Bakongo spiritual protections influenced African American yard decorations. In Central Africa, Bantu-Kongo people decorated their yards and entrances to doorways with baskets and broken shiny items to protect from evil spirits and thieves.

This practice is the origin of the bottle tree in Hoodoo. Throughout the American South in African American neighborhoods, there are some houses that have bottle trees and baskets placed at entrances to doorways for spiritual protection against conjure and evil spirits.

In addition, nkisi culture influenced jar container magic. An African American man in North Carolina buried a jar under the steps with water and string in it for protection. If someone conjured him the string would turn into a snake. The man interviewed called it inkabera

Pombagira by Kypris Aquarelas 🔱

Pombagiras are one kind of ancestors or spirit guides present in afrobrazilian religions like Umbanda and Candomblé. They represent and are the spirits of women, especially those who were persecuted and often forced to recede into the margins of society.

They are the strong wind that comes down the mountains, the ancestral spirits who own the crossroads, the pathways, queens of the souls, ladies of the night and magic.

Pombagiras are Ngangas, Pombagiras are Exú-Mulher! 🔱

As for the word "pombagira", also written as pombogira, bombojira, pombajira and in many other ways, it's probably a corruption of "Pambu Njila", one of the Nkise (deities) of the Bantu people (Congo/Angola) similar to the Orixá Exú. Pambu Njila is worshiped in Brazil in the Candomblé Angola as the deity of pathways and crossroads, he is the intermediary between human beings and the Minkise (deities). Over time, in Brazilian lands, these ancestral spirit guides gained the name Pombagiras, as they share the streets, paths, sexuality and crossroads as areas of activity with the Nkise Pambu Njila.

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Pombagiras são um tipo de ancestrais ou espíritos guia presentes em afroreligiões como Umbanda e Candomblé. Elas representam e são os espíritos de mulheres, principalmente aquelas que foram perseguidas e forçadas às margens da sociedade.

Elas que são a ventania que vem descendo a serra, espíritos ancestrais donas das encruzas, dos caminhos, rainha das almas, senhoras da noite e da magia.

Pombogira é Maria, é Padilha, é Quitéria, é da Kalunga, é Mulambo, é Cigana, é Dama da Noite, é das Setes Encruzilhadas, é Rosa Encarnada, é da Praia, é das Sete Saias.

Pombagira é Nganga, Pombagira é Exú-Mulher! 🔱

"Ela gira no ar, ela gira na praça, ela gira na rua Ê ê ê Ela canta, ela dança, ela vive sorrindo em noite de lua Ê ê ê Ela é sincera, ela é de verdade Mas cuidado amigo que ela não gosta de falsidade"

A palavra "pombagira", também escrita como pombogira, bombojira, pombajira e de tantas outras formas, é provavelmente uma corruptela de "Pambu Njila", um dos Nkise (divindade) do povo bantu (Congo/Angola) semelhante ao Orixá Exú. Pambu Njila é cultuado no Brasil no Candomblé de Angola como senhor dos caminhos e das encruzas, é o intermediário entre o ser humano e os Minkise (divindades). Com o passar do tempo, em terras brasileiras, esses espíritos-ancestrais-guias ganharam o nome de Pombagiras, já que compartilham com o Nkise as ruas, os caminhos, a sexualidade e as encruzilhadas como áreas de atuação.

Statue Kongo-Yombe Wooden Nkisi Nkondi Sculpture  [Collection Pierre et Suzanne Vérité, Paris, avant 1955]

"Meu Tata Kitembu me deu uma bandeira..."

-Angola Candomblé chant.

What is a nkisi?

A nkisi (pl. minkisi), in it's African sense, is an object inhabitaded by a spirit and the spirit itself. Most minkisi we see are antropomorphic statues, with several nails and other objects driven into them, all imbued with magical properties, to seal pacts, or to seek justice.

In Brazil, the term "nkisi" changed to mean a deity, typically a nature spirit, that is honored by the Angola Candomblé. More specifically, the Bantu deities.

After decades of syncretism, the Minkisi started to take form of Orishas and Voduns, mixing and incorporating Their myths, aspects and creating new deities in this process. Thus, the Brazilian Minkisi got their current cultus.

