Lineage is one of the most important things in all of spirituality, not just this tradition.

The subject of lineage is often discussed but in passing, its not properly emphasized or understood. It is due to this issue that so many people find themselves in terrible situations as elders and as god children of elders alike. Knowledge of this subject is a non-negotiable absolute necessity in order to properly progress and help others spiritually.

The role of an elder is the current anchor of a lineage of spirits, the glue that keeps everything and everyone together. During initiation into Nkisi Malongo more than just a miserably long rites of passage is happening. You were already born with one lineage but now you are acquiring another, one you would not normally have access to without that elder. To visually demonstrate what I mean please see below.

Ancestral Spirits -> Elder -> You

The ancestral spirits of that lineage appointed that elder as their current custodian, who then appoints you as a member of the lineage. There is processes in place to select a next elder so that when one elder passes away, the lineage continues and he joins the other Ancestral Spirits. In this sense, everything remains unchanged from a practicing stand point.

Ancestral Spirits (+Passed Elder) -> Elder (Newly appointed) -> You.
In some cases you are the next elder but this cannot always be true. There is only one current sitting elder of a house and the house can have several members. They cant all be the next elder.

So now that we understand the progression and continuity of lineage, we understand that each house has their own individual ancestors and then they all collectively have shared ancestors. These spirits have a protocol as to how you approach them, you must be ancestrally linked to them. This link is established by doing rites of passage or initiation (scratching ceremony as some ignorantly call it) where the elder performing the ceremony on you is entering you into their lineage, giving you an ancestral link to these spirits.

Can someone of Congolese descent skip this process? No. They may have blood relations to some spirits but not all and that amounts to trouble. Just because they have Congolese descent does not mean that they have any ancestral connection to the spirits of a specific house. Thinking otherwise is equivalent to thinking “all Black people are alike.” That’s just one issue, the other being that they do not have the wisdom or ceremonies required to practice this tradition which would mean the spirits have no obligation to them. They can decide to help the person if they want or they can ignore the person. They can even see an uninitiated person approaching them as disrespectful and proceed to punish them for their disrespectful actions.

Historically, nobody was above rites-of-passage, or the protocols not even the Mani Kongo or Mwene Kongo. There was only one specific way in which a person would be formally recognized as a practicing elder without the need for formal rites-of-passage. This method involved going to a specific place that had a body of water, defeating the water spirit and capturing it. Nobody has ever successfully accomplished this task. To such an extent where the practice was discontinued and the only way left is upon rites-of-passage or initiation. There is no other way in modern times. You also have to remember the amount of people that came before you, each making their sacrifices to complete this process. In bypassing or even attempting to bypass this sacred ceremony you are telling all of them that you are better than them. You cannot throw away ceremonies the ancestors lived and died for and expect their allegiance or respect.

In comes the more complicated parts of lineage. Your personal ancestry.

For all intensive purposes, every human born to this world has an ancestry upon birth. Some may be more or less painful or accepting etc. but they are all important because they are all a part of who you are since before your birth. So how does this ancestry specifically fit into the previously mentioned lineage? It becomes part of it because you become part of it. You are the current living representation of your ancestry, you are your ancestors embodied and living. They are with you wherever you may roam. So if you roam into Nkisi Malongo they do too. This can be shown with the visual example below.

Uninitiated:
You + Ancestors
Initiated:
Ancestral Spirits -> Elder -> You + Ancestors

In that example you can see that there is a possibility for abuse from an elder, towards you and/or your ancestors. Lets discuss this subject more in-depth. Ancestors that cling to you do so because they are interested in your success. They want to see their descendant succeed because that means their life and ultimately their death was not for nothing. Once you think about this you start to understand that in helping you, an elder gains the blessings and gratitude of your ancestors. If that elder were ever in need of help, they would help that elder because that elder helps their descendant for them and helps them bring blessings upon their descendant. This is often misunderstood as an elder attempting to benefit off their godchildren’s spirits. This is spirits always remembering an old friend that once helped them and returning the favor. They were not forced to do anything they didn’t want to do, therefore this is not a negative thing. So how can this relationship be abused?

When a person initiates and becomes part of a lineage, they have to surrender to that lineage to become part of it. Simply put, to be part of a lineage you have to accept that you’re not the one that is leading that lineage. You lead your ancestors and your spirits but you do not lead the house. You are coming under the leadership of the elder of that house. In much the same way, your spirits and ancestors follow suit. They acknowledge the elder as their leader much like you did. This is not to say you no longer lead them. This is to say they now gained another authority they answer to. Think of this more closely related to a military structure and you’re the direct boss but your elder is the bosses boss.

On the subject of military structure, you should know that while the bosses boss holds authority over the boss and so they also hold authority over anyone reporting to that boss, those spirits are loyal to the boss not the bosses boss. Visual context below.

|—————————|
Elder -> You -> Your Spirits and Ancestors

When conflicted between the elder and you, your spirits and ancestors will always follow you and not your elder. This can lead to problems because that can make them traitors to the lineage. For example: An elder corrects you and tells you that x is wrong and you decide to hex them with your ancestral spirits. If they listen to you (and they will because they are loyal to you above your elder) you have made them traitors to that lineage. This is not a scenario you want your spirits to be in, being labeled as traitors carries heavy consequences on many different levels. It is entirely up to you to not put them in this scenario and lead them correctly.

Elders have also been known to abuse this structure and trust by having their godchildren’s spirits doing things for their own personal benefit without consent and sometimes even by brute force (using their authority over those spirits). This is truly benefiting from your godchildren’s spirits and its a disgusting reality that some “elders” do it. The issue is the godchild in question can feel abused and seek another elder, in which their spirits are no longer bound to the elder who abused of their trust and in some cases they can seek retribution for their treatment while they were under obligations.

An elder who has done no wrong has nothing to fear when it comes to retributions because those spirits have no reason to feel any way towards them. In fact, I have heard and seen of the opposite. I have heard and seen spirits that no longer answer to an elder for whatever reason, still wishing blessings upon that elder because they truly cared and tried to help their descendant and its their descendant that was in the wrong.

The purpose of this structure was always meant to be as a protection for the apprentice or disciple. There can be scenarios where the apprentice is not in control of their spirituality and the elder can step in and get the spirituality under control for them. There is also situations where the apprentice can be doing something completely wrong and the elder can step in and stop everything for the sake of saving their apprentice. It is only when this authority is being misused that it becomes a problem, it is not a problem by virtue of existing just as there are many other things that exist that can be abused. If you fear your elder may abuse this specific function built-in to this traditional religion then you may not have found the right elder for you. The relationship should be one of love, wisdom and trust and without those elements its not a viable relationship.

I hope this demystifies the subject and gives some of you a clearer understanding of how lineage works.