In many traditional and alchemical practices we have the vow of secrecy and sacredness. The reason being behind all the secrecy is due to outside influences coming in and not only critiquing what is done in the vow of secrecy but also the fact that sacredness is lost. “Yes the words for Secret and Sacred go hand in hand. “ Many munanso out there in different parts of the country are losing that value of what is secret and what is sacred. In the times of Chino Arrieta(Nunga Nunga) and Juan Cabanga(Yerekun Yekun) one of the many founders of the lineage that is Mayombe did not allow people to come from other branches of palo that were not mayombe to work or partake in ritual ceremony. Even if they knew our secrets and what we were all about or if they were close friends or even relatives. Oh and to top it off their were only certain phrases that were spoken in the house that was not allowed to be shared with other people. So for the only way for you to be allowed in the room you had to know these spoken phrases. It was secret among the Munanso of Mayombe.
Sacred to those of the lineage to be passed down to the family of mayombe and sworn as sacred. Merriam Webster free dictionary online defines this as:
a : unassailable, inviolable b : highly valued.
So my question to those who are out their inviting other people who are not of the same lineage or rama to come work in their Munanso how is that respecting your lineage? See because every house of worship of palo mayombe is not the same.
Mayombe is mayombe, Briyumba is briyumba, Kimbisa is kimbisa, So then when you officiate in a house of briyumba and mayomberos are their how are you respecting not only cultural lines but religious lines as well? This is vice a versa also because a mayombe house is a house of secrets of mayombe. A Kimbisa house is solely the secrets of kimbisa. “How can either one officiate in another munanso when a mayombero should not know what goes on in a room of kimbisa and a briyumbero should not be knowing what goes on in a munanso of Musundi.?”
The problem is that if you have an established house of Palo Mayombe whatever line it is then those are the people who are officiating and know other people should be even holding a candle in that room. Out of respect of 2 major words in this posting, Secret and Sacred.
You got alot of people out their thinking because they are in the branch they have a right to be in a room well that is so not true. You look at the seriousness of what is initiation and who in your house is representing you this task is left to the brothers and sisters of your munanso. Not “invited guests” who know nothing of your secret pacts and ceremonies and only can bring a big confusion to the person when they draw the patimpemba that does not correspond to the munanso like a mayombe firma next to a kimbisa one. It’s like a total disrespect to the pact of those spirits and their lines which they came from. Let alone all the spiritual ramifications that come because your house of Palo Mayombe is your family and so family handles family not strangers handling family. Catholics can not dictate in a Jewish synagogue yet they believe in Abraham and the prophets, But they are different. So what is this new reformation of allowing people in Munanso who are not part of the lineage or house in which the ceremonial rites and secrets are being performed?
I believe that the Munanso who are allowing this are not established with people in their own space and are seeking to validate an ideology that has never existed until recently. Which actually makes for a lot of ceremony conducted by 2 or 3 different people in different munanso as null and void. Then they have to go and get scratched as a method to undo what has been done on them. Unfortunately those are the horror’s that are religion must start finding remedy to before this whole new ideology takes form and kills our secrets and sacred rites. What is more alarming that allowing for that type of behavior allows for public scrutiny on techniques and ways of practice that are varied from house to house. Lets respect the memories of our elders and start cleaning up our act. Tata Musitu