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SUNDAY, 2 JULY 1706 - execution day. Early in the morning Father Bernardo rose and said Mass to a small group. Then around midday Dona Beatriz and Apollonia Mafuta were taken to Father Lorenzo for their last confession. The priest was convinced that Mafuta was not sufficiently sane to receive the sacrament of confession and, moreover, that she could not be held culpable for her preaching. As a result, she would be spared the flames. This would not happen for Dona Beatriz. She was now thoroughly convinced that she had committed grave sins, not about her mission but about her pregnancy and her subsequent flight from Sao Salvador. She had decided that this betrayal warranted death, and was prepared to die. ''My death will be a penance for my sins," she told Father Lorenzo, "and well I deserve it." She went on, "What does death matter to me? This has to come to everyone at some point. My body is nothing more than a bit of earth, it is of no account. Sooner or later it will be reduced to cinders." Continuing to feel sorrow and speaking fervently, she said, "It is better to die now, since I recognize my errors, than to live on that I might easily return to myoid faults through the influence of the Devil, and damn myself." She was now speaking rapidly and emotionally, and the priest was touched deeply. Soon all were weeping as he sought to console her. "Put yourself in God's hands," he exhorted her, "and hope for pardon from His infinite mercy." At his suggestion she willingly accepted the idea of making a public abjuration so as to relieve her followers of whatever loyalty they felt to her. She was then returned to prison. A bit later Dona Beatriz' infant son was brought out to Father Lorenzo to baptize. She informed the priest that she wanted to name him Antonio, but Father Lorenzo would not agree to that. It would not do to keep the memory of the heresy, as he saw it, alive. He had already noted that it would be hard for them to make use of Saint Anthony in their mission, for some time to come anyway, and he had always been a popular saint. He decided that the baby should be named Jeronimo. A bit later, Barro, her Guardian Angel who had also been condemned to burn, was brought in to make his confession. Father Lorenzo had to leave to say the main Mass of the day for the king and his followers, and Father Bernardo heard Barro's confession, similar though less touching than Dona Beatriz'. Barro, too, agreed to a public abjuration of his sins. Father Lorenzo's Mass was well attended, and afterward the two priests met with King Pedro to layout what they thought would be appropriate for the execution in the eyes of the Church. They were anxious that both the condemned be given the opportunity to confess their sins and to make a public abjuration. The priests also wished to be present at the execution and to play some official role so that the Church would be represented. This, they thought, would relieve the Antonian movement of its religious content and make it easier for Dona Beatriz' followers to be won back to the Church. Those at Evululu who still doubted could be convinced by this. Pedro was in an ugly and indignant mood, however, and would not agree to their plan. "It is well known," he told them sharply, "that everything those miserable people taught is false," and for that reason there was no need for any abjuration. Nor did he not want the priests to be present at the execution. There was likely to be a large crowd there, many people had participated in the bringing of wood for the fire, and the word of the execution was spread far and wide. Even though most who attended were from Evululu and likely to be supporters of the king more than of Saint Anthony, Pedro could not be sure how the day would go. "I cannot be sure if you will be safe from the great crowd of people," he told them, and he did not wish to risk their being injured. Father Lorenzo wished to debate this point. "Abjuration is an obligation of the condemned," he informed the king, "and it absolutely cannot be put aside." The Church had a strong interest in maintaining its side in what had been a religious issue. Besides, he noted, "our assistance will be a comfort to these young people, and will help them in this moment to remain resigned to the Divine Will." Pedro suspected that the priests' insistence was not simply to comfort the condemned. He was particularly suspicious of Father Bernardo, who had constantly exhorted him to seize and execute Dona Beatriz even when he felt he had important reasons of state to tolerate her teaching. He disliked the priests' haughty attitude, and now felt that his resolve to conduct the execution had been challenged. He wondered if they were really only anxious to ensure the execution was carried off, and whether this was why they insisted on being present. "Father," he said passionately, "if perhaps you think that I will not carry this out, because I want to spare them from death, remove any such thought from your mind, because I swear by that God which gave me the government of this kingdom" - and at this point he snatched the royal staff from the hands of his standard bearer who was nearby - "and who made Himself flesh and came to die for us on this cross" - he gestured to the silver crucifix at the end of his royal staff - "that nothing else will be done to these culprits, except that which has been determined, that is, to die by being burned alive!" While impressed by the king's conviction, Father Lorenzo still wanted to make his point. He personally had not doubted Pedro's certainty, at least in part because he had a firmer opinion of the king's resolve than Father Bernardo had, who had known him earlier when he had indeed vacillated on the question of Dona Beatriz' arrest and even on her condemnation quite recently. In stead, Father Lorenzo was anxious that the Church play what he considered the proper role. 