First, we want to give a disclaimer that not everything I will mention is exactly the same for all houses and some do things somewhat different but all the core concepts and steps are still taken. We also would like to add that nothing said herein is meant to offend or disrespect anyone, just educate people as to the proper protocols towards initiation into the traditional religion of Nkisi Malongo or Palo Mayombe.
The first step to initiating is digging within your own self and seeing if you even resonate with the traditional religion. I cannot stress enough that this traditional religion is not for everyone! You do this by interacting with people who are actively practicing members, not from what someone from another tradition said. Take your time, get to know Palo Mayombe and its openly known concepts. See if this even fits in with you and sits right on your soul. Remember that someone or something from outside Palo Mayombe cannot tell you if you need to initiate into Palo Mayombe. An Ifa reading, a Misa and even a random Psychic Medium cannot just determine this and to make such an affirmation would be a display of their complete lack of respect for Palo Mayombe.
The next step is to find an elder (Tata or Yaya) that resonates with you and do the same. Spend time with them, observe them, learn from them. Talk to them and ask questions. Take your time here, there is no rush to this process and rushing is catastrophic because it can lead you to be with elders you cant stand or fakes, scams, frauds etc. The key here is to not have a specific time frame of when you want to observe and more so just casually be present and get to know them, however long that does or doesn’t take.
Once you have resolved in your heart that Palo Mayombe is for you and you have found the elder that actually works for you, you must come to their spirits in person and do a reading or divination and ask them certain initiatory questions. This cannot be done remotely, this cannot be done via other traditions and this cannot be guessed on, it is something that can affect your whole life and needs to be taken very seriously. Please keep in mind that even if someone did have a “Kongo spirit” show up in a Misa or a Psychich Medium sees these kinds of spirits around them often, it does not necessarily means they must initiate into Palo Mayombe.
This is where some houses do things differently, the questions asked. For the most part, from my experience the questions are usually the same and just worded differently with exception of one and we will discuss that one when we arrive at that one.
The questions:
1) Does this person have a path in Nkisi Malongo (Palo Mayombe)?
2) Does this person have a path in this Munanzo (Spiritual House)?
3) Does this person need any Misas?
3a) If so, how many?
Lets start with the first one. This question is a flat out yes or no question asking if you belong in Palo Mayombe at all. This question is often a formality because you can pretty much know the answer judging by your resonating with the religion and an elder already. It is still a necessary part of the journey though and should still always be asked. If this question is skipped, you can find yourself initiated but not really welcomed by the spirits. This can be a really miserable circumstance because they will not acknowledge you. Keep in mind, this is one of the main reasons why Ifa, Misas and Psychic Readings cannot determine if someone should initiate into Palo Mayombe. These systems in and of themselves are not recognized as a part of this traditional religion and so their input is also not recognized.
The second question is asked to determine how the elder’s spirits feel about you. Will they grant you access to their nation? Do they feel that your path lies within this tribe of people? Are your interests and the elders interest in alignment? The simple existence of this question further proves that Ifa, Misas and Psychic Readings cannot tell you whether you should initiate into Palo Mayombe or not because they are not specifically asking with which house and they cannot. In this religion, each house is its own nation. You cant issue a blanket term for all of the above especially if you’re not even a part of one to begin with.
The last question is a bit of a controversial one, some houses ask the question and others don’t. There are some houses that do not ask the question hold a mandatory number of Misas (mostly just one) before proceeding. There are also some houses that do ask the question receive a “no” and they do not hold any misa for the future initiate. In our lineage, we ask the spirits and do what they say to the letter. There are even people saying that you cannot ask Palo Mayombe spirits about Misas because they are not the same tradition. The issue is that Palo Mayombe spirits are absolutely a part of your spiritual court and they do hold weight within the Boveda because Espiritismo is open and inclusive of all spirit guides, including Bakongo. We speak to them in the protocol they established (readings or divinations) but they can speak on Espiritismo because they too are part of Espiritismo. The Misa is actually done to give any spirits of the initiate the opportunity to understand the ceremonies that are about to take place and object if they do not agree with these ceremonies taking place.
There are more questions can be asked but these are the basics and the bare minimum needed to correctly proceed on the journey to initiation.
Once you have asked the questions, you must then do the Misas (if any) to prepare for the next step on your journey to initiation.
The final step on this journey revolves around the actual ceremony that is the rites-of-passage and grants access to wisdom and authority. While we will not speak too much on this ceremony because this is a private ceremony, we will mention that the ceremony goes on for about 24 hours before being completed. Once this ceremony is completed, you are an initiate. There is no probationary period or anything similar in Palo Mayombe.