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87 At the Back of the Black Man's Mind By R. E. Dennett We have already seen that Maluango is called Nkici ci, as the Tepresentative of Nzambi on earth. In the same way the chiefs, who in this capacity are termed the " eyes of the people," are also known as Bakici Baci; they are the representatives of Maluango in the same way that Maluango is the representative of Nzambi. The name Bakici Baci is applied by the natives to the powers connected with the groves, and with the groves are connected sacred lands and rivers and sacred trees, -the seasons, the omens, and the sacred animals. The Nkici ci of a grove is conceived as resident no less in the seasons and in the omens than in the rivers or lands connected with the respective groves. It will be shown in the sequel that the sacred groves are grouped together in sets of four, which we denominate "families." The members of these families are conceived by the natives to be genetically related to each other; beyond this the families themselves are regarded as standing to each other in a similar relation. The formula of these genetic relations must be clearly borne in mind by the reader who wishes to follow the ideas of the Bavili on the subject. It may be expressed in the following way:- that is to say, we have outside the formula a cause, C, which produces (within the formula) a female cause; this, allied to a male cause, produces an intermediate female effect, which again being replaced by an intermediate male cause gives rise to the last two terms of the formula as a product, male and female; these two produce an effect, E, outside the formula again. I now proceed to deal with the groves in detail. I may, perhaps, assume that the reader is now to some extent familiar with the idea of the categories. At any rate, I hope that the occasional digression on the subject of the beliefs and practices connected with the groves, will not obscure the important point of their position in the general scheme of the Bavili philosophy. 1. The Mpungu Group is especially associated with the category of liquids. MPUNGU is used with the word ZAMBI when it is translated by the missionaries as almighty. They associate NZAMJBI MPUNGU with the sky, and therefore by a natural transition with rain. www.globalgrey.co.uk
88 At the Back of the Black Man's Mind By R. E. Dennett SENZA is the west wind. The sea is to the west of Luango, and with the sea (MBU) the BAVILI connect ideas of fatherhood, spirit, and motion. This is readily understood when we remember that the general direction of the great rolling waves is from the west (SE= father). NGONZOLA=the S.W. wind; it is also, in connection with XAMA, looked upon as the evil rainbow (see under Omens), when it is said to enter rivers and cause floods, and carry everything it meets with it to the sea. The word carries with it a meaning of love and maternity. (Ngo is the leopard, ZOLA is to love.) MVULA means rain. 2. The group of Xibwinji is associated with the earth. XIBWINJI is known as the mother of XIKAMACI, the north wind. XIKAMACI = the earth divided from the sea. When a person seeks her help to overcome one of his enemies, he goes to her sacred grove, and with the help of the NGANGA buries a nail or bead or other article in the earth at the same moment as he demands the favour. And when for some reason or other he, or one of his descendants, wishes to withdraw the curse XIKAMACI has blighted his enemy's happiness with, he must seek out the NGANGA again and present him with an offering. The Nganga then prepares some medicine which he wraps up in leaves and places in a dish of palm wine. With this lotion the Nganga proceeds to sprinkle the ground. The petitioner informs the Nganga what particular thing he buried. Then it is said the earth "bubbles" up and throws out the article mentioned. This act of bubbling up and throwing out that is common to this earth in XIKAMACI'S grove and the whirlpool in rivers is called XIZUKA. SAMONA or SAMUNA. Here the petitioner whips the earth with a stick or throws a stone or other article on to it with great force as he asks his favour. As XIKAMACI'S opposite, this is supposed to represent the gathering-in action of the whirlpool, or XISEKU as the movement is called. As "powers," then, XIKAMACI and SAMONA may be said to represent "dispersion and concentration." KUNZI means the North-West wind. Konkwati is the home of the above "powers" or groves, and they are not far from XILUNGA the home of the MAMBOMA of the province of XIBANGA. Here the connection of the family with the category earth is indisputable. LUNGA means to blow, also the triumph of might over right. And it is said that there is always a pretender to the throne of Luango, to be found in XIBANGA. Now XIKAMACI, the North wind, is the great enemy of LUNGULULUBU, the protecting power of the BAVILI. The story goes that she was a very hard-working woman who had large plantations of manioc. The children of the king of the land used to come and rob the produce of her labour, and so she complained to her mother, XIBWINJI, and said she meant to punish them if they did not desist from robbing. The mother advised her not to www.globalgrey.co.uk
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