'With regards to the order for death," the priest continued, conscious of the fine legal points that had led to Dona Beatriz' civil conviction in which the Church had not been involved, "we have no role to play, being prohibited from it by Canon Law. But with regards to assisting the condemned," he went on, "this is our obligation, because this is customary in all·of Christendom." Pedro accepted this argument, and said the priests could play a role in the execution. He then turned and went back to the palace, leaving the two priests standing in the public square, waiting to see the end of the affair. The king had other business to attend to and had decided not to be present at the execution. Shortly thereafter, the execution ceremony began. Two heralds bearing bells entered the square. These were the double-ended bells that royalty alone were allowed to keep, a sign of royal authority. The bells were dapperless and were beaten by a stick, producing a dolorous tone which all knew meant that serious government business was being transacted. A crowd had already formed, and it grew rapidly around the square. The crowd began to sing a song appropriate for the occasion. Then Dom Bernardo, the vuzi a nkanu (principle judge), came out into the square, leading Dona Beatriz and Barro. It was he who had taken the blame for allowing Lusunzi's sacred stone to fall into the hands of the Capuchins, and whose own son had been accidentally burned on Saint James' Day in the same year. He was a tall man dressed in a long black mantle that went from his shoulders to his feet and wearing an mpu, the cap of authority similar to a Turkish fez, equally in black. He had a stern countenance, which now took on an appropriately threatening air. Dona Beatriz followed this grim leader, trembling with fear and dread, still holding her baby. She and Barro were directed to sit on the bare ground near the platform where the sentence of death would be announced. She could not help but see the great piles of wood that had been prepared. At that moment it occurred to Father Lorenzo that they intended to burn the child along with his mother, and he decided this was not right. He ran from the plaza back the short distance to the palace to see if the king would remit the sentence on the child. Pedro's palace at Evululu, like the one in Kibangu, was surrounded by the triple enclosure with all the gates and porticos that were typical of Kongolese palaces. Father Lorenzo, who had only recently come to Evululu, did not know his way through the maze and rushed wildly from gate to gate until at last he reached the innermost enclosure. There he saw the king, surrounded by his councillors, receiving various petitions. King Pedro was in the midst of this business, standing under a large umbrella and speaking with several petitioners who, following custom, were lying flat on the ground, having covered themselves with dust. Some others were kneeling at a distance, while others still sat on the ground waiting their turn. The priest hesitated, not wishing to interrupt the business at hand and displease the king. But after a brief pause he decided that time was precious if he were to save the baby's life. "Your Highness please excuse me, if I interrupt your speaking," the priest said as he advanced toward the king, ''but the business which I must deal with cannot wait a bit." Father Lorenzo was a far more tactful priest than some of his predecessors, such as Father Marcellino, who had held up court business two hours trying to excuse a Spaniard from royal customs. "00 not take as presumption the ardor with which I come forward in wishing to meet when Your Highness is engaged in the business of his kingdom," he said carefully. "1 am here to ask for a boon, which is nothing other than the life of an innocent baby, which is the son of Dona Beatriz, called Saint Anthony, who is supposed to be burned along with his mother. "It does not seem reasonable to me," the priest continued more calmly, "that an innocent creature should pay the penalty for a crime he did not commit." He continued, having now been assured of the king's attention, "It would seem to be too great an act of cruelty." ''What fruit does a rotten and infected plant produce?" the king responded. "In Italy, if a child is born of a heretic or a Jew of perverted habits, and their crimes and perversions merit death, what do you do with the child?" "The child," Father Lorenzo answered, "because of its innocence is not capable of the defects of the father, and would be pardoned, as you can read in the stories of many people who were criminals. For all of them the children were pardoned, as