Language family Kongo–Spanish Guthrie code H.10C | Glottolog None | |
Native to Cuba, Dominican Republic Native speakers None
(liturgical language) | ||
Habla Congo or Habla Bantu is a Kongo-based liturgical language of the Palo religion with origins in Dominican Republic & Cuba, later spreading to other countries in the Caribbean Basin. The language may be called lengua conga or lengua congo but is generally referred to simply as lengua, meaning "language" in Spanish. It involves code-switching between Kongo-derived words and phrases; Bozal Spanish, the archaic Spanish creole of the Dominican & Cuban slave plantations, or at least an imitation of it; and colloquial Caribbean Spanish.
A palero (Palo priest) would say that he habla congo (or habla conga) "speaks Kongo," habla en congo, or habla palero. It is not secret, but it is intended to be impenetrable to the uninitiated.
References
Habla Congo Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA