African Folk Religions

In Kongo, sacred burial grounds linked ruling families to their ancestors. After Portuguese visitors arrived, King Nzinga a Nkuwu was baptized in 1491 as João I, but later abandoned Catholicism.

Christianity also acquired local expressions in Kongo. The prophet Kimpa Vita, trained as a religious medium, taught that Jesus and other Christian figures came from Kongo; King Pedro IV had her burned in 1706.