Mvembakieleka

Mvembakieleka (“the universal truth”), also known as Mvembaism, is a collective name for the traditional folk religions of the greater Uhlanga river peoples. Due to the highly centralized and developed position of the Konji Kingdom, its rulers were able to influence the religious practices of many ethnic groups and polities along the Uhlanga and beyond. As a result, many unrelated groups such as the Bakhoeli and Tshamba have incorporated elements of Konji spirituality into their own faiths. Mvembaism is based on a complex animistic system and a pantheon of spirits. Its principle creator god is Nzambi Kelenakati, the Universal Creator, and his female counterpart, Nzambi Fyoti, the hidden goddess. While these deities are highly important to the religion, ancestor veneration is the core principle.

There is no central ecclesiastical authority in Mvembaism, resulting in considerable regional variation in aspects of the faith. However, beliefs such as the existence of gods, spirits and tutelary deities, ancestor worship, veneration of the dead, use of magic and the existence of an afterlife remain consistent, even if individual names and details do not. The Mukanda ya Nzyunga (“Book of the Cycle”), Mukanda ya Diki (“Book of the Egg”) and the Mukanda ya Lugangu Yonso (“Book of All Creation”) are considered to be core religious texts of Mvenbaism, covering its creation myth, afterlife and the function of magic. There are at least thirteen additional texts however these are not universally accepted by all adherents, instead being focused on a specific group or tied to an individual location. The most famous of these is the Disapu ya Kembo (“Parable of the Sower”) dating to the immediate pre-enEkifwe era, which contributed heavily to Bakonji mythology. Mvembaism takes heavily from the oral traditions and religious practices of the ǂBūkhokwe and N!Twe peoples who predate the arrival of the komontus in the region.