The
Democratic Republic of the Congo, (DRC) for short, is made up of various
religions. It has its roots in its various indigenous religions as well as
the more mainstream religions found around the world. Prior to the introduction
of Christianity, the indigenous religious beliefs were centered on a supreme
being, the power of the ancestors, spirits of nature, and the efficacy of
magic. (Payanzo 2015) Magicians, witches, and shamans were supposed to be able to link the spiritual world with the world of man. It is not vital to many indigenous religions but is necessary to them. Today the country is made up of 50% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, 10%
Kimbanguist, 10% Muslim, 10% other (which includes syncretic sects and
indigenous beliefs) (C.I.A. n.d.)
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| (Figure1) |
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| (Figure 1) |
As Belgium colonized the Democratic
Republic of the Congo near the start of the 20th century Belgian
Roman Catholics were predominantly authorized to established schools and
hospitals throughout the colony (Wikipedia n.d.) Yet this was not the
first attempt to convert the country to Christianity. The first attempts came
in 1484, when Diego Cam discovered the mouth of the Congo River. The naval
chaplain set himself at once to preach the story of Jesus to the natives, and
won to the faith the of the chief of Sogno, a village on the right bank of the Congo,
where he first landed. (Catholic.com n.d.) The Protestant
Church first introduced in January of 1878 with the arrival of Reverend George
Grenfell and Comber Thomas of the Baptist Missionary Society. By 1891 the
Chapel SIMS was completed and is the oldest building in Kinshasa of native
durable materials. (Congo n.d.)
One of the most interesting religious groups found in the (DRC) is Kimbanguism.
A new religious movement founded by Simon Kimbangu. It is considered a branch
of Christianity. The founder Simon Kimbangu started the movement through
miraculous healing and biblical teachings in the early 1920’s. The Belgian authorities
were suspicious and imprisoned Kimbangu until his death in 1951. The Church is
very conservative, rejecting violence, polygamy, magic, witchcraft, alcohol,
tobacco, and dancing. (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica n.d.)
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(Figure 2) |
By the mid 7thcentury
Islam had made its way to northern Africa. By the mid late 13thcentury
Islam began to spread to sub- Sahara Africa by way of merchants seeking trade
meanwhile they spread the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Christianity has had a
far larger effect on the growth of the DRC than Islam. Christianity has
helped in the independency as well as the modernization of the DRC. There has not been
large religious changes in the country over the last 200 years. Of the different
Christian denominations the Roman Catholic Church still remains the most
dominate in the DRC.
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| (Figure 3) |
In the Christian faith the creation story is the same no
matter where you go in the world. This is not true for the indigenous religions
of the “DRC”. Because there was a
tradition of oral storytelling being passed on throughout the generations. The
creation stories tended to change from kingdom to kingdom and village to
village. Take The Kingdom of Kongo for instance. The myth of how their kingdom
was created changes several times over the centuries. Although the premise is
the same the details change drastically. The BaKongo as they are called, say
that the kingdom was founded in the 1300s. (Belcher 2005) All the stories of
the founding had to do with a woman at a river crossing being insulted or killed.
That led to someone becoming king and taking over the area thus creating the
Kingdom of Kongo. Then you have the Kuba Kingdom of The Bushoong. Their story
about the creation of man also changes throughout time, but the all the stories
carry the same bases. They all involve the sky father Mboom who vomited out the
sun, the moon, and the stars. Then he vomited the crocodile and other animals
which in turn vomited other animal including man. Mboom ended up with 9 sons
all called Woot and each were responsible for some part of the creation of the
world. Woot gave man farming, wood to build, iron tools, and tame animals. Like
most creation myths the Kubu use theirs to teach everyday lessons that are relevant
to them at the time.
Figure 2
Figure 3
Bibliography
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