being innocent of the crimes committed by their parents." Then, dramatically, Father Lorenzo took in his hand the crucifix which he wore around his neck and said, "By this Son of God, crucified for the love of us, I beg for the life of this innocent one." King Pedro was touched and, removing his mpu, replied, "And I, for the love of that crucifix, grant life to the son of that trickster. For that, however," he added, seeing an opportunity, "for the love of the same crucifix, Your Grace ought to do a favor for me, when I ask it." Father Lorenzo thanked him for sparing the child's life and added that "in the matter of a favor for you, it would depend upon my decision, since I cannot fail to perform my duties." Then, contented, he excused himself and hurried back to the square. While Father Lorenzo was pleading for the life of her child, Dona Beatriz sat unknowing in the square. Dom Bernardo had begun a very long discourse on the sentence, beginning with a lengthy list of titles and authorities of the king and their explication, and then continuing to an equally long and solemn speech on justice and its application to this case. He spoke sonorously, carefully, and clearly, as if lecturing a group of students. But he faced a crowd whose growing excitement and impatience made his speech incongruous, a paradox. A message came through the throng to Dona Beatriz. Her child's life was to be spared, and she should give the baby up to one of the waiting officials. She was anxious about it and held back, but Father Lorenzo arrived by her side and comforted her. "You have nothing to fear for him," he assured her. Dom Bernardo's speech continued as the baby was removed and the two priests prepared for what they hoped would be the religious part of the ceremony. However, the vuzi a nkanu was conscious of this and covered what he considered relevant from both a religious and legal perspective. Although Dona Beatriz was condemned according to Kongolese law, this law included ample provisions for crimes of a religious nature, and in this the vuzi a nkanu had an excellent command, explaining in detail and with many asides the nature of the crimes, the reasons they were to be considered heinous, and the logic for applying the death penalty in this particular form. Finally, he reached the end of his speech. Addressing Dona Beatriz, he said, "For having fooled the people with heresy and with lies, under the false name of Saint Anthony, the king and his Royal Council have condemned you to death by fire" - then turning briefly to Barro, as if by an aside - "with your concubine." At that point Dom Bernardo turned abruptly to leave the square, and the two priests moved forward to begin their part of the final preparations. Dona Beatriz, on their cue, rose and began to make her abjuration. But this was not to take place. The crowd, whose impatience had been sorely tested by the lengthy legalistic speech, finally broke loose. No sooner had the vuzi a nkanu turned to depart than the first ranks of the crowd burst forward, and their noise and the sea of their bodies made the performance of any additional function out of the question. The mob fell upon the two condemned people and began to assault them, pummeling them, throwing them to the ground, and abusing them "like so many dogs," Father Bernardo recalled later. It seemed impossible that anyone could survive the beating, especially a young woman. Barro grabbed Father Bernardo's habit, having lost his nerve in the assault, and now begged the priest to spare his life. But that was impossible, and it was only with great effort that the priest was able to free his habit from the man's terrified grip. It was obvious that the priests not only were unable to perform a formal function of abjuration, they were even unable to provide the services that the Church expected for those about to die. Dona Beatriz and Barro were dragged along the square, some times trying to rise, sometimes being carried along, iometimes trampled underfoot, to the gallows. The officials had r lanaged to tie them up tightly along the way, and they were ba~ly bruised and bloodied by the time they reached the place. Both were roughly thrown onto two carefully stacked squares of wood, side by side. Then more wood from the piles nearby was_ thrown rapidly on top of them, covering both. The wood was quickly lit and, dry as it was, burned furiously. Father Bernardo, in his official report of the affair, noted that "in the time it takes to say a prayer, they gave up their souls, one speaking the name of Jesus and the other the name of the Virgin Mary." He could not help but add, sarcastically, that "the poor Saint Anthony, who was accustomed to dying and reviving, this time really died and never again revived." King Pedro had studiously ignored these proceedings outside the palace, although the sounds of the tumult from outside worked their way into the royal compound. As it happened, this day was an important one for him: later in the afternoon he would receive an ambassador from the Queen of Matamba, Dona Ver6nica Guterres Ngola Kanini. Matamba, a powerful kingdom that lay south of Kongo, was Christian like Kongo and was ruled by a dynasty founded by the famous Queen Njinga, for which reason the ruler was sometimes still called Queen Njinga.1 