or is a Kongo-based liturgical language of the Palo religion with origins in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, later spreading to other countries in the Caribbean Basin. The language may be called or but is generally referred to simply as , meaning "language" in Spanish. It involves code-switching between Kongo-derived words and phrases; Bozal Spanish, the archaic Spanish creole of the Caribbean slave plantations, or at least an imitation of it; and colloquial Caribbean Spanish.

A (Palo priest) would say that he (or ) "speaks Kongo," , or . It is not secret, but it is intended to be impenetrable to the uninitiated.

Habla Congo

See also

Lucumí, a similar liturgical language based on Yoruba

References

Afro-Cuban culture

Bantu-based pidgins and creoles

Kongo language

Languages of Cuba

Languages of the African diaspora

Sacred languages

Caribbean Spanish

Spanish-based pidgins and creoles

Habla Congo