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Kongo cosmogram

The Kongo Cosmogram
AffiliationKongo religion · Hoodoo
Ethnic groupKongo people

The Kongo cosmogram (also called yowa or dikenga cross, Kikongo: dikenga dia Kongo or tendwa kia nza-n' Kongo) is a core symbol in Bakongo religion that depicts the physical world (Ku Nseke), the spiritual world (Ku Mpémba), the Kalûnga line that runs between the two worlds, the sacred river that forms a circle through the two worlds, the four moments of the sun, and the four elements.[1][2][3]

  1. ^ Thompson, Robert Farris; Cornet, Joseph (1981). The four moments of the sun : Kongo art in two worlds. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, Washington. ISBN 0-89468-003-X.
  2. ^ MacGaffey, Wyatt; John M. Janzen (1974). An Anthology of Kongo Religion: Primary Texts From Lower Zaire (University of Kansas Publications In Anthropology. No. 5). University of Kansas. ASIN B0006CI6EO.
  3. ^ Fu-Kiau, Kimbwandènde Kia Bunseki (2001). Tying the spiritual knot : African cosmology of the Bântu-Kôngo : principles of life & living (2nd ed.). Brooklyn, N.Y.: Athelia Henrietta Press. ISBN 1-890157-28-7.

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