Paket kongo
Encyclopedia
Paket kongo are Haiti
an spiritual objects made by vodou priests and priestesses (houngans and mambos) during Petwo
ceremonies. Their name comes from the ancient Kongo Kingdom in Africa
, where similar objects called nikisi wambi
are found.
Kongolese nkisi
use different materials from the Haitian paket, however. A paket is a collection of magical ingredients - herbs, earth, vegetable matter - wrapped in fabric and decorated with feathers, ribbons and sequins.
Paket kongo are said to have the power of “heating” or activating the lwa. Hence the term pwen cho (hot point) sometimes used to refer to them. Paket serve as power objects and are kept on vodou altars and used in healing ceremonies. They are also used as protective amulets in people’s homes, bringing health, wealth and happiness.
Their efficacy supposedly depends on a technique of careful wrapping - seven or nine times – symbolic of an umbilical cord
connecting the charm to the universe. Indeed, their appearance roughly resembles that of a human body (some have arms), and their colors and ornamentation are sometimes, but not always, symbolic of a specific lwa.
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an spiritual objects made by vodou priests and priestesses (houngans and mambos) during Petwo
Petwo
The Petwo are a family of loa in Haitian Vodou religion. The story is that they originated in Haiti, under the harsh conditions of slavery. The term petwo can also refer to a drum used in the music of Haiti...
ceremonies. Their name comes from the ancient Kongo Kingdom in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, where similar objects called nikisi wambi
Nkisi
Nkisi . The term Nkisi is the general name for a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa thought to contain spiritual powers or spirits...
are found.
Kongolese nkisi
Nkisi
Nkisi . The term Nkisi is the general name for a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa thought to contain spiritual powers or spirits...
use different materials from the Haitian paket, however. A paket is a collection of magical ingredients - herbs, earth, vegetable matter - wrapped in fabric and decorated with feathers, ribbons and sequins.
Paket kongo are said to have the power of “heating” or activating the lwa. Hence the term pwen cho (hot point) sometimes used to refer to them. Paket serve as power objects and are kept on vodou altars and used in healing ceremonies. They are also used as protective amulets in people’s homes, bringing health, wealth and happiness.
Their efficacy supposedly depends on a technique of careful wrapping - seven or nine times – symbolic of an umbilical cord
Umbilical cord
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta...
connecting the charm to the universe. Indeed, their appearance roughly resembles that of a human body (some have arms), and their colors and ornamentation are sometimes, but not always, symbolic of a specific lwa.