ONEMA, MAMA

Onema Henriette (circa 1900-August 27, 1967), better known as Mama Onema, was a powerful sorcerer who aided the Armée Populaire de Libération (A.P.L.), or Simbas, during the 1964 Congo rebellions in which the A.P.L. fought against the central government.

A simple peasant fetishist, who spoke no language except that of her Tetela ethnic group (the Tetela are part of the Mongo people). Onema gained prominence during the troubles of the 1960s. In May 1963, a bloody conflict broke out at Lodja, 300 km (180 mi) northeast of Kananga on the Lukenie River, between the Tetela of the forest, known as the Ekonda, and the Tetela of the savanna called the Eswe.

Some Eswe leaders asked Onema to prepare a magic power for their young men fighting the Ekonda. Onema mixed some beans with hemp which she gave to the warriors, making them invulnerable to bullets, arrows, spears, and matchets. The Lodja incident gave Onema great prestige; she became known as the greatest fetishist in northeastern Kasai.

The A.P.L. rebellion took place in 1964. On July 15, the Simbas took Kongolo, about 750 km (450 mi) south of Kisangani on the Lualaba River, On July 21 and 22 they captured Kindu, 400 km (250 mi) south of Kisangani on the Lualaba. From there they spread out, hoping to gain control of the eastern Congo. In all their battles, the Simbas relied on magical forces reputed to make them invincible.

Needing a trustworthy sorcerer, Nicolas Olenga, the Tetela general who had invaded Kindu, went to Enyamba, 135 km (80 mi) southwest of Kindu, where he persuaded Mama Onema to accompany him to his headquarters at Kindu. Besides being Olenga’s personal sorcerer – reputedly he agreed to pay her three million francs for magic giving him absolute protection – she became the most important doctor for all the Simba forces.

At the Hotel Relais, where she spent most of her time, she prepared magic charms, instructed other practitioners, and administered magical potions to Simba soldiers. In private ceremonies, Mama Onema sprinkled a white liquid over the men. Driven through the town in a car, she also baptised civilians, houses, streets, and the river ferry to render them safe in case of an air attack.

Believing in Onema’s magical power, young men eagerly enlisted in the A.P.L., and, once in the army, went fearlessly into battle assured that no bullet could harm them. So important was her role in maintaining army morale that before the crucial battle of Beni, 400 km (250 mi) east of Kisangani, Olenga urgently appealed to Onema to send at least 10,000 amulets to the front. But the A.P.L. was badly beaten at Beni, and Onema lost much of her prestige.

In January 1963, she was arrested near Kibombo, 110 km (65 mi) south of Kindu. Taken to Kinshasa and interrogated, Mama Onema eventually died of illness and old age in a hospital on August 27, 1967.

TSHUND’OLELA EPANYA SHAMOLOLO