Nzazi

Nzazi is the Kongo spirit of thunder, one of the nature spirits, or bakisi, of traditional Kongo religion who channel their power through consecrated ritual objects. As a thunder spirit, Nzazi was invoked for protection and for the sudden, dramatic force associated with lightning and storm, a role thunder spirits commonly hold across Central African religious traditions. Nzazi's power was accessed by practitioners through minkisi, the empowered ritual objects central to Kongo religious practice, rather than through a fixed temple cult.