The Visible and the Invisible World in Kinshasa

Abstract

In the dynamically changing capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a population of seven million, two “worlds” coexist. One is experiential, daytime life, the other is mystical, nocturnal culture. Poor people are susceptible to the construction of the second world. Everyday life is permeated by gossip about mysterious witches. In Kinshasa, charismatic small churches are mushrooming, building a business on second-world beliefs. Pastors undertake to remove the curse from children infected with witchcraft. The author tells this unusual story based, among other things, on his own experiences.