FEMST 185GR Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Nzambi A Mpungu, Kongo People, Cosmogram
Document Summary
Small disks represent the four moments of the sun and cosmos; clockwise. Top disk: the direction of north, the sun at noon, a masculine element, the land of the living, the apex of a person"s earthly life and power in that life, and the upper realm of the supreme creator. Bottom disk: south, the sun at midnight, a female element, the land of the dead and the spirits, and the apex of a person"s spiritual power. Right-hand disk: east, the sun at dawn, the power of potentiality and transition, and nascence of the spirit, soul, and earthly life in a cosmic cycle. Left-hand disk: west, the sun at dusk, the power and transition of death and movement from the living to the spirit world. Overlaps with christianity; belief in a supreme deity (nzambi mpungu) and life is a cycle - the everlasting continuity of all righteous men & women. Symbol of good luck & spiritual protection; brought to america by.
