The Kongo in Cordoba

Cultural accents of the Kongo in Moorish Spain

In post-medieval Southern Europe there was a dance that French and Spanish locals considered super ratchet in their time. It was introduced into Europe by the Moors, and it was called the Zarabanda. I’ve provided a video below so that you can watch a reenactment of how the dance was performed.

It looks very tame by our standards, doesn’t it? This should give you some indication of how extreme the Roman Catholic Church was at suppressing creative interactions between men and women in 16th century Europe. Any public interaction between a man and a woman that generated the slightest feeling of pleasure in participants or onlookers was regarded as lewd and obscene because the people were sexually repressed. However any intense desire that is blatantly denied will eventually bring about some form of psychosis.

Dance between men and women allows complimentary sexes to raise their swords to declare war on false notions of awkwardness, division, and separateness by affirming mutually attuned instinct, rhythm, and timing. Through the refinement of these three principles we enhance our ability to intuit what we are supposed to do and when we are supposed to do it.

In the Congolese spiritual tradition known as Palo Mayombe, the divinity Zarabanda is a fiery and fearless warrior who is also an intermediary between the realm of the “dead” and our world of the living. He slays the evil with his machete which is called a “mbele.” In his book Kimbiza Santo Cristo: Return of the Holy Grail, Knights Templar and Grand Dragon, author Markus Rodrique shares some powerful information on Zarabanda in the chapter entitled “Zarabanda: The Black Knight.”

Today there is a beer that was introduced by a Spanish chef and it is also known as Zarabanda. It’s made with hot peppercorns which brings to mind the fiery temperament of the Congolese deity who goes by the same name. Of course we know that beer is an alcoholic beverage, but the circumstances that lead to its widespread use in Europe are not commonly known.   

Medieval Europe was plagued by sanitary issues because the natives were nasty, so the Moors popularized the consumption of alcohol to protect themselves from water-born diseases like cholera. An alcoholic beverage is also known as a “spirit” in common parlance, but what spirit is conjured when it is consumed in excess? There are many viable speculations. The one that would yield the most truth would probably be the one garnered from examining the etymology behind the word “alcohol.”

The English word “alcohol” is derived from the Arabic word “Al-kuhul” which means “The Kohl,” but kohl is a metallic powder. The Palo Mayombe spirit Zarabanda is a metallurgist and many people who are drunk have a tendency to exhibit the aggressive, or even violent qualities, that one might associate with Zarabanda, minus the keen discernment that he is noted for. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol  causes iron toxicity from the build up of iron in the body.

 I do not think that it is a coincidence that the Congolese deity Zarabanda is heavily associated with iron, his precious metal. This is not “spookism” and superstition. This is nothing short of African science explained through character metaphor. Nevertheless, one who is active in the Palo Mayombe tradition may have thoughts that are contrary to what has been presented here which may provide us with further understanding.

In the medieval period, Europe experienced an explosion in information pertaining to the African Life Sciences which were recodified (remixed) and given new names like “Al-Khemy,” “Rosicrucianism,” and “Solomonic Magic.” For many people who are identified as African over the centuries, religious affiliation is based on politics. Spirituality is based  on cultural traditions that are rooted in clanship/nationhood (ancestry).

To think that the history-making Moors of old Europe practiced orthodox Islam as we know it today is historically inaccurate and culturally naive. They were always working, and experimenting  with, the African Life Sciences. This is the only reason why Moorish culture was far richer than the contemporary Islamic ones  so prevalent in other parts of the world like Egypt, Turkey, or Iraq.

In short, Europe’s Moorish legacy was no greater than the amalgamated African traditions that it fortified itself with. People are most powerful when they make an effort to honor the culture and the traditions of lineages that they come out of.

A lot of us are afraid of getting back to what has historically been proven to magnify our power, because what makes us powerful will cause other groups not to like us. But guess what? If people don’t like you in your true and honest expression then they never truly liked you. They may only like what you create for their consumption and personal pleasure.

Our power is in our art and our science filtered through a keen understanding of human psychology and what motivates human beings even on the most primal levels. Let’s work with that. That sword is still ours. All that we have to do is reclaim it.