The Nkisi's Mirror!

• The Nkisi in this photo has a prominent mirror.  Mirrors are frequently used in Palo Fundamento and Nkisi for various reasons.  One of the reasons is that flashing, bright things attract the Spirit, this is also seen in bottle trees, and on grave sites in more traditional communities.  Mirrors also of course deflect negative energies that are coming towards the Nkisi or towards the individual that the Nkisi is helping or who the Nkisi watches over.  The mirror can also be used to divine or to "see" images in that normally the physical eye would not capture.  This Mirror covers the Bilongo of the Nkisi.  This is again a common practice, and sometimes different colored mirrors or glass are used.  The mirror is also symbolic of entering a different "world or dimension".
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