PALO MYOMBE

Palo Mayombe is a Kongo derived religion from the Bakongo Diaspora. This religion was transported to the Caribbean during the Spanish slave trade and sprouted in Cuba mostly and in some places in Puerto Rico in the 1500s.

 

As the enslaved were forced out of their homelands, their beliefs went with them. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Kongo religion of Central Africa, the Roman Catholic branch of Christianity, and Spiritism. This allowed practitioners that were forced into slavery to still practice the religion of Palo Myombe without persecution or death.

 

The practice of Palo Mayombe can be found in the American diasporas, Central America, Brazil and Mexico. Palo Mayombe in Brazil is Quimbanda. The priests ( Padrino) and priestess’s ( Madrina) of Palo Myombe have been initiated into the secrets byway of a holy ceremony of initiation called “scratching “, to whichever spirit referred to as Mpungo’s, have been chosen spiritually for the priests based on the Munanso (house). Palo is not however, hisoricaly a patheonic spirituality.

 

The term Palo means stick. Sticks are used in Palo for various works by way of their connection to the trees and earth. Palo is a nature based and spirit based religion. Each Path of Palo has its own divination which is done using Chamalongos or shells which have been prepared with deep reverence, embodying the essence of divination.

 

These sacred objects are not merely tools but are considered to hold the essence of divination itself, embodying the wisdom of Palo Mayombe, allowing communication with the spiritual world. They reveal insights through their unique casting patterns, offering guidance from ancestors and deities.