Encyclopedia of African American History

Kwanzaa  221

when reading the soul of a person or in rituals that in-

voked the dead. Th e various purposes of the Kongo cross

refl ect the many ways in which it can be drawn. Th e form

the cross takes depends on who draws it and what type of

ceremony it will be used for. Th e designs are sometimes

elaborate and include arrowheads at the ends of the four

points and designs within the quadrants. Th e more simple

designs have four points at the tips connected by a line

representing a counterclockwise motion.

For Kongo priests, drawing the cosmogram is only a

part of ritual ceremonies. Singing or chanting in Ki-Kongo

(a Kongo language) is another integral part. Th e BaKongo

believe that drawing the cosmogram and singing join to-

gether to bring God’s power to the designated spot. Th ese

practices and rituals can be found among diff erent groups

throughout the African Diaspora.

In places such as the Southern United States, Puerto

Rico, Cuba, and Brazil, where enslaved Kongolese were

taken, cosmograms were found painted on walls and en-

graved in bowls. In the U.S. South, some of these bowls

were found at the bottoms of rivers and date back to the

18th century. Many scholars believe that the Kongo cosmo-

gram’s ubiquity suggests that African captives retained their

African beliefs in the New World.

See also: Flying African Tales; Juba Dance; Kongo King-

dom; Ring Shout; Transmigration

Jarett M. Fields

Bibliography

Ferguson, Leland G. Uncommon Ground: Archaeology and Early

African America, 1 650– 1 800. Washington, D.C.: Smith-

sonian Institution Press, 1992.

MacGaff ey, Wyatt. Religion and Society in Central Africa: Th e

BaKongo of Lower Zaire. Chicago: University of Chicago

Press, 1986.

Th ompson, Robert F. Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro- American

Art and Philosophy. New York: Vintage Books, 1984.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a Pan-African holiday started in the United

States in 1966 during the midst of African struggles for

equality and liberation worldwide. Th e holiday is a cul-

tural celebration of African beliefs and values celebrated

annually from December 26 through January 1. Patterned

crucifi xion of Jesus Christ. Th e BaKongo (Kongolese per-
sons) believe that the continuity of life is circular. Th e hori-
zontal bar of the cosmogram represents the divide between
the mountain of the living world and the world of the dead.
Th e BaKongo believe that these two worlds are counter-
parts, where the mountain of the living is called “earth”
(ntoto) and the mountain of the dead is called “white clay”
(mpemba).
Th e four disks at the points of the cross stand for the
“four moments of the sun,” and the continuity of the cir-
cumference represents the certainty of reincarnation. Th e
vertical ends signal the summits of each world. Th e north
point symbolizes noon, maleness, and the peak of a person’s
strength on earth. Th e south point represents midnight, fe-
maleness, and the peak of a person’s strength in the world
of the dead. BaKongo believe that the righteous person
will never be destroyed but will continue to return to earth
in the name or body of progeny, or as water, a stone, or a
mountain.
Th e cosmogram is a symbol of crossroads and is used
in various spiritual ceremonies. Th e point of intersection
symbolizes the passage and communication between the
world of the living and the world of the dead. When drawn
on the ground, the cosmogram is used as a ritual space for
oath-taking. When taking an oath, a person stands on the
cross, situating him or herself between both worlds, and
invokes the powers of both. Cosmograms were also used

Kongo cosmogram