The Kalûnga Line in Kongo religion is a watery boundary between the land of the living (Ku Nseke) and the spiritual realm of the ancestors (Ku Mpemba). Kalûnga is the Kikongo word "threshold between worlds." It is the point between the physical world (Ku Nseke) and the spiritual world (Ku Mpemba). It represents liminality, or a place literally "neither here nor there."[1] Originally, Kalûnga was seen as a fiery life-force that begot the universe and a symbol for the spiritual nature the sun and change.[2] The line is regarded as an integral element within the Kôngo cosmogram.
The word Kalûnga is a Kikongo word that means "threshold between worlds."[2] It is derived from the proto-Bantu term *-lung-, meaning "to put in order, to put straight."[3] In the Congo region, Kalûnga is considered to be the nzadi o nzere, or Congo River.[4] This idea was also translocated to the Americas via Africans in the Atlantic slave trade and used in reference to the sea, bodies of water, and ancestral spirits related to the sea.[5][6]
The Bakongo believe that in the beginning there was only a circular void, called mbûngi, with no life.[7]Nzambi Mpungu the Creator God summoned a spark of fire, or Kalûnga, that grew until it filled the mbûngi. When it grew too large, Kalûnga became a great force of energy and unleashed heated elements across space, forming the universe with the sun, stars, planets, etc.[7] Because of this, Kalûnga is seen as the origin of life and a force of motion. The Bakongo believe that life requires constant change and perpetual motion. Nzambi Mpunga is also referred to as Kalûnga, the God of change.[7] Similarities between the Bakongo belief of Kalûnga and the Big Bang Theory have been studied.[8]
The creation of a Bakongo person, or muntu, is also believed to follow the four moments of the sun, which play a significant role in their development.[7]Musoni is the time when a muntu is conceived both in the spiritual realm and in the womb of a Bakongo woman. Kala is the time when a muntu is born into the physical world. This time is also seen as the rise of the sun. Tukula is the time of maturity, where a muntu learns to master all aspects of life from spirituality to purpose to personality. The last period of time is luvemba, when a muntu physically dies and enters the spiritual world, or Nu Mpémba, with the ancestors, or bakulu.[7][9] Because Bakongo people have a "dual soul-mind," or mwèla-ngindu, they are able to exist and live in both realms during the different moments of their lives. Even while in Nu Mpémba, a muntu still has a full life with as they prepare for Kala time once again.[7] The right side of the body is also believed to be male, while the left side is believed to be female, creating an additional layer to the dual identity of a muntu.[8]
The nature of Kalûnga is also spiritual. As Kalûnga filled mbûngi, it created an invisible line that divided the circle in half.[7] The top half represents the physical world, or Ku Nseke, while the bottom half represents the spiritual world of the ancestors, known as Ku Mpèmba. The Kalûnga line separates these two worlds, and all living things exists on one side or another.[7] After creation, the line became a river, carrying people between the worlds at birth and death, and mbûngi became the rotating sun. At death, or the setting of the sun, the process repeats and a person is reborn. Together, Kalûnga and the mbûngi circle form the Kongo cosmogram, also called the Yowa or Dikenga Cross.[7] A simbi (pl. bisimbi) is a water spirit that is believed to inhabit bodies of water and rocks, having the ability to guide bakulu, or the ancestors, along the Kalûnga line to the spiritual world after death. They are also present during the baptisms of African American Christians, according to Hoodoo tradition.[10][11]
The four moments of the sun are also represented on the Kongo cross.[7][8]Musoni is the time when a muntu is conceived both in the spiritual realm and in the womb of a Bakongo woman. Kala is the time when a muntu is born into the physical world. This time is also seen as the rise of the sun. Tukula is the time of maturity, where a muntu learns to master all aspects of life from spirituality to purpose to personality. The last period of time is luvemba, when a muntu physically dies and enters the spiritual world, or Nu Mpémba, with the ancestors, or bakulu.[7] These four moments are believed to correlate to the four times of day (midnight, or n'dingu-a-nsi;sunrise, or ndiminia; noon, or mbata; and sunset, or ndmina), as well as the four seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter).[8]
Due to the deep, spiritual connection that Bakongo people had to water, the Kalûnga line is often associated with bodies of water. After many were kidnapped and forcibly taken to the Americas, the line and the sacred circle became synonymous with the Atlantic Ocean.[6] The Bakongo people believed the soul after death traveled the path of the sun as it set in the west. The enslaved believed they were being taken to the land of the dead, never to return.[7] Thus, the Kalûnga line became known as a line under the Atlantic Ocean where the living became the dead and the only way back to life was to recross the line. Some religions today still make reference to the line and hold the belief that the soul of an African American travels back to Africa upon death and re-enters the world of the spiritually living although the body has passed on.[7]
^MacGaffey, Wyatt. “Oral Tradition in Central Africa.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies, vol. 7, no. 3, 1974, pp. 419-421. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/217252. Accessed 14 July 2024.
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