Pedro also had to attend to the embassy that had come from Queen Ana and Pedro Valle das Lagrimas, the same ambassadors who had captured Dona Beatriz a bit earlier. That afternoon, Pedro began the ceremony of feeding his court before receiving the ambassadors officially. This was a special Kongolese ritual in which the king personally placed food in the mouths of his most honored subordinates. They sat patiently, sometimes for hours on end, to receive a bit of nfundi, the boiled corn meal that everyone ate as a staple, or perhaps some mwamba, the stew that accompanied the nfundi, from the hand of their king - a great honor. He had chosen to do this in the presence of the ambassador from Matamba and the other ambassadors, as a way of emphasizing his command over his subordinates. In the midst of this ceremony the two priests, Fathers Lorenzo and Bernardo, entered the court. Seeing them, King Pedro immediately ceased his feeding, entrusting the task to the vuzi a nkanu, and went to speak with them. Their appearance had reminded him that Dona Beatriz was dead, and that another struggle lay ahead of him. He was perfectly aware that the movement Dona Beatriz had started was not likely to disappear with the death of its leader. At first they discussed a variety of issues, but eventually, the feeding having been completed, the king dismissed everyone but a few close councillors and turned to the priests. He was deeply concerned that his taking a final step in the matter of Dona Beatriz had now forced him into a showdown with the remaining Antonians and their Kimpanzu supporters. War was likely, and he was very unsure of the outcome. In a dramatic gesture, he threw himself at the feet of the Capuchins, his voice shaking with uncertainty and fear. He begged them to pray to the Lord for his success in the war that would surely come. ''Today, the false Saint Anthony has done her part." If the war went badly, it would be not only to the king's disadvantage but also to the detriment of the Capuchins and the Church in general; consequently, they had an interest in the outcome. The astonished priests tried to do their best to console the king. They reminded him that God had helped King Afonso when he stood facing his brother in battle two hundred years earlier, sending him the miraculous heavenly apparition that still decorated the royal arms - God would not forget Pedro now either. "Confide in Blessed God," they said, "and He will help you." Pedro was comforted by this, and he and his close associates became encouraged, feeling stronger that their fateful decision to burn Dona Beatriz would come to a good end. That night great celebrations started at Evululu. Not just the royal council but the population in general began to sing songs in praise of the king and the priests. They had faced the Antonians and now were prepared to take the next step. Sleep was banished, and the merrymaking lasted all night. The next morning, royal officials decided that to avoid the problems they envisioned might arise if any remains of Dona Beatriz or Barro could be used as relics, they would carefully reburn all that was left of Sunday's holocaust. Meanwhile, King Pedro, having not slept all night because of both the celebration and "keeping an eye out for his Antonian enemies," came to a simple Mass dressed as a soldier, animated and full of joy. That afternoon, to put a new and less somber face on the whole proceeding, King Pedro staged an nsanga, a military review and dance. A multitude of people participated, dressed for war, often painted,and carrying a variety of weapons, and the priests said Mass for the crowd. It was simultaneously a celebration of the death of Dona Beatriz and a challenge to the remaining Antonians and all their supporters that Pedro intended to finish with them. Indeed, Pedro had reason to feel uncertain, for the Antonian movement was not going to die with its leader. On the one hand, although much of the movement had relied on the charismatic personality of Dona Beatriz and the acceptance of the basic tenants of her teaching that Saint Anthony was the highest of saints, "the second God," and that she was his incarnation, she was not necessarily indispensable for its continuation. The Little Anthonys were not simply ordinary people commissioned by her, they had undergone the process of death and resurrection as saints. Just as Kimpasi society initiates were reborn and retained their status as new people long after the original initiation had finished, so, too, the Little Ahthonys kept their status. Furthermore, Dona Beatriz' whole movement had addressed death and rebirth, and who was to say that Saint Anthony might not be reborn. Now that her mortal remains were totally obliterated, the saint might not be in Dona Beatriz' body anymore - after all, before coming to Dona Beatriz had Saint Anthony not tried several other people? Thus, the Antonians in Evululu could say that while the "form" of Saint Anthony had died, Saint Anthony himself remained. Others were asserting that Dona Beatriz had not died but was even now alive in Kongo or somewhere else. King Pedro had to be cautious about proceeding directly against any such talk because his own wife, Hippolita, had become a believer and there were many among his entourage who would listen