Palavers (kinzonzi) conducted by community ‘chiefs’ and their counsellors are a customary practice in the communities of Bas-Congo, in western DR Congo. This is a lively tradition based on debate, using proverbs, songs, dances and rhythmic shouts to treat and resolve conflicts among Kikongo-speaking community members – locally, in their mother tongue and in appropriately complex ways. The palaver also uses rituals, including divination, either as grounds for the decisions made in the palaver or to complement the treatment and neutralise certain problems.
I will present three cases dealing with kindoki (witchcraft) accusations against children. In two cases, the chiefs and their counsellors resolved the conflict; in the second of these, the palaver debate was accompanied by a ritual to ‘separate’ the child and adult ndoki (witches) involved in the kindoki attack and to provide protection from further attacks. In the third case, the chief, who had been appointed to the community by the state and was personally involved with the child ndoki (witch), did not act impartially and did not coherently apply the ‘ancestral ways’, as the people of Bas-Congo call them. While the mixing of approaches is common, he combined the ‘ancestral ways’ with an excess of the antagonistic dualism found in both Christian belief and official law. He also precondemned several adults from the community. As a result, the treatment was entirely ineffective and the case remained unresolved.
Despite the mixing of approaches, these three cases (all of which I filmed and analysed) offer insights into the necessity and efficiency of the basic ‘ancestral ways’ – ways that facilitate the debate, treatment and resolution of conflicts within the community, especially in cases of witchcraft accusations.