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The Black Hand of God
As a man floats down the Kongo river in the 18th century, his confused thoughts unfold to tell a story of greed, deception, and murder. A skull, some bones, and his recollections reveal the truth about one of Africa's greatest heroines and how she shook the foundations of Catholicism in Africa. Since so many slaves came to America from this region, her story is crucial to understanding early African American Christianity.
246 pages, Paperback
First published October 20, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 12, 2023
This nonfiction historical book has some radical themes, which some might consider to be heresy. Dona Beatriz or Kimpa Vita, is a Kongolese noble woman (from the Kongo region in Africa) who was raised under Christianity/ Catholicism. During her life, she challenged the church and its ideas. She founded a new movement called, Antonianism, which still supported Catholicism but set the Kongo as the true Holy Land. Also, she stated the capital of Kongo, Mbanza Kongo was Bethlehem and Jesus was born there, making him an Kongo man. For the time, these thoughts were too radical, and when she tried to end the civil war and create a national restoration movement; she was captured and burned at the stake.
Her story of struggle and triumph is told through her father, Basi. In truth, her interpretation of the Bible is not new and others throughout history have indicated Africa to be the true home of the Bible, and that Jesus, with his copper skin and hair of wool in fact come from there as well. Even in America, several Christian denominations within the Black Church, do depict Jesus as a Black man. Overall, I would recommend this book for both religious and non-religious.
*I received this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Her story of struggle and triumph is told through her father, Basi. In truth, her interpretation of the Bible is not new and others throughout history have indicated Africa to be the true home of the Bible, and that Jesus, with his copper skin and hair of wool in fact come from there as well. Even in America, several Christian denominations within the Black Church, do depict Jesus as a Black man. Overall, I would recommend this book for both religious and non-religious.
*I received this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
September 10, 2020
Black Hand of God is speculative fiction about the life of Dona Beatriz aka Kimpa Vita, "African Joan of Arc." This is deep prose conveying the struggle and transformation of Vita told through recalled memory (from her father) of this Kongolese history, which makes the book a more mystical encounter than simple he said/she said.
**This was a review copy**
**This was a review copy**
September 10, 2012
Kimpa Vita - "The Most Influential African Woman You've Never Heard Of"
When I came across the article by R S Basi, I just had to find out more about this woman!
It is the eighteenth century and the once powerful state of Kongo (in central Africa) is in the midst of a civil war as internal and external forces cause its decline. It is at this time that the woman named Kimpa Vita (Dona Beatriz) is born to a noble Kongolese family.
Like many of her fellow country man and women she is raised as a Christian (Catholic). But she is also a prophet fusing traditional African ideas with her Christian upbringing and challenging the Catholic church and the European power base behind it. She founded the Antonianism movement in the Kongo and preached that:
* Kongo is the true home of Christianity and the Holy Land described in the Bible
* Jesus Christ and the other saints were Africans
* The capital of Kongo, Mbanza Kongo (known as Sao Salvador at the time) is the true site of Bethlehem
* Jesus was born in Mbanza Kongo and baptized (not at Nazareth but) in the northern province of Nsundi.
* The European church is not beneficial to Kongo
She also attempted to bring about a national restoration and an end to the civil war. The movement she started and lead was to grow so powerful that she was eventually denounced as a heretic and burnt at the stake.
"The Black Hand of God" by R S Basi tells her story. It is not presented as a written history but as an account of her life told by her father. A story of a remarkable women whose teachings are said to have inspired followers far beyond the Kongo, ideas which could be discerned in slave revolutions and the development of the Black Church in the Americas.
This book is compelling reading, thought provoking as well as enlightening. A chapter of African history I knew little about before coming across the work of R S Basi. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in African history and the involvement of Christian religion there.
When I came across the article by R S Basi, I just had to find out more about this woman!
It is the eighteenth century and the once powerful state of Kongo (in central Africa) is in the midst of a civil war as internal and external forces cause its decline. It is at this time that the woman named Kimpa Vita (Dona Beatriz) is born to a noble Kongolese family.
Like many of her fellow country man and women she is raised as a Christian (Catholic). But she is also a prophet fusing traditional African ideas with her Christian upbringing and challenging the Catholic church and the European power base behind it. She founded the Antonianism movement in the Kongo and preached that:
* Kongo is the true home of Christianity and the Holy Land described in the Bible
* Jesus Christ and the other saints were Africans
* The capital of Kongo, Mbanza Kongo (known as Sao Salvador at the time) is the true site of Bethlehem
* Jesus was born in Mbanza Kongo and baptized (not at Nazareth but) in the northern province of Nsundi.
* The European church is not beneficial to Kongo
She also attempted to bring about a national restoration and an end to the civil war. The movement she started and lead was to grow so powerful that she was eventually denounced as a heretic and burnt at the stake.
"The Black Hand of God" by R S Basi tells her story. It is not presented as a written history but as an account of her life told by her father. A story of a remarkable women whose teachings are said to have inspired followers far beyond the Kongo, ideas which could be discerned in slave revolutions and the development of the Black Church in the Americas.
This book is compelling reading, thought provoking as well as enlightening. A chapter of African history I knew little about before coming across the work of R S Basi. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in African history and the involvement of Christian religion there.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews