Afomamirabe
The Afomamirabe, also sometimes referred to in colonial sources as the Brush Grandparents (Gaullican: Les Grands-pères de la Brousse), are the semi-apocryphal primordial ancestors of the Ndjarendie Bolonda, dating back to the first migration of the Ndjarendie people from their homeland the north of Bahia to their current location in Mabifia in southern Bahia. Playing a central role in fetishist rituals before the spread of Irfan across the Boual ka Bifie, ancestor worship directed towards the Afomamirabe has remained present in some areas due to a folk practice of treating them as Māhruyān who followed monotheism before the birth of modern Irfan.
In Fetishism
In the original Fetishist mythology of the Ndjarendie people, the Afomamirabe were regarded as Demigods who led their families on a kind of divinely-ordained exodus. Each household would leave offerings to their Bolonda's Afomaama during harvests, while their mythic exploits were a common theme in traditional Djeli songs. Idols depicting the Afomamirabe were also common sights, though many were destroyed with the arrival of Irfan.
In Irfan
The Irfanisation of the Ndjarendie limited the role of the Afomamirabe in Ndjarendie society, as Irfan rejects the worship of one's ancestors and does not recognise the existence of other gods. However, their place in Ndjarendie society was so influential that their recognition still continued in many areas. While purists, especially those in urban areas which had trade ties to the Irfanic heartland, scorned the Afomamirabe, the nomadic Bolonda often continued their worship in a form of syncretism. They spread the idea that these ancestors had in fact followed a kind of pre-Irfanic monotheism and had been saints guided by Khoda. While this belief has no real basis, it has nonetheless been widely accepted as it gives a kind of justification to the continued practice of certain rituals.