the idolatrous priests of the inhabitants of Congo, in western Africa. They acknowledge one Supreme Being, but worship also a number of subordinate deities who preside over the different departments of nature. These priests teach the people to worship their deities by various rites and ceremonies, but chiefly by donations of food and clothing, which they appropriate to their own use. They make the people believe that they can bring down blessings upon them, avert judgments, cure diseases, and dispel witchcraft.