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Glossary of Select Spiritual Terms
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259 Glossary of Select Spiritual Terms Definitions and orthography differ across south-central Africa. This glossary refers to usage in the ChiBemba-speaking areas of northern Zambia. For nouns in different classes, I have indicated their most common usage, followed by the plural or singular. The initial vowel for nouns has been excluded. babenye. Royal relics, in particular those held by Bemba rulers and used to ensure fertility and fecundity. badikoni. Deacons, in particular those of the Lumpa Church. baloshi (sing. muloshi). Witches. Living beings who manipulate spiritual forces to harm others. bamuchapi. The cleansers. Witchfinding and purification movement (from ChiNyanja). bangulu. A living being who may have spiritual gifts and is possessed by a ngulu spirit. banyama (sing. munyama). Living beings who consume or trade in human flesh. buloshi. The practice of witchcraft, often associated with groups of witches. Butwa. An association prevalent outside of the Bemba polity, which recognized the spiritual authority of the original inhabitants of the land, the “Batwa,” and specialized in interactions with ngulu spirits. bwanga. Objects that can mobilize forces from the invisible world to change the visible world. chibanda (pl. fibanda). Spirits, in particular the living dead, who for certain reasons harm the living. chibyalilo. Planting ceremony conducted by Bemba paramount and taken over by certain Christian churches. Chilimbulu. Mythic heroine with beautiful scarifications who seduces the first Chitimukulu. Chitimukulu. Title for the Bemba paramount and head of the Crocodile Clan. chiwa (pl. fiwa). Spirits who harm the living. Often associated with evil. ilamfya. A horn with bwanga used to mobilize invisible forces to aid in warfare. Lesa. Nature spirit associated in legends with the origins of humanity. Term used to refer to the Christian God. 260 w Glossary lubuto lwa chalo. Light of the world. Title for prophets, used to refer to Alice Lenshina. lubuto mulopwe. The light king. Prophetic title, used to refer to Alice Lenshina. Luchele Ng’anga. Mythic Bemba hero. The white magician who leads the Bemba eastward. mfuba. Personal shrines where offerings are made to spirits, often near homes and villages. mfumu. Title for a leader with somatic and spiritual qualities. mfumu sha kale. The ancestral spirit of an old ruler who was not inherited nor appropriated by living rulers. mfumu ya mipashi. Leader of mipashi ancestral spirits. An important ancestral spirit. mikishi (sing. mukishi). Spiritual forces held in objects that were representative of communal cults. Generally found outside the area ruled by the Bemba Crocodile Clan. mipashi (sing. mupashi). Ancestral spirits. May harm or help the living beings usually of the same family. For Christians, refers to the Holy Spirit. mulopwe. Living rulers, especially those with spiritual power and celestial genealogies, among Luba-related peoples. musumba (pl. misumba). A palace, such as the capital of a Bemba ruler, a mission station, or one of Lenshina’s villages. muti. Medicine used for interventions with the invisible world. Mwalule. The burial ground of the Bemba Crocodile Clan royalty. mwavi. Poison ordeal. Generally identifies and administers justice to witches. ngulu. Disembodied spirits, related to animals and other natural features. May possess living people termed bangulu. nsengo. Horns used to contain muti medicines and bwanga. shimapepo. Preachers, in particular those of the Lumpa Church. Shimwalule. Title for the “father” of the Mwalule burial ground, and hence the caretaker of the royal ancestors. shinganga. Fathers of bwanga. Specialists in the use of bwanga to mobilize invisible forces. Sione. Zion. For the Lumpa Church, this referred to the Kamutola church building and the surrounding area. tempile. Temple of the Lumpa Church, outside of which bwanga was placed and inside of which people were cleansed. Distinct from the Kamutola Church at Sione. ukusemuka (v., infinitive form). Rhythmic whimpers, usually made by those possessed by ngulu. ukusesema (v., infinitive form). Glossolalia, often due to possession by ngulu or by the Holy Spirit. ...