LIKUNDU
allyGod
The likundu is not, strictly speaking, a deity but a notion of witchcraft widespread among several peoples of Central Africa, including the Boloki and the Bangala of the Congo river. The ethnographers describe it as an invisible substance or organ believed to be lodged in the sorcerer's belly, the source of the power to harm, to send sickness or death. In the language, to have the likundu amounts to being designated as a sorcerer. This power can be held to be active without its bearer's knowledge. In this sense, the likundu belongs to the local representations of evil and witchcraft more than to a personified spirit. The entity is thus little documented as a deity, and more as a belief about witchcraft.
Powers & Attributes
Role in the ROHO universe
Voice of its pantheon. LIKUNDU carries the memory of its tradition and weaves a thread into the Mabioni. Bound to the Bangala pantheon.
Sacred Mask
An ancient ritual mask of sacred wood, old metal and black stone, engraved with symbols of evil, embodiment of the power of Likundu
Era
Ancient cycle
Frequently asked questions
Is the likundu a god or a spirit?
Not really. The ethnographic sources describe it as a witchcraft substance lodged in the sorcerer's body, not as a personified deity.
What is done with the likundu?
It is credited with the power to harm, to send sickness or death. To say of someone that they have the likundu amounts to designating them as a sorcerer.
Among which peoples is this belief attested?
Among the Boloki and the Bangala of the Congo river and, in close forms, among several peoples of Central Africa.
Related spirits
Sources and references
- Ethnographie des Boloki et Bangala (John H. Weeks, Among Congo Cannibals)
- Littérature anthropologique sur la sorcellerie en Afrique centrale