Efficacy of indigenous charms as weapons of war

David Bilungule Bakamana,Clement Chinkambako Abenguuni Majawa,Laurenti Magesa

doi:10.20525/ijrbs.v10i7.1410

David Bilungule Bakamana, Clement Chinkambako Abenguuni Majawa + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v10i7.1410

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Abstract

Conflicts and wars in the contemporary world are often fought through the use of modern and sophisticated weapons. The forces using such modern weapons are often regarded as having an upper hand especially when their opponents possess what is regarded as inferior weaponry. However, modern weapons can be overpowered as evidenced in the Kamwina Nsapu conflict in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The insurgency of Kamwina Nsapu militia in the Kasai Central Province sought to bring accountability to the modern political leadership and address bad governance practices. The case of the Kamwina Nsapu revealed the use of charms or fetishes (manga) to address the problem that had emerged in the Luba community. Different types of indigenous charms (manga) were used: trees and sticks were used as guns; slippers as telephones; and fruits as grenades. Militia were able to cut off heads of enemies from a distance with their bare hands and they teleported from one place to another at will. These activities were made possible by the use of charms (manga), such as the tshiota fire and nkwembe.

Highlights

There is documented evidence of the existence of 39 well-known categories of manga spells among the Luba (Nunn & Sierra, 2017)
The fighting was aimed at bringing change in government in order to bring better governance systems in the modern political leadership. This was supported in an interview answer by one of the traditional leaders, “...the militias were fighting for change of leadership in the province and in the country...” (Traditional Leader, TL 4)
The case of the Kamwina Nsapu revealed the use of manga to address the problem that had emerged in the Luba community

Summary

Introduction

There is documented evidence of the existence of 39 well-known categories of manga spells among the Luba (Nunn & Sierra, 2017). The values of the Luba community are enhanced as persons work towards becoming more benevolent From these four categories, manga spells propel benefits to society, the focus of this study on Social Transformation. The Luba people used manga in the Kamwina Nsapu conflict in Kasai Central Province for the restoration of justice in 2016. It has chained the country to bad governance for close to fifty years This bad governance, a lack of development, poverty and poor leadership was the basis of the Kamwina Nsapu war in the Kasai Central Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The target population for the study was the Luba people who lived in Kasai Central Province From these target population, charm givers, militia and political leaders were selected as the units of observation by the researcher. The study used, In-depth Interviews, focus group discussions and observations to collect data

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