to these new postexecution theories. Dona Beatriz was dead but, in more ways that one, her spirit continued to guide its movement and would not cease to do so until many more had died. If it was not enough to know there were believers among his own close clients and followers, King Pedro was also aware that the Kimpanzu and Pedro Kibenga had made a firm commitment to the movement, and their rebellion was armed, occupying Sao Salvador, and perfectly capable of defying him with or without Dona Beatriz.2 Pedro Kibenga had indeed settled in Sao Salvador as his colonists had gone over to the Antonian movement. There he had reconstructed the palace, not of stone as the older palaces had been, but in the complex of buildings, chambers, and enclosures that were characteristic of upper-class Kongolese dwellings and the palaces of the pretender kings. In his elaborate audience chamber, Kibenga had placed his throne and decorations befitting a king. The floor before the throne was covered with a rich Dutch carpet. To the left of it was a pillow covered in white cloth on which was placed a sword and a pistol; on the same side there was also a buffalo tail, or nsesa, a royal emblem. Above these he placed a picture of the Virgin Mary. On the opposite wall was a richly ornamented bow and arrows, and below them, a simple backless chair covered with white silk on which was placed a rosary with a book. But Pedro Kibenga was also in a quandary of sorts. Although he controlled Sao Salvador, had thousands of subordinates, a good army, and at least the nominal support of the Antonians, he could not be king. He was widely rumored to be epileptic, which was considered to make him ineligible for the office. But such a sickness need not be taken literally; epileptic seizures were thought to be symptoms of kindoki, inflicted either by evil persons from outside or, more likely, from harboring evil thoughts and intentions within. Kibenga's reputation as a ruthless pursuer of power had touched him, and even though Dona Beatriz had moved toward him, he had not been exonerated from the suspicion. Even if he never had a seizure that people witnessed, the rumor would circulate based on a perception of his personality. He was in power without doubt, even if he was not king, and he had the support of the Antonians, but it was an uncertain support. When news of Dona Beatriz' execution reached Sao Salvador, there was considerable denial, or claims that the movement could live on without her. Rumors spread that she had been seen in the treetops around the city. Another woman, others said, had been possessed by Saint Anthony and was in the city preaching that they should not give up hope, that others would be the ''Mother of Virtue."3 For the more down to earth, however, there was a surge of anger against King Pedro. Antonian hostility toward the king might serve Pedro Kibenga well, but he was not strong enough to move against him in his fortified mountain of Evululu. As crucial as the Antonians were to Kibenga's movement, many of his followers were not Antonians, and he was thus in a position opposite King Pedro. In Pedro's camp the majority were not Antonians, but the minority was well enough placed to cause him trouble and hurt his policy. In Kibenga's camp the majority were Antonians, but not enough that he could abandon the Church safely. The paradox of his situation was brought home quickly. Within a few days after Dona Beatriz' death, he heard news that Dom Diogo, a local commander, had captured two priests, and they were coming to Sao Salvador. The pair, Father Lorenzo and his companion, Father Giovanni Paolo da Tivoli, had left Evululu on the 7 July, on their way to Nkondo. The death of Dona Beatriz had ended, for the time being, the crisis in Kongo, and they were hoping to reestablish their presence in Queen Ana's territory and also in Nkusu, east of her lands. However, Dom Diogo, with a detachment of fifty soldiers based at the village of Nsuku, had seized their small caravan and taken its goods. The older Church servants had either fled or were captured and bound, destined for sale as slaves. Only the two priests and a handful of children, mostly youthful servants and students, remained together. The countryside was thickly populated, and the night was lighted by the fires of many houses and villages. It was also a major center of Antonian worship in the heart of the Mbidizi valley, very near to Dona Beatriz' own hometown. The priests could hear their cries in the night: "Tari, Tari, Nkadi a Nkema, Jesu!" (in the Antonian transformation of Kikongo, the word for Devil, Nkadi a Mpemba, was changed to Nkadi a Nkema), and "Maria, Tari, Tari!" The priests overheard discussions about their being burned in retribution for the burning of Dona Beatriz. Pedro Kibenga, recognizing the significance of the capture of the priests, sent his nephew Dom Alvaro with orders to restore the priests' property and bring them to Sao Salvador. The local commander, however, was unwilling to part with the profits of his capture; perhaps too, he was closer to the Antonians in the area than his colleague from the capital. Alvaro, unwilling to take action directly, returned to Sao Salvador to seek advice and reinforcements. Emboldened by the dispute, however, the priests declared