Bockie, Simon : University of California, Berkeley
Simon Bockie was born in Banza-Lele village, Kivunda District, in the Manianga area of Lower Zaire. He holds
a Ph.D. in History and Phenomenology of Religion from the Graduate Theological Union and is a government documents
librarian at the University of California, Berkeley.
Review
"[Bockie's] description of Kongo culture is vivid, beautifully clear, and absolutely authentic, as only
a native could make it. . . . I don't know of anything of its kind that is both as good, ethnographically, and
as readable."
--Wyatt MacGaffey
"Simon Bockie has written an engaging, often personal account of the views and behaviors surrounding death
in his own society, the Kongo of Lower Zaire, northern Angola, and the Congo."
--Cahiers d'Etudes africaines
". . . excellent book of Kongo religious life and thought . . . "
--Religion
Indiana University Press Web Site, March, 2002
Summary
A vivid, beautifully written account by a native of the spiritual life of the Kongo region of Africa. A study
of the reaffirmation of African cultural identity that will be of special interest for African Americans.
Rich in anecdote and case histories, Death and the Invisible Powers is a personal account of the spiritual life
of the Kongo people. It describes the ancient traditions that nourish a culture whose name symbolizes the heart
of Central Africa.
