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What is Kala ?

Kala is more than just a colour. It is also the eastern part of the Dikenga.

cosmogram dikenga

A dikenga is a symbol that draw parallels between the cycles of the universe, of life and death, and show how we are bounded to them. It is a simple, yet powerful design seen in many culture and at the heart of Kongo's ancient philosophy and theology.

  • The diamond : joins the 4 cardinal points.

  • The circle : the flow between the 4 cardinal points.

  • The Kongo cross : joins the opposite cardinals creating simultaneously a boundary and a bound between the living and spiritual world

1 > Birth @ dusk / east (KALA - also meaning black) 

2 > Maturity in the South for the living (red)

3 > Death @ dawn /west (Uvemba - symbolised by the colour white), the entrance to the spiritual world

4 > North where the accomplished spirit sits (yellow) 

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