Diogo excommunicated, and found enough local support that they began baptizing children in the area, to the chagrin of the Antonians. Indeed, the night after Alvaro left, Diogo's men began a mobilization. Rumors were afoot that both Kibenga and King Pedro were sending armies to Nsuku because of the mistreatment of the missionaries. The drummers shouted, "Look, look at what the king and the Captain General are doing, we would sooner die than run away, and then we will deal with the missionaries who have started this war!" Another crier proclaimed an order to bring wood to burn the priests. The orders were not carried out, however, and Dom Pedro, another nephew of Kibenga, was sent with orders to bring the parties of the dispute to court to settle it there. Diogo, confident that he could make his claims good, accompanied the envoy peacefully. The entry of the party into Sao Salvador demonstrated clearly to Pedro Kibenga how deep a rift there was in the capital between him, who was skeptical to say the least about the Antonian movement, and the devotees of Dona Beatriz. The priests had shown this clearly by performing baptisms all along the route in defiance of the Antonian prohibition, and were now singing hymns. The schoolteachers of the vicinity had welcomed the priests, as had a number of highly placed nobles. A huge crowd greeted the priests in the city, people crowded along the road, and others even climbed on top of the houses to see better. A great many wore the Antonian crown made of nsanda cloth that marked them as Little Anthonys and shouted their Antonian mottoes loudly. But a great many others stood silently - which the priests took as a sign of their adherence to a more orthodox version of the Faith. Pedro Kibenga paid the priests the respect of coming out to the second gate and portico of his palace, and conducted them to the audience chamber, where they were seated on chairs in his presence. From Kibenga's perspective, the Church's noted neutrality in political disputes had worked to his advantage, for Father Bernardo had refused to side with the king even during Kibenga's rebellion. He now hoped that he could use it again to solve the problem he faced, both with the king and with the Antonians. The urgency of the problem was brought home during the interview, for as Kibenga spoke with the priests a great tumult broke out on the plaza outside his palace. Cries of "Tari, Tari, Jesu ye Maria" filtered into the audience chamber. There was a popular riot outside, and Kibenga was visibly shaken, for as Father Lorenzo subsequently wrote, "his normally black face became blanched" at the sound of their voices. Father Lorenzo, thinking that the Antonians were to win this day, turned to Father Giovanni and said, 'We're betrayed!" under his breath in Italian, so as not to be understood. But it was not to be, for as it turned out, Kibenga had the situation well enough in hand to be able to continue his interrogation of Alvaro concerning the capture of the priests and the possibility of the restitution of their goods. He was also prepared to keep them in a well-guarded house while they stayed in Sao Salvador. The next day, Kibenga summoned the priests to him, who made their own report on the execution of Dona Beatriz, her abjuration, and their views on her movement. They berated him for having followed her and being fooled by her teachings. He listened to their lecture, for he had brought them to Sao Salvador precisely to galvanize opinion. To this end, he invited the priests to say Mass the next day to his immediate followers, so as to remove any suspicion that he harbored Antonian sentiments. The next day was 25 July, Saint James' Day, the most important holiday in the whole of the Kongolese year. As a day commemorating Afonso's victory over his brother in the sixteenth century, it was to be an important day for reassessing the fate of the traditional Christian faith and the role of the Antonian movement in Sao Salvador. Crowds began to assemble in a festive mode, both Antonians and the orthodox mingling together. When Father Lorenzo came to say Mass in the palace, he spotted Antonian crowns among the revelers, and demanded that the wearers throw them to the ground. They, in tum, took up the challenge and called for action against the priest. To meet their challenge, Father Lorenzo took up his crucifix and held it aloft: "How is it," he shouted, "that even within the walls of the palace, Your Excellency allows a Diabolic congregation, gathering together Devils that give such offense to the God who created them?" Hoping that Kibenga or important officers could hear him, Father Lorenzo continued, "Are Heresiarchs received even within the enclosure of the Princely Palace? Are these Demons incarnate allowed?" On and on he shouted, hoping for either popular or official support. Kibenga's guards managed to disperse the crowd on behalf of the priest, although no arrests were made, and took Father Lorenzo into Kibenga's private quarters, where the prince was devoutly praying. ''Excellency, Christ, tortured by these heretics cries 'Justice!' " he shouted, still holding his crucifix up. "The Holy Faith, trampled down by these wicked ones, cries 'Justice!' "Oh, I wish that I would die this very day, than to see the revenge of this betrayed