| Simbi | |
|---|---|
Water Spirit | |
 Depiction of Mamba Muntu, also known as Dona Fish, in present-day Angola | |
| Affiliation | |
| Abode | Atlantic Ocean, Seas, Rivers (Nzadi), Forests (Mfinda) |
| Ethnic group | |
| Equivalents | |
| Bantu | Mamba Muntu |
| Haitian | Lwa |
| Ovimbundu | Dona Fish |
| Sawabantu | Jengu |
ASimbi (also spelledCymbee andSim'bi, pl.Bisimbi orBasimbi) is aCentral Africanguardian spirit of thewater andnature in traditionalBakongo religion, as well as inAfrican diaspora spiritual traditions, such asHoodoo in thesouthern United States andPalo in Cuba. Simbi have been historically identified as water people, or mermaids, pottery, snakes, gourds, and fire. Due to the forced removal ofBantu peoples fromAfrica to the Americas, theveneration of simbi exists today in countries, such as the United States, Brazil, Cuba, and Haiti.
While there is little written historical record of the wordsimbi, there is consensus that it originated withinBantu-speaking andKongo-speaking communities and almost certainly began as a means for them to understand the spiritual nature of the world around them.[1]
Some believe the wordsimbi derives fromsimba, a Kikongo word that means "to hold, keep, preserve.[2] The similar phrase,isimba ia nsi, which translates to "a distinguished person in the community," was recorded in an early Kikongo dictionary in the seventeenth century. This phrase and others, such askisímbi kinsí, which translates to "the very old person who does not die," are a few of the earliest evidences of the spiritual connection of bisimbi to the land of the living and the land of the dead.[3]
The wordbasimbi also translates to "guardians" with the phraseisimba ia nsi later becoming "guardians of the land."[3]
TheBakongo people traditionally believe that bisimbi are magically water spirits (inkikongo:nkisi mia mamba) that can appear as a person, a snake, pottery, acalabash vine, orKalûnga, a spark of fire, similar to the spark that begot the universe in Kongocreation mythology.[4] There have also been claims of bisimbi appearing as birds, twisted trees andmermaid-like beings.[5] They are seen as the guardians of nature and the intermediaries who travel theKalûnga Line betweenKu Seke, the physical world of the living, andKu Mpémba, the spiritual world of the ancestors. Bisimbi are also believed to be spiritual guides, using storytelling and oral tradition to connect the living to the ancestors and their history.[6] The likening of living elders to the bisimbi in the phrasekisímbi kinsí highlights the importance of Bakongo elders to the spiritual well-being of the community and the passing of their beliefs from one generation to the next.[3]
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The belief that bisimbi "inhabit rocks, gullies, streams, and pools, and are able to influence the fertility and well-being of those living in the area"[7] was translocated to theUnited States by enslaved Bakongo andMbundu peoples.[8] Because forty percent of Africans taken during theAtlantic slave trade[9] came fromCentral Africa'sCongo Basin, and forty percent of all enslaved people brought to South Carolina between 1733 and 1807 were people ofKongo orAmbundu descent fromAngola,[10] bisimbi became revered in the United States inBlack American communities inHoodoo tradition across theAmerican South.[11]
The earliest known record of simbi spirits was recorded in the nineteenth century byEdmund Ruffin who was a wealthy slaveholder from Virginia, and traveled to South Carolina "to keep the slave economic system viable through agricultural reform."[12]
"At Pooshee plantation on theSantee Canal not too far from Woodboo, Ruffin stated that a young slave boy went to a fountain for water late at night and was very frightened by a cymbee (Simbi water spirit) who was running around and around the fountain. Although few witnesses to the appearance of cymbees were found by Ruffin, he stated that they are generally believed by the slaves to be frequent and numerous. Part of the superstition was that it was bad luck for anyone who saw one to 'tell of the occurrence, or refer to it; and that his death would be the certain penalty, if he told of the meeting for some weeks afterwards." Another occurrence from an enslaved man said simbi spirits have long hair.[13]
InBlack American folklore, theGullah Geechee people in the Carolina Lowcountry have a children's story calledSukey and the Mermaid about a girl named Sukey meeting a mermaid named Mama Jo. Mama Jo in the story helps and protects Sukey and financially supported her by giving her gold coins. This story comes from the belief in Simbi spirits in Central Africa that came to the United States during theAtlantic slave trade. In Africa, Simbi nature spirits protect and provide riches to their followers. There are folk stories of people meeting mermaids in Central Africa and theMiddle Passage.[14]
The belief in bisimbi also exists in the traditional spiritual practices ofHaitians. While Haitian Vodou is largely known for itsWest African influences, primarily those fromBenin andNigeria, it also contains Central African influences from theRepublic of the Congo,Democratic Republic of the Congo, andAngola in the form of bisimbi. Though often referred to aslwa, bisimbi such asMami Wata, Nsimba and Nzuzi are stillnlongo, or sacred, in traditional Haitian spirituality and culture.[15][16]
In anAfro-Cuban religion called Palo, bisimbi are called bothNkitas[17] andMpungus (also spelledAmpungus). They are similar to Kongo nature spirits that occupy theNfinda, or forest, which is synonymous with theMfinda in Bakongo religion.[18] They are believed to be guardians of all of nature, including lakes, forests or mountains.[17]
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