Some Brazilian Minkisi can be traced back to Africa, while other, due to being recent or having small villages as their original cultus, cannot. That doesn't make any of Them any less valid than the other.

Brazilian Cultus

The Brazilian cultus involves dancing, chanting, offerings and deity possession. In-temple public cerimonies are always followed by the Minkisi possessing some of their followers, dancing and in the process, bestowing blessings upon the community. Nkisi possession does not occur outside temples and cerimonies except in very specific cases.

Sharif Bey, "The Oviary," 2018, 

Mixed media ceramic sculpture, 16 x 12 x 5 inches,

Courtesy the Gardiner Museum

I promote images from creators like these for free on my feed. @moto777series ・・・ I call this piece "The Valley of the Gods" . . #aiartist #aidigital #africanart #yoruba #haitianvoodoo #palomayombe #nkisi #occult #bobbyhemmitt #philvalentine #brotherpanic #congosquare #santeria #obeah #ifa #blackart365 #blackmagic363 #vodoun #neworleansvoodoo #hoodoo #marialaveau #orisha #blackart #afrofuturism #artcollective #nftart #burnaboy #africandigitalart #blackexcellence #midjourney https://www.instagram.com/p/CmcDnh9uECL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

SICKEST

2022/2023 DJ sets Boiler Room.

1.  KILIMANJARO — live from London.  Jul 29, 2022

2. TAAHLIAH | Boiler Room Manchester: Teletech Aug 10, 2022

3. Taylah Elaine | Boiler Room Amsterdam: Jan 25, 2023

4. 100 gecs | Boiler Room: Los Angeles Mar 25, 2023

5. Nkisi | Boiler Room Paris: InfiniteFX Mar 29, 2023

"Se eu não puder ser sonho, que eu seja verdade Se eu não puder ser força, que eu seja coragem Se eu não puder ser memória, que eu seja luz; E no caminho, Onde eu não for berço, que eu seja constante, Onde eu não for pressa, que eu seja presente, Onde eu não for saber, que eu seja inspiração. E quando eu não puder brilhar pelos teus olhos, Que eu more nos segredos do silêncio Tão eterno quanto o passo das estrelas. E sem que a sombra se perca no dia, Que eu possa compor a saudade Com a melodia do meu Orí Que canta agora, No Tempo Em mim." Obs.: Desconheço a autoria, quem souber, me avise para eu dar os créditos #kitembu #letícia #letty #sextafeira #sextou #sextoucomsdeserenidade #bonsmomentos #nkisi #orixás #voduns #gratidão #gratitude (em Salvador, Bahia, Brazil) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck1nsr4LDYn/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Bad Medicine! For Ages of Conflict #afrofuturism #nkisi #benim #congo #illustration #scifiart #artoftheday #instaart https://www.instagram.com/p/CdGkSQLK1Gw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

(vía Consultas con Nkisi Ndumba Nganga Mansa Cholan)

According to Dr. Yvonne Chireau, "Hoodoo is an African American-based tradition that makes use of natural and supernatural elements in order to create and effect change in the human experience."

 Hoodoo was created by African Americans, who were among over 12 million enslaved Africans from various Central and West African ethnic groups being transported to the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries (1514 to 1867) as part of the transatlantic slave trade. The transatlantic slave trade to the United States occurred between 1619 and 1808, and the illegal slave trade in the United States occurred between 1808 and 1860. Between 1619 and 1860 approximately 500,000 enslaved Africans were transported to the United States. 

From Central Africa, Hoodoo has Bakongo magical influence from the Bakongo religion incorporating the Kongo cosmogram, Simbi water spirits, and Nkisi and Minkisi practices. The West African influence is Vodun from the Fon and Ewe people in Benin and Togo following some elements from the Yoruba religion.  After their contact with European slave traders and missionaries, some Africans converted to Christianity willingly, while other enslaved Africans were forced to become Christian which resulted in a syncretization of African spiritual practices and beliefs with the Christian faith. 

