Nyongo society

The Nyongo Society is an extremely secretive and mysterious cult believed by many to exist in Cameroon and in Nigeria, where it is known as Famla. While there is no concrete evidence that it actually exists, it was written about in the 1950s by British social anthropologist, Edwin Ardener, while describing what he called the Nyongo Terror in the present-day Southwest Province in Cameroon. According to many believers, the Nyongo society is made up of people seeking to attain instant wealth or success in whatever endeavor they may be engaging in. However, membership does require aspirants to offer a human sacrifice, preferably a spouse or blood relative such as a child. Once accepted into the society, failure to offer a sacrifice would lead to the member being sacrificed instead. If a sacrifice is accepted by the Society, the victim usually dies soon after of seemingly natural or accidental causes. There is some dispute as to what exactly happens to the “deceased” after death, but believers say their souls or spirits are transported to an otherworldly dimension to become vekongi, or ghosts that continue an existence of eternal servitude and bondage, where they generate wealth for the society. Reportedly, spectral images of these “deceased” usually make appearances in the real world soon after in order to alert relatives and friends of their plight. Many people have been lynched in Cameroon on suspicion of being members of the Nyongo Society.

Some theorize that the Zombie phenomena of Haitian Vodou have its origins to this West African Nyongo Society

References:

"Sorcellerie et Accumulation, Variations Regionales" in Peter Geschiere & Piet Konings, Itinéraires d’Accumulation au Cameroun (Paris: Editions Karthala, 1993), 99-129

http://www.bakweri.com/2004/05/the_bakweri_nyo.html