or soul within spirit embodying material, a spark
that may be an ancestor returning from the other-
world to serve the owner spirit.
Africans created the physical form of Nkisi
out of select organic and inorganic material, a
selection that is a combination of wood, cloth,
leather, or metal casing on a combination of
select roots, herbs, and leaves. Nkisi form may
be a packet bound with fabric seven times,
embodying material wrapped or concealed in
organic and inorganic material. The creators of
the Nkisi inscribe cosmograms—symbols on the
surface or interior of the medicine that may come
in the form of puns, symbols such as the sign of
the four moments of the sun (a cross with circles
on the ends).
The medicine of the Nkisi may be a moral, that
is, a text signifying a vow or legal agreement to heal
a troubled business relationship. For instance,
today it may be an Nkonde statue in the Kongo
with half-inserted blades representing a binding
legal document or to provoke the spirits to deliver
similar injuries to a guilty party; it may be a twisted
root (High John the Conqueror root). Other forms
of the Nkisi include the Nkonde figurine, whisk
and anthropomorphic or zoomorphic statues that
contain medicine in the lower belly region indicated
by a mirror. Nails driven into the figure activate
these. Nkisi may be natural objects such as trees,
water, and mounds of soil, or human-made objects
such as charms, lamps, bottle trees, or broken
ceramic plate decorations at gravesites that signify
an ancestor crossing over from the living world to
the transcendent world. Nkisi may also be surface
adornment of caskets that honor the spirit and
guide it to the transcendent world, preventing the
spirit from wandering or returning to haunt sur-
vivors. This harkens back to a similar process in the
Nile Valley with the adornment of the neb ankh in
ancient Kemet.
Sometimes Africans viewed handmade musical
instruments that accompanied a funeral proces-
sion as an Nkisi. Even more interesting, Africans
viewed highly regarded leaders as extraordinarily
powerful minikisi due to their capacity to provide
both moral leadership and spiritual healing.
Khonsura A. WilsonSeealsoMagic; Medicine
Further Readings
Thompson, R. F. (1984).Flash of the Spirit:African and
Afro-American Art and Philosophy. New York:
Vintage Books.
Visonáa, M. B. (2001).A History of Art in Africa.
New York: Harry N. Abrams.NKULUNKULU
The Zulu name for the supreme deity is
Nkulunkulu, literally the “old one.” Nkulunkulu
is thought to be the Creator or First Cause of all
things that exist. He taught the Zulu how to plant
corn, how to build fires out of sticks of wood, how
to make iron, and how to use herbs for medicine.
In fact, he was the one who named all of the animals
and the trees, and nothing came into existence
without the energy of Nkulunkulu. To indicate the
primary position that Nkulunkulu holds in the
society, the Zulu elders called this deity by several
names. One of the most honored names for
Nkulunkulu is Mvelinquanagi. This name for the
great high deity means that he came out first;
there is none who came before him. Thus, the
Zulu are clear and expressive when they say
Nkulunkulu is Uthlanga, the place where life began
and from which all men broke off, meaning that no
one came from anywhere else. The question of the
origin of Nkulunkulu is a perplexing one because
the answer usually given by the Zulu begs the ques-
tion. For example, one saying is that Nkulunkulu
came from a bed of reeds, but then the question is,
from where did the bed of reeds originate?
As the maker of things for humans,
Nkulunkulu is thought to have made all things
good because Nkulunkulu can create only good.
In this regard, Nkulunkulu is like many African
supreme deities who are thought to have made
only good. Another word used in connection
with Nkulunkulu isUsondo. There is the belief
that Usondo means “the one who came forth
first from Nkulunkulu” or, more precisely, “the
first one.” This name is used at the end of state-
ments that contain philosophical or ethical ideas
in Zulu. The speaker will end the statement with
a nod to Usondo. The people call the rains the
“rains of Usondo,” and they speak of the harvest452 Nkulunkulu