Enslaved and free Africans learned regional indigenous botanical knowledge after they arrived to the United States. The extent to which Hoodoo could be practiced varied by region and the temperament of the slaveholders. For example, the Gullah people of the coastal Southeast experienced an isolation and relative freedom that allowed retention of various traditional West African cultural practices. Gullah people and enslaved African-Americans in the Mississippi Delta, where the concentration of slaves was dense, Hoodoo was practiced under a large cover of secrecy. The reason for secrecy among enslaved and free African Americans was that slave codes prohibited large gatherings of enslaved and free African people. Slaveholders experienced how slave religion ignited slave revolts among enslaved and free African people, and some leaders of slave insurrections were African ministers or conjure doctors

YOOOOO WITCHBLR, do you guys know of Billy, the N'kisi of Dreams?

Do you want to?

Unknown, This nkisi in female form seems to have been created to encourage conception and healthy delivery. Kongo male artist from Lower Congo River area, Democratic Republic of Congo, late 19th century. H 9.84″. Wereld museum Rotterdam, WM-4075. Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0.

Today we venerate Hoodoo Saint Harriet Ross Tubman aka Black Moses on the 110th anniversary of her passing🕊

Whew! A legendary Freedom Fighter, Mama Moses wore many decorated crowns as a mammoth Abolitionist, chief Conductor on the Underground Railroad, an expert Hunte and Lumberjack, a Nurse, an armed scout & spy for the Union Army during the Civil War - becoming the 1st Woman to ever spearhead an armed military assault. Later, she opened her door to the elderly, sick, & disabled, and advocated for them until her death.

Born Araminta "Minty" Ross as the middle child of 9 siblings to enslaved parents on a plantation in Dorchester County, MD, she suffered a massive blow to the head that would spur a lifetime of seizures, headaches, deep slumbers, & visions. She went on to marry a "Free" man by the surname of Tubman & took on her mother's first given name, "Harriet". In 1849, her husband, parents, & siblings were set to be split up & sold off. Under the cover of darkness, she fled the plantation solo on foot and followed the North Star to escape the jaws of slavery by way of Philadelphia, PA. She'd survive13-19 rescue missions back into the Antebellum South, liberating over 300 souls, as the most infamous Conductor on the Underground Railroad who, over the span of a decade, had "never lost a single passenger", which dubbed her the nickname, "Moses". The bounty for her life maxed out at $40K. Freedom wasn't free & Mama Moses never hesitated to remind her passengers of that. She carried herbs to silence a crying baby and pulled a gun on any cowardly man who might give away their position.

"You'll be Free or Die. " - Mama Moses to her passengers on the Underground Railroad.

Venerated as a Hoodoo Saint to many, Mama Moses was a Seer, a Clairvoyant Dreamer, Dream Interpreter, a Revolutionary Conjurer Woman & Rootworker - born to parents of the same cloth. She received Divine messages & Ancestral knowledge/wisedom through prophetic visions & dreams. Mama Moses proudly attributed her unparalleled death defying success to her Divine guidance, Conjure, Rootwork, intuitive gifts & her faithful willingness to trust/follow them.

Folks have a tendency to grossly undermine, if not outright ignore, the significant pillars that Hoodoo Cosmology, Religion, & Tradition played in her life and in her fight for freedom. Recently, archeologists uncovered her "spirit cache" at her family's home in Maryland; these were some of the Blackbelt Hoodoo staples of her time including: glass bottles - for protection against evil spirits, a figurine made it iron nails - possibly a something akin to an Nkisi, a copper button, perfume bottle topper, and other red & blue items.

Mama Moses transitioned peaceful & free at her home/on her land in Auburn, NY where she is rests at the cemetery in Auburn, NY. She is still expected to be immortalized on the $20 bill USD, however that promise has yet to be met.

We pour libations & give Mama Moses her 💐 for her bravery & selfless service. May she bless the elderly, disabled, young, women, & Workers who seek/fight for freedom.

Offering suggestions: Milk, Apples, & Orange flowers

🌟 FINAL copies of The2023 Hoodoo's Calendar are available for purchase (once sold out, that's it)! Subscribe to the official e-newsletter for the latest updates & exclusive content access. https://thehoodoocalendar.square.site 🌟  

A kink is a sharp twist or a curve while a fetish is a religious or spiritual object believed to have supernatural powers

my favourite fetish is the Nkisi Nkondi from the congo