kitobo

Luba religion

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July 21, 2026

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The term "kitobo" refers to a priest within the Luba religion, a belief system of the Luba people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Luba religion shares common cosmologies and tenets with other African religions, featuring a Supreme Creator (Shakapanga), belief in an afterlife, and communion between the living and the dead.1

Key figures in the Luba supernatural world include Leza (Supreme God), various spirits (mikishi or bavidye), and ancestors (bankambo). In the world of the living, besides the kitobo (priest), there are healers (nganga) and witches (mfwintshi), who embody evil. Religious practices involve prayers, praise songs, dances, sacrifices, and divination to communicate with the divine and ancestors. At the core of Luba religion is the concept of bumuntu, or genuine personhood, emphasizing a good heart and dignity.1

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Luba
…living, the main figures are kitobo or nsengha (priest), the nganga (healer), and the mfwintshi (the witch, the embodiment of evil and the antithesis of the will of the ancestors).
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…living, the main figures are kitobo or nsengha (priest), the nganga (healer), and the mfwintshi (the witch, the embodiment of evil and the antithesis of the will of the ancestors).
Read More