[1] In its fullest embellishment, this symbol served as an emblematic representation of the Kongo people and summarized a broad array of ideas and metaphoric messages that comprised their sense of identity within the cosmos.

[5] Archaeological findings in the United States show evidence that the symbol was honored by Black Americans, who drew the Kongo cosmogram on the walls of church basements, as well as engraved it in pottery.

[7] The creator god Nzambi Mpungu summoned a spark of fire, or Kalûnga, that grew until it filled the mbûngi.

When it grew too large, Kalûnga became a great force of energy and unleashed heated elements across space, forming the universe with the sun, stars, planets, etc.

"[9] Accordingly, the Kalûnga line acts as a barrier between the two worlds and leads all Bakongo people, or muntu, through the four stages of life.

[8] Together, the Kalûnga line and the mbûngi circle form part of the Kongo cosmogram, also called the Yowa or Dikenga Cross.

The rising, peaking, setting, and absence of the sun provide the essential pattern for Bakongo religious culture.

[13] The Kongo people also believed that some ancestors inhabited the forest after death and maintained their spiritual presence in their descendants' lives.