible things. meanwhile traditional Africans have mastered cultivating spiritual realms to the point where they have certain rituals for certain spiritual aspects.

[IfeVo]

Thats right brother. Tell them like it is. Spirituality is the most advanced science and the flesh is only the clothing of the spirit.

[vanchi233]

good shit!

[stepjean]

In addition to what is mentioned here, it should be noted that, according to a study 49.2 % of the population of Haiti came originally from the Congos (see Historia Thematique, no. 80, Novembre-Decembre 2002, p.41)

[SuperConejo]

very interesting, i think the Dahomey groups are the strongest one though, because you have to factor in things like runaway slaves and the revolution. Some kongos fled to what is now D.R, and also some Haitian Kongos ended up in Lousiana, hence Kongo square. Kongo is a very very important element in Haitian and Dominican society for sure. But Haiti had more Dahomean heritage though.

[stepjean]

Interesting point. However according to the study published in Historia the breakdown for the slave population of Saint-Domingue (today's Haiti) at that time was as follow: 6.9% Senegambia (Senegal/Gambia); 4.5% Sierra Leone; 26.3% Gold Coast (Ghana); 26.3% from the Benin Bay; 5% from the Bay of Biafra (Nigeria); 49.2% Central Africa (Congos); and 3.6% South-East Africa (Mozambique). The largest proportion, by far, came from the Congos according to this study.

[SuperConejo]

I am not denying the study, i'm just putting other factors into play as far as the final outcome of modern Haitians. Also in slavery there were many illegal slaves, who came in from Curacao some Kongos some Yorubas and other groups. So its hard to tell who survived and how much and who was brought in illegally. Remember Slaves in Saint Domingue had a very high mortality rate, i think the average was 11 years, correct me if i'm wrong.

[IfeVo]

How can you if you dont live the Haitian culture? Only someone who lives it and truly konws it will know. The truth of the matter is it is the spirits and ancestors who identify where someone is from and the spirits are more advanced and accurrate than modern science.

[tornadobeast]

the total exceeds 100%?

[AhavaYah]

bullshit. show your reference

[videoremix06]

That's a very educational video.I didn't know my roots came from COngo.I learned something today, cause I thought it was guinan.

[glil77]

Many different tribes came to Haiti. Congo is one of the tribes brought there along with the Ibo, Nago, Dahomey, and other tribes. When they say guinan, they mean Africa.

[SuperConejo]

Very true glil77, in Vodou these main ethnic groups have their own division of lwa. The Kongos have kongo and Petro lwa. Dahomey has the most spirits, they are the founders of Rada. The Nago brought with them Yoruba Lwa such as Ogun Balenyo(Ogou). THe Guineans actually survived in Haiti, there is a division called Vodou Mandinga which is from that region, and from what i read its a mix of Islam and other Vodou divisions.

[glil77]

That's interesting about the Mandinga that has a mixture of islam and vodou.