In addition to telling a compelling story of one young woman’s experience in a tumultuous period history, Thornton’s study of Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita extends an invitation to think about the relationship between religion, state power, and the actions of individuals.
Why was Dona Beatriz able to attract so many followers?
How was Thornton able to tell her story?
Can you think of parallel examples of charismatic religious figures who emerged in times of crisis?
Dona Beatriz was able to gain a rather large following throughout her life. She was able to attract people due to the fact that she believed in Catholic beliefs but also added the twist of Kongo societies beliefs. By doing it was less of a transition for many people to follow her because it wasn’t as radical a change to switch beliefs when some of the beliefs that were being presented were already shared among her followers prior to learning about her. One question that I have about her being able to obtain so many followers is to what affect did her sexuality affect whom followed her? If she were a man instead of a women would she have had a greater influence on people, or did being a woman at the time actually help her cause?