Tshiota Rituals among the Luba People of Kasai Central in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

Among the Luba people, the tshiota is one of the powerful types of indigenous manga (charms) used by the community. Tshiota is a traditional fire of power used for rituals, where invocations are made to the departed ancestors, spirits, and angels. It is a place of purification, cleansing, blessings, and making sacrifices. The study employed a qualitative research that was rooted in phenomenology. The concentration of the study was on the Kasai Central Province for two main reasons: one, the region has one of the major ethnic groups in the country and thus adequate evidence exists of use of manga in the area. The target population for the study was the Luba people who lived in Kasai Central Province. From this target population, charm givers, militia and political leaders were selected as the units of observation by the researcher.The findings of the research established tshiota is used to perform rituals and invocations to call upon the ancestors for help when there is a problem in the community. This help includes protection of community members before they go out to perform an activity on behalf of the community. This includes activities such as fighting during war. Tshiota fire was used also by the militia including Kamwina Nsapu who were fighting the government. They were initiated through fires of tshiota and drinking a powerful potion called tshizaba. Manga made the militia to be very powerful and strong in their fight for justice and good governance in Kasai. Through this abilities, they were able to fight and win against the modern day government in their effort to bring change and accountability in modern political leadership.  Manga were used to deal with corruption and other mal-practices, hence bring forth justice and good governance in Kasai Central Province, in DRC.