Kinda Kinde

Kinda Kinde is a term used to denote the Sewa-ethnic initiatory societies which are highly influential in Mabifian organised crime, functioning in a role similar to the Etrurian mafia and other tight-knit criminal syndicates. However, the Kinda Kinde also involve a religious dimension, being based around traditional Fetishist initiatory societies. They are often considered as cults, given their secretive religious practices and occasionally violent rituals.

Originating within the Initiatory societies which form a core part of the traditional religious system of the Sewa people, Kinda Kinde groups have historically operated as a kind of parallel state during periods of occupation such as the Kambou Empire and Toubacterie. They were often involved in criminal activities as a form of resistance against outside rule, and would conduct assassinations as well as banditry and smuggling. The Kinda Kinde were strongly repressed during the Mabifian Democratic Republic, but in the power vacuum left by the fall of the socialist regime they came to dominate much of the organised crime in the country. Kinda Kinde groups have also been associated with the Sewa diaspora across Kylaris, and are heavily involved in the international drug trade.

Name

The name Kinda Kinde is derived from the Dogon language phrase kíndá kíndé, which means "the shadow which covers". This name poetically refers to the secrecy of the groups. The individual groups which make up the Kinda Kinde are known as Dèbù kíndó (Estmerish: Debu Kindo), meaning "Shadow families". The term is used exclusively to describe groups of Sewa ethnic origin, despite the existence of similar religious criminal organisations within Bahia.