Basi Nenda
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- Jul 29, 2017
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Mama Onema
Originally from Sankuru like Lumumba, mama Marie Onema was born in the early 1900s in Okunji. She is the most famous witch doctor, the most feared but also the most hated and hated witch of the Congo in the 1960s. She is the priestess and the undeniable great initiate in the use of supernatural forces and occult power tetela called "doka". Her life changes when General Olenga, the superstitious Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), who presumably has heard of her magical powers, visits her. He makes her an enticing proposition, that of becoming his fetish girl as well as that of the rebels. He personally needs his charms to become a great leader. This is how mama Onema became the high priestess-witch of the Simba, their secret weapon. Other wizards are also at his service. These assistants nicknamed doctors are in charge of dispensing the "magic bath" for the battle. They accompany the rebels to the front. Supporting Witch Doctors has almost become a lucrative business as the Rebellion is required to pay them for any mystical assistance.
spell
During the magic sessions borrowed from the ancestral customs of the land, the rebels drink a little "pombe", a local drink made from bananas. PThen Mama screams, screams and dances in circles to spit out her mystical incantations. This ritual aims to purify and protect the rebels, integrate them and officially admit them into Simba society and the PLA. If the fighter is hit, the ball immediately turns into water. If he dies, he resurrects after three days. But warriors are invulnerable as long as they respect taboos and prohibitions. Thus immunized, the rebels drugged with hemp launched an assault on the enemy positions. To rout their adversaries, they utter their battle and rallying cry: Simba… Simba… Maï Mulele… Maï Lumumba… Faced with this determination of the insurgents who possess only rudimentary weapons (arrows, machetes…) , the terrified ANC soldiers fled and abandoned their modern rifles.
Dawa, protective amulet
Mama Onema pays for her services . Those who benefit from supposedly higher quality magical protection also pay more. General Olenga, for example, has to pay 5,000 francs when a simple Simba only pays 50 francs. All fighters are obliged to possess this talisman, Olenga including all those who do not fight like Sumialot because there are risks of aerial attacks. To each of the warriors, Mama gives a protective amulet (dawa) containing organs (pieces of liver, heart, testicles or bone) taken from the bodies of the enemies killed. The dawa has the ability to turn a bullet into water. Very superstitious, General Olenga sees her regularly to listen to her prophecies which allow him to motivate and galvanize his troops in battle.
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Mama Onema, the infamous witch and high priestess of the Simba rebels on a Swahili leaflet from 1964.
In detention at Leo
In July 1964, Tshombe was appointed by President Kasa-Vabu to the post of Head of Government. The face of the Congolese National Army (ANC) changes suddenly because it becomes a heterogeneous mix and a mix of Congolese soldiers, Katangese gendarmes, mercenaries and Belgian soldiers. Hunted like all the other rebel leaders whom she protects with her charms, the witch was finally captured on January 25, 1965 near Kindu after the Simba rout. She was immediately flown back to Léopoldville. Locked down in a cell at the headquarters of the security services, she was able to bring with her a few items from her mystical "laboratory": cords of magic stones, monkey skin harnesses and leopard skin baskets.Occult practices and mystical "drugs" have allowed his proteges to terrorize a good part of the Congolese population.
flip-flop
In Léopoldville, mama Onema declares during a kind of conference that she has changed her coat and that she now serves the ANC and the Tshombe government, that her magic formula has turned against the rebels, that bad luck continues Olenga now. The interview is recorded and the message contained in the tapes is to be broadcast in the conflict zones in the East. The goal confessed by Moïse Kapenda is to undermine the morale of the insurgents when their priestess has changed sides. Western military officials in Leopoldville welcomed the initiative. The witch also declares that the Simba are failing because General Olenga is ignoring his prescriptions and recommendations. The officer even promised him an amount of 3,000,000 francs (32,672 euros) so that he would become a very great leader. But unfortunately, she has so far only received the modest sum of 3,000 francs (32 euros). During her press briefing, mama Onema wears the symbols and attributes due to her quality as a witch-priestess: animal skins, bracelets, hood. She uses an interpreter to make herself understood but what she says seems incoherent. Then she added, "I'm a free woman doctor and I serve whoever pays me." She wouldn't reveal where she buried most of her fetishes. She uses an interpreter to make herself understood but what she says seems incoherent. Then she added, "I'm a free woman doctor and I serve whoever pays me." She wouldn't reveal where she buried most of her fetishes. She uses an interpreter to make herself understood but what she says seems incoherent. Then she added, "I'm a free woman doctor and I serve whoever pays me." She wouldn't reveal where she buried most of her fetishes.
Dead or executed?
According to her great-granddaughter, who also became a fetishist, the Simba priestess died at Kintambo hospital in Kinshasa. However, in an article published in Congo Vision, a certain Djonga Y'Omatete Badibadi accuses Mobutu of having had the infamous witch executed in an electric chair. The founding president did not want her to transmit her mystical power to another person.
