Kindoki
(related to Palo witchcraft but truly more related to what has become known as Latin-American
or Mexican Brujeria)
It is said that Kindoki is almost
equivalent to the evil eye, as it is conceived of as the power to
unintentionally curse those whom one find disagreeable, or is at odds with. In
most cases, the result of this kind of almost accidental witchcraft is a
general plague of misfortune for the unwary victim. Certain peculiar children
are sometimes said to be the source of this strange power, and there have been
cases where whole villages have had to be ritually cleansed in order to remedy
problems brought about by these powerful young creatures. In the realm of
Kindoki ,one will find certain features that resemble those of other African
based religions. This is particularly true of Palo, however Palo Mayombe or
Palo Monte are African Congo based religions with a strong ancestral
tradition and very unique ritual and ceremonial process.
When children are accused of Kindoki, they
are usually outcasts. They are sent out of the family and social society.
People are afraid of them and accuse them as being witches.
In Kindoki, they use a ‘fetish’ which is
usually a clay container or anything else and a spirit of a dead person,
(usually a dead witch that will live on and multiply through the generations)
and will live in the clay pot and do what you tell it to do, (as casting spells
to cause physical or mental illness, bringing about bad luck, even death). You must feed the spirit blood, as agreed upon
in the ritual, and you can have hair, fingernails etc. of people you want
cursed, for instance with dreams and bad
luck etc. They say that the evil spirit can find the cursed person anywhere
they live.