Christ! Are we to leave such terrible villainy against the Holy Faith unpunished?" Then, in a more historical mode, Father Lorenzo reminded Kibenga of the great early Christian king of Kongo. "Where are you, Afonso the First, King of Kongo, who for love of the Faith buried your own mother alive! Come, 0 Afonso, come to avenge the injury that these perverse people have done to the Holy Christian Faith in this city!" Father Lorenzo was tapping into the widely believed tradition that Afonso had buried his own mother alive because she refused to remove a small idol from her neck. Even in the twentieth century, the motto "Don Funsu Mvemba Nzinga wazikidi ngw'andi a kimoyo kakwikila nkanka a Ntinu Nkangi" (Dom Afonso Mvemba Nzinga buried his mother alive to support the faith of the Savior King) reflects this tradition.4 While not true at all,s the tradition established Afonso's reputation as champion of the Church, and reinforced the idea that kings were free to create the law they wished and possessed their own form of kindoki, as indicated by their power to kill even the most precious of persons at will, in the interests of the people and the state. This tumultuous entry had its effect, and Kibenga had his men clear the plaza of people. He had invited those he considered most important and worthy to join him at Mass. But Father Lorenzo, who was to say Mass that day, made significant changes in the usual order of the service. Midway through the consecration of the host, he abruptly interrupted the service and declared all the Antonians heretics and they were henceforward excommunicated. But he assured the notables present that this did not apply to them, that the Lord would aid them in their struggle. "Remember," he told them, recalling the festival day, "that Afonso the First, your king, defeated an entire army of enemies of the Holy Faith with only a few soldiers." He continued in this encouragement, addressing Kibenga especially. At this exhortation, all present fell to their knees as a means of expressing their agreement. Kibenga acted quickly on his decision to accept the Church. By afternoon, criers had declared all the Antonians excommunicated all over the city. But at the same time, Kibenga caused the war flags to be prominently displayed. Reconciliation with the Church would not mean reconciliation with King Pedro. Celebrations of Saint James' Day then took on a more traditional form, focusing on the Church of Sao Miguel, where King Afonso's remains were buried. The church, ruined for many years, had fully mature trees growing within its walls and around the graves, but the people cleared what could be cleared, decorated the church, and celebrated there, although without the clergy. No amount of celebration, however, could patch up the differences between Kibenga and the Antonians. Kibenga knew that his break with them could not be complete, since many highranking nobles who were now resident in Sao Salvador were devotees of Dona Beatriz, some even having become Little Anthonys. But Kibenga also had some firm supporters who were devoutly orthodox, such as Queen Dona Ilaria, the wife of the long dead King Antonio I, the last great Kinlaza king of Kongo, killed in battle at Mbwila in 1665. In addition, the Kimpanzu candidate Manuel de Nobrega, who came from Mbamba to the capital, had been persuaded to remove the Antonian crown and rejoin the orthodox. At the same time, the Church itself was under pressure from King Pedro either to return Kibenga to loyalty, peacefully if possible, or to abandon their mission in Sao Salvador. Finally, bowing to this pressure and their sense that they could not have much independent influence there, Father Lorenzo and his ailing companion, Father Giovanni Paolo, left the capital on 8 August.6 The next year, 1707, brought a further hardening of the situation from a military standpoint and further confusion from a religious one. Father Bernardo decided after Easter to visit Sao Salvador voluntarily; he met a great deal of hostility along his route by Antonians still very much uncowed by Kibenga's official condemnation of the year before. In the countryside where Antonian sentiments were much stronger, for Dona Beatriz' movement was always popular among the common people, the priest was accused of practicing his kindoki for evil purposes, undoubtedly because of his association with the nobility. To the spiritual charge was added a more prosaic one of being a spy for King Pedro. But if Father Bernardo was not well received among common people, more nobles were prepared to stand behind him. He discovered the hidden central chamber in Dona Beatriz' house near the cathedrat and concluding that the chamber had been put there to hoax the people, openly displayed it, although without winning much new popular support for his efforts. A group of nobles led by Dom Daniel, son of the former Kimpanzu king Daniel (who died in 1674), ceremoniously surrendered their Antonian crowns to the priest. Father Bernardo, for his part, was prepared to accept any noble who wished back to communion, and lifted Father Lorenzo's blanket excommunication of the Antonians from all but three of Kibenga's noble followers. These three, however, were still a break in the ranks of Kibenga's nobles, and he continued to play to the