09/01/2020
KING MVEMBA NZINGA'S LONG ANSWER TO PRIEST FATHER AGUIAR
Having received complaints from the Kongo people from almost every region of the Kingdom, from Benguela to the Lamba River, concerning the acts of barbarity practiced by the Portuguese, Ne Mvemba Nzinga has lost confidence in Christian missionaries and a love for Christianity. which caused a strong sense of insecurity on the part of the Catholic priests who had in Mvemba Nzinga's person a dynamic friend and collaborator in spreading the new Religion (CHRISTIANITY) in Kongo.
In view of this fact, the pastor of the Catholic Mission at the time, Father AGUIAR went to the Lumbu (King's Palace), where he tried to comfort King Mvemba Nzinga, as follows:
"King, there is a difference in behavior between the missionaries and the Portuguese traders, so you cannot renounce Christianity due to the misbehavior of Europeans linked to commerce. It is they who r**e Bakongo women and traffick human beings. It is they who exploit minerals without Mbanza Kongo's permission, it is they and not the priests and their servants."
After these words of Father Aguiar, King Mvemba Nzinga, in response, took the word and took a long time, answering, saying:
"Once, my son Lukeni Haniki (King Henry I) said to me: 'Father, when I was studying in Europe, I traveled a lot in Portugal, France and Italy. I investigated a lot about the behavior of the people in these countries and concluded that when it comes to the manufacture of boats, weapons and other goods, the Europeans are superior, but with regard to spirituality, religiosity, obedience to divine commandments, good habits and decency in behavior, the bakongo are superior to the people of Portugal, France and Italy.' The day I heard these words, I gave them no place in my heart. But when I remembered that since his childhood Lukeni had never lied, he only said what he saw or did; without telling him anything, I compared the behavior of the Europeans and that of the Kôngo and found that everything my son said is true. Yes, when it comes to good behavior, we bakongo are highly superior. The spirit most Europeans have that drives them to separate and hate other human races is not the Spirit of God. This behavior of Europeans is not the result of people with high spiritual level, since God is Love. If in the future there will be bakongo people who hate Europeans, this will be the result of your bad behavior towards blacks. For the elders of MUELA KONGO (Kongo People's Spiritual Government in the Spirit World) say: - KIKUNANGA MUNTU I KIOKIO KESINGA GIONZEKA, meaning one reaps what he sows. WONSO UNA DAY MFILU I YANDI MPE UNA LUMBA THE LESS, meaning who eats MFILU (black fruit) darkens his teeth. Blacks did not hate whites until they came to their lands and began to mistreat them. Before his trip to Europe, my son Lukeni was one of the Kôngo children who loved Europeans very much: but since returning from Europe, where he saw the bad habits of Europeans and the satanic way in which whites treated blacks, his heart compared to Europeans, has changed radically.
Mr. Aguiar, before the Europeans came to our homeland, it was very difficult to see in Kongo an adulterer, drunkard, thief or murderer. But now, look at the bad example the Portuguese are setting for the Kongo people, they who brought the name of Christ to Kongo. Seeing the adultery, the alcoholism, the gossip and the slaughter of the Europeans, the bakongo can no longer understand anything. Prior to your coming to Kongo, the Kôngo Priests (Ngudi za Nganga) taught the Kôngo people that 'adultery, deceit, and shedding innocent blood is placing a great barrier between man and Nzambi to Mpungu (God). These acts take away God's blessing and cause misfortune and calamity in a country.' When my maternal aunt (mama nleke) Mansanga ma Kongo broke the law, you are well aware that I ordered her ex*****on (buried alive), because the great priests in the past taught the Kongo people that: unjust acts are not admissible to the eyes of God, the bisimbi (angels, geniuses) and the ancestors of Kongo. Therefore, prior to the coming of the mindele in Kongo, every transgressor was punished, with the appropriate sanction for the wrongful act he committed. The offender was punished even if he was the son of the king, his brother, his mother, his brother-in-law or his friend. For before the coming of the whites in Kongo, the priests (Ngudi za Nganga) taught that: the unjust application of the laws to the wrongdoers removes the blessing of God in the country, causing misfortunes that generates disorder, calamities and all kinds of suffering. in the country. Therefore, the Kôngo people cannot understand why the king of Portugal does not punish the wrong acts of his people who brought the name of Jesus in Kongo. Before the Europeans came to Kongo, any foreigner visiting one of our villages was welcomed, given food and drink, and when he decided to leave the village, he was given farnel for his restoration along the way. For before the coming of the whites in Kongo, the priests (Ngudi za Nganga) taught that: to love one's neighbor as oneself is the law of heaven and earth, Kongo and Simu Kongo (Spirit World). None of the guidance given by Christ and brought by the Europeans in Kongo is new, since they already existed before the Europeans came. I Mvemba Nzinga completed my apprenticeship at the Kôngo Religion Priest Training Center (Kinsasa kia banganga) before you came. For I was chosen to be a priest in the temple of kongo (Kinlongo kia Kongo), of the kongo religion (Kinzambi kia Kongo). Whenever I evangelize, many priests ask me where I learned everything I have taught. It is said that my teachings have been so deep despite not attending any seminar. They ask why this is. My answer is as follows: Most of the things I have been teaching in the churches come from the Kôngo (Lusansu lua kongo) culture I learned at Lemba and Kimpasi (one of the traditional priest training centers). Mr. Aguiar, it is the Portuguese who brought the name of Jesus here in Kongo, but now, the misbehavior of the Portuguese, makes me feel ashamed and distressed before the Kongo people that I forced to convert to Christianity. The elders of MUELA KONGO (Spiritual Conclave) say: 'TEKA KATULA NTETE AND T**I KINA MUNA DISU DIAKU, IBOSO VAVA OKATULA KIOKIO KINA MUNA DISU DIANGANI', which means: Remove the hindrance before your eyes, then seek to take what is in someone else's eye. Therefore, it is better that the Church of Christ in Europe, first try to straighten the behavior of Europeans before sending their priests outside Europe to foreigners. For saith our Lord Jesus Christ, What is the use of the whole world, if ye lose your soul? I desire the salvation of the whole world. But I am sure that to save this world: it is not enough just to help those who are far from our homeland. The world will only be saved if each of us dedicates his life to straighten the behavior of the people around him, wherever he is in the world. Sending people of misbehavior in foreign countries is seeking to destroy the good relationship, understanding, and cooperation among the peoples on this planet Earth. For only well-behaved people can save the world and bring the spirit of understanding into every country of the world. Therefore, all well-behaved people from all countries of the world should join forces, since the key to the salvation of the world lies in their hands, as they are the light of the world. Knowing that you have a lot of work to straighten your people's behavior in Europe, I think we need not continue to ask for Christian priests to be sent to Kongo, as they have a lot of work in Europe."
Let us reflect on Mvemba Nzinga's response to Father Aguiar. Was Father Aguiar right in what he said to our Ntotela? Was Mvemba a Nzinga's answer fair? What lesson can we draw from this dialogue between a European and a Bakongo many centuries ago?
