Death and the Invisible Powers: The World of Kongo Belief [Hardcover]

Simon Bockie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993 | ISBN-10: 0253315646 | ISBN-13: 978-0253315649

"[Bockie's] description of Kongo culture is vivid, beautifully clear, and absolutely authentic, as only a native could make it.... I don't know of anything of its kind that is both as good, ethnographically, and as readable." —Wyatt MacGaffey

"Simon Bockie has written an engaging, often personal account of the views and behaviors surrounding death in his own society, the Kongo of Lower Zaire, northern Angola, and the Congo." —Cahiers d'Etudes africaines

"... excellent book of Kongo religious life and thought... " —Religion

"It is a book that is remarkably well written, both for its readability and for its explanatory value.... the book is a superb starting place for understanding Kongo religion, and will work as an introduction to African religion in general as well." —International Journal of African Historical Studies

"... an excellent introduction for anyone seeking to understand Kongo traditional culture and thought." —Oshun

Rich in anecdote and case histories, Death and the Invisible Powers is a personal account of the spiritual life of the Kongo people. It describes the ancient traditions that nourish a culture whose name symbolizes the heart of Central Africa.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

SIMON BROCKIE was born in Banza-Lele village, Kivunda District, in the Manianga area of Lower Zaire. He holds a Ph.D. in History and Phenomenology of Religion from the Graduate Theological Union and is a government documents librarian at the University of California, Berkeley.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253315646
• ISBN-13: 978-0253315649
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,927,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise, intelligent survey - even though dry at times, March 12, 2003

By 

Phil Rogers (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death and the Invisible Powers: The World of Kongo Belief (Paperback)

Simon Bockie does a bang-up job surveying the religious structures, beliefs and practices of one large tribal affiliation (BaManienga) in the Kongo region. Though a bit deadening, being more scholarly than confessional, it's very thoroughgoing as to what he sets out to do: in addition to covering purely native cults, he includes mention of the numerous eclectic amalgams of native and Christian faiths which were an eventual result of early rampant colonialism.

Since he's not a medicine man or sorcerer or any of that kind of thing himself, he doesn't get inside the system as does, say, Malidoma Somé (the Dagara people of Burkina Faso and Ghana), or the Zulu shaman Credo Mutwa.

But his last chapter "God" does an about face from the general dryness, and shows how in fact God was in Congolese religion well before the Christian missionaries hit the beaches, and how the new proselytizers really didn't bring anything gratifyingly new or spiritually enlightening to the region. He writes some beautiful and wise passages here, then also makes it plentifully evident that the best of the 'amalgams' graft the new onto the old, rather than indulging in subordination of native to Christian beliefs.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed this book very much, March 13, 2007

By 

J. Axtell "music hobby" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Death and the Invisible Powers: The World of Kongo Belief (Paperback)

The author states this book arose out of his doctoral thesis, which explains the rigorous approach to its subject matter. Anyone who has studied history or anthropology at college could easily understand the author's approach. I was very impressed with this book's presentation of Kongo community, family, education, social mores, and religion. Mr. Bokie himself qualifies as a member of a Christian church, but, as he explains in numerous examples, many if not most Kongo peoples beleive and practice Kongo traditions even if they are members of various Christian or syncretic churches. I personally prefer the scholarly over the confessional, though it should be noted the author presents numerous personal ancedotes throughout the book that help further his discussion of the subject matter. All in all I found this to be a very well written, intelligent and thoughtful book. I highly recommend it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great little book, January 6, 2012

By 

Kalunga (Aruanda) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Death and the Invisible Powers: The World of Kongo Belief (Paperback)

A great book for those interested in Kongo culture. I could deal without the Christian bits, but that's just my personal preference.