Kimpa Vita of the Kingdom of Kongo: Embodiment of Resistance | The New York Public Library
Kimpa Vita's life exemplifies resistance to Europeans’ invasion and colonization of Africa.
Kimpa’s work to liberate and restore the kingdom was multidimensional. It was spiritual, political, and moral. According to records, Kimpa did not intend to become the King of the kingdom of Kongo. She created a new religion drawing from Catholicism and Kongo religion. Inspired by Saint Anthony in a vision, Kimpa set out to deliver her people. She created a new religion that was in tune with Bakongo culture, religion, and values. With her new religion, she aimed to liberate and restore the kingdom, and to awaken Bakongo to the challenges they faced and to the need to unite. She used religion to wake her people, and to bring them to realize that their deliverance was in their hands, and not in the hands of a foreign God, whose saints did not look like them. For the Bakongo, Kimpa was God’s servant sent as a response to their prayers for deliverance and freedom from their colonizers.
Source: Kimpa Vita of the Kingdom of Kongo: Embodiment of Resistance | The New York Public Library
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