Short staff that served as an amulet (macanon) and sign for a member of the Khaki prophetic movement. All followers owned such an item, which they carried with them or buried in their house as protection against witches and evil forces.
The brass or iron pins hammered into the end of the staff gave it the power to “shoot” witches (bandoki). Prophetic congregations emerged in the very areas of the lower Congo where Swedish missionaries were most active.
The missionaries were extremely ambivalent about the prophetic movements, which were believed to encourage sin and which recruited members away from the missions. Yet the Ngunza movement led to a revival in the Protestant churches in both Kongo states. Eventually this affected the Swedish mission congregations too, which for the first time began permitting “African elements” such as drums and ecstatic expressions in their services.