remaining Antonians in subtle ways whenever he could. In October he won a major coup through this policy. Dona Hippolita, the wife of Pedro himself, fled from Evululu and took refuge with her uncle Kibenga. Now encouraged, Kibenga began military operations on a small scale against the king. A raid seized some sixty people from lands held by King Pedro's colonists, and a more extensive attack destroyed all the villages loyal to Queen Ana north and west of the Mbidizi River. At the same time, Manuel de Nobrega launched a much stronger attack in Mbamba against the queen's nephew, Pedro Valle das Lagrimas. The last effort failed, however, and Valle das Lagrimas' armies pursued de Nobrega back to his own protected town. An army from Soyo intervened on behalf of Valle das Lagrimas, and a bloody battle ensued in which de Nobrega and Valle das Lagrimas both suffered significant casualties. But the latter won the day, and de Nobrega decided to abandon his town without defending it. In mopping-up operations, though, Valle das Lagrimas injured his foot badly by falling into a pit trap hidden in the fortifications? If Kibenga's hopes were set back by the defeat of de Nobrega, his important ally in Mbamba, 1708 brought him another disaster. Kibenga, working through spies and traitors, laid careful plans to take one of King Pedro's strongholds, Tadi dia Nsundu, defended by Rafael Nzinga a Mvemba, the king's half brother. But at the last moment, he was betrayed and not only was unable to capture the fort, but his troops were badly mauled in the following encounter. While Kibenga was seeking to improve his situation, Soyo suddenly underwent a civil war that had to figure in any calculations. Soyo had been a player in the royal politics of Kongo since the civil wars began in the 1660s. Its armies were typically proKimpanzu, but the Kimpanzu themselves were not a unified voice anymore. King Pedro was half Kimpanzu, as was Kibenga, who was also directly related to the princes of Soyo. Prince Ant6nio Baretto da Silva had been outright hostile to the Antonian movement, was lukewarm to Kibenga, and had even abandoned the Kimpanzu de N6bregas in their fight for Mbamba, helping to defeat them. But for all that, Kibenga might still be able to win the princes over, at least as a backup, for their hostility to the de N6bregas did not automatically translate into support for King Pedro. Soyo's policies toward Kongo were totally overturned, however, when Prince Ant6nio was overthrown by a party upset by his policy toward Kibenga and the Kimpanzu, as well as by his trying to maintain his own inner circle in power at the expense of his more distant relatives. The revolt broke out shortly after Saint Peter Apostle's Day, 28 June 1708, in Kiova, Soyo's easternmost province. Malcontents rose up and sacked the mbanza, then moved westward against the capital, taking Kionza along the way. On 11 July the prince assembled the people of the capital area and extracted and oath of allegiance, then moved his army against the rebels. When the battle was joined, in an open field between Ngwela and Kitombo, however, Prince Ant6nio's supporters deserted him, leaving him to defend himself with only a few slaves of his personal bodyguard. Wounded by an arrow and a musket ball, Prince Ant6nio clutched the large wooden cross that was set up in the public square, saying fervently, "It is here that I want to die!" His wish was granted by a nobleman, who told him that "you never wanted to listen to my advice, now take the punishment." Although Father Bernardo heard that the rebels were also Antonians, his assessment may well have been based on their proKimpanzu bent in politics rather than any overt ideas they had. They did, however, invade the princely city and sacked many of the churches, finally arriving at the Capuchin hospice. There, the leaders demanded "Tubena ntu'anganga muculuntu" (show us the head of the Father Superior!). While one group of rebels was sacking churches, the other took over the offices of state and elected Amador da Silva as the new prince. He was the son of Prince Paulo da Silva, who had defended Soyo from the Portuguese invasion of 1670 and had won a hero's victory at the battle of Kitombo, although it had cost him his life. Amador was neither Antonian nor anticlerical. He saved the priests from the angry mob but was dead within a day and a half, apparently the victim of poison. The electors then chose Paulo Generoso da Silva e Castro as prince. Although Prince Paulo was able to consolidate his position as ruler, Soyo was effectively unable to participate in Kongo's affairs, either in the south in the struggle over Mbamba, or at the capital. On the whole, the events turned out well for King Pedro, who saw his hand strengthened considerably. At about the same time, Queen Ana Afonso de Leao died, rumored to be at an age of one hundred years, but probably not much over eighty. Her nephew Alvaro succeeded her on the throne, and promised to be more willing to back King Pedro unconditionally if need be. The stage was now set for King Pedro to move at last to defeat Kibenga and reoccupy the capital. Pedro had spent many years trying to avoid a war, but at last had to accept it. At least, from his point of view, he would be waging it from a position of strength.