|
Greetings Community:
 | Dr. K. Kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau
April 4, 1934-
November 29, 2013 |
It is with great sadness that we share with you today the transition
of our dear elder and resident scholar, Baba Dr. K. Kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau. Baba Fu-Kiau has been a member of the Ifetayo family for many years and recognized Ifetayo as home for practicing similar traditions as his beloved homeland, the Kongo.
Today we take a moment, to reflect on the many times Baba's teachings influenced the way in which we interact as a community and how many of these life lessons reflect in how we respond as a community today. Part of his legacy at Ifetayo is his teachings and practice of mbongi.
We will miss you
We wish you a peaceful journey Baba,
Your Ifetayo Family
That which is good is never finished. -Kunia Proverb
Building Community Through the Mbongi
Mbongi is a word in the Kikongo language which means "learning place." (In Kiswahili, it is Baraza; in Tswana, Kgotla.) When people come together to resolve community problems in a Congolese village, that problem-solving meeting is an Mbongi. And the issues that they address will be as varied as the care of seniors and children, the cost of education, fixing potholes in the road, availability and safety of the local water supply, or matters of national interest. The Mbongi is the place where one looks for and finds solutions to problems. In the Mbongi, everyone has the right and the responsibility to speak up.
Kimbwandende Kia Bunseki FU-KIAU
(Born 1934 in Manianga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.)
Dr. FU-KIAU is one of the most distinguished and insightful scholars of African culture. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), he was educated in both Western and African systems of thought. While teaching in the city of Kinshasa, he decided to return to his home in the countryside, Manianga. There in the early 1960s he opened the Luyalungunu Lwa Kumba-Nsi Institute, a pioneering educational center dedicated to exploring and documenting the deepest traditions of Kongo culture. His research at the Institute investigated the philosophy and practices of the ancient Bantu educational institutions. These findings inspired President Mobutu to establish his national program of Authenticit�, and had a significant impact on major western scholars including Drs. Robert Farris Thompson, John M. Janzen and Wyatt MacGaffey.
Dr. Fu-Kiau's western academic background includes degrees in the areas of Cultural Anthropology (B.A.), School Administration (M.Ed.), Library Science (M.S.), and Education and Community Development (Ph.D.). He has published numerous books and articles including: African Cosmology of the B�ntu-Kongo (1980, 2001), Kumina: A Kongo-based Tradition in the New World (1983), Kindezi: The Kongo Art of Babysitting (1988), Self-Healing Power and Therapy, Old Teachings from Africa (1991), Mbongi: An African Traditional Political Institution (2007), and S�mba S�mbi: Hold Up That Which Holds You Up (2006).
Fu-Kiau's African education and initiation began as a child but became more formalized when he returned to Manianga in the early 1960s. He was initiated into Lemba starting in 1964 in Manianga region of Congo-Kinshasha and the Lari region of Congo-Brazzaville. Fu-Kiau was initiated by this grandfather and both paternal and maternal uncles. Lemba is the highest Kongo society for healing and diplomacy. Starting in 1966 he was initiated into Kinkimba (aka Kimba) in the Yombe and Mtadi regions of Congo-Kinshasha and Cabinda Province, Angola and Luanda Province of northern Angola. The principle ngangas who initiated him were Simon Muyinu and Ntungulu, his uncle. Kinkimba is a society or discipline that deals with the value, understanding and use of herbs, particularly those from the Yombe forest. Kinkimba uses a special initiatory language to protect and preserve their teachings. Also in 1966, Fu-Kiau was initiated into Kimpasi in the Madimba areas of Inkisi and Ngungu, Congo-Kinshasha. He was instructed in Kimpasi by local ngangas. Kimpasi teaches youth, both male and female, how to endure in impossible situations, how to become moral fighters for the community.
|
