Palo, or Las Reglas de Congo are a group of closely related religions or denominations which developed in the Spanish colonies of the Caribbean among Central African slaves of mostly Kongo ancestry. Other names associated with various branches of this religion include Mayombe, Briyumba and Kimbisa. The word palo (stick in Spanish) was applied to the religion in Cuba due to the use of wooden sticks in the preparation of altars, which were also called la Nganga, el caldero or la prenda. Adherents of Palo are known generally as Paleros, Ngangeros, or Nganguleros. Membership is by initiation into a house or Temple. The organizational structure follows the model of a family. During slavery when blood families often were broken up by slave holders, this model was particularly significant and taken literally. The religions of the Congo reached the Americas by other paths than through Puerto Rico. In Brazil Congo religions are known as Umbanda, Quimbanda, Candomblé de Congo, or Condomble de Angola. The one most closely related to the Cuban Palo Tradition is Quimbanda. In Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the Virgin Islands, Congo based religions are called Kumina, or when seen as a form of magic without liturgical worship, as Obeah. Closely related to Palo in practice, but like Obeah, lacking Palos theological and liturgical aspects, is a form of African American folk magic known as hoodoo, conjure, or rootwork, which developed from African slave beliefs in the United States. The reason for the striking similarity between these traditions is that the core beliefs underlying hoodoo derive from Congo and Angola. In Haiti there is a Vodou denomination known as Makaya that is similar to Palo.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 17:02:07 +0000
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