What is La Ganga? Origins of the "Palo Mayombe" in Cuba

In the easternmost region of Cuba there is a religious practice that stands out above all other professed in the country, we then speak of the Conga Rule or Mayombe Rule.

Religious aspect that came to our island at the hands of African slaves, mostly from the Congo.

Of the Conga Rule three fundamental aspects are derived, these being:

The Palo Mayombe,
the Kimbisa and
the Brillumba.

The first being the most popular of all these.

A nganga or cauldron, is the element of power with which the drainer works, in this the rituals are materialized, which will require the help of the spirit with which it is agreed on the garment.

Sacrifices are made to the cauldron, which are nothing more than professed offerings to the entity in order to give it strength.

What is the Ganga in the Rule of Palo Mayombe?

When the palero is going to develop a ritual, he must first have the bargain, these ceremonies can be related to funeral farewells, festivities, consecrations and pacts, which will be summoned by the mayombero himself or at the request of godchildren and other religious.

The ganga or garment as it is also called is nothing more than the material representation used by the consecrated person in the conga rule to carry out his invocations and sorceries.

This requires the presence of a dead person, who is in charge of making the orders and on which he must give approval, because only then will they be effective.

What is the garment used by mayomberos made of?

Iron is the ideal metal for the manufacture of the cauldrons where the gangue will live.

This element will be in charge of giving strength to the garment, inside it protects the signature, a secret element outlined by the godfather and that establishes a link between the roots of religion, the father and the godson.

It also has foundation sticks, different lands which represent positions among which we can mention the land of the cemetery and the land of the road, it has fossilized human remains and different attributes that vary, according to what has been established to the initiate.

Among which we can mention: