How does a plant psychedelic help Gabonese people keep in touch with their ancestors and what made white people interested in it?
Neema Paul Tombi is the head of the Gabonese Association of Traditional Medicine, a priest of the African psychedelic cult of Bwiti, the son of the king of the Membe people and an electrician by main profession. The BBgate editorial team traveled to the African shaman's homeland to speak with him.
— Let's tell our readers what bwiti is. Many people know that it is a cult based on the use of a sacred plant, iboga. In some countries, the alkaloid of this plant (ibogaine) is banned. But scientists have long been actively interested in its properties, and some drug addicts, for example, in the United States, support its use to relieve severe forms of drug addiction. Tell us about iboga from inside the system where it performs many different functions.
— Bwiti is an ancient tradition. Yes, the iboga is of great importance to us. We believe it is a sacred plant, a living thing that can cure a huge number of diseases, including those that are now officially considered incurable. But I am skeptical of the isolation of ibogaine from iboga, of the fact that some people use this substance without the rest of the plant, out of context. This comes from a misunderstanding that iboga is important in its entirety.
Neema Paul Tombi is the head of the Gabonese Association of Traditional Medicine, a priest of the African psychedelic cult of Bwiti, the son of the king of the Membe people and an electrician by main profession. The BBgate editorial team traveled to the African shaman's homeland to speak with him.
— Let's tell our readers what bwiti is. Many people know that it is a cult based on the use of a sacred plant, iboga. In some countries, the alkaloid of this plant (ibogaine) is banned. But scientists have long been actively interested in its properties, and some drug addicts, for example, in the United States, support its use to relieve severe forms of drug addiction. Tell us about iboga from inside the system where it performs many different functions.
— Bwiti is an ancient tradition. Yes, the iboga is of great importance to us. We believe it is a sacred plant, a living thing that can cure a huge number of diseases, including those that are now officially considered incurable. But I am skeptical of the isolation of ibogaine from iboga, of the fact that some people use this substance without the rest of the plant, out of context. This comes from a misunderstanding that iboga is important in its entirety.
In Gabon, this plant is used a little bit at a time for healing and in significant quantities for initiation into bwiti. During initiation a person crosses a certain boundary within himself, crosses the boundary of worlds. Iboga has such a property — to make a person face his questions, to rethink them. He is visited by visions, spirits come to him, but here everything is completely individual, and different people see different things.
After a person passes the initiation, he becomes a baanzi, a follower of bwiti. This is how he enters this tradition, and other initiations may await him ahead, because iboga makes a person understand his purpose in life and opens up his inherent abilities.
— Iboga is known to be a cardiotoxic plant and it is dangerous to consume it in large quantities. How do bwiti ministers regulate the amount of iboga they give to a person?
— We do not consider iboga to be a poisonous plant. But we look at a person's weight and health before we agree on a rite. People with a weak heart should not undergo it. Also, we give the person dose by dose and look at their reaction.
— An important part of traditional Gabonese culture is the veneration of the spirits of the dead. Very often at initiations people see their deceased ancestors. What does death mean to the Bwiti?
— We live with death together, every day. We are always communicating with our ancestors.
After a person passes the initiation, he becomes a baanzi, a follower of bwiti. This is how he enters this tradition, and other initiations may await him ahead, because iboga makes a person understand his purpose in life and opens up his inherent abilities.
— Iboga is known to be a cardiotoxic plant and it is dangerous to consume it in large quantities. How do bwiti ministers regulate the amount of iboga they give to a person?
— We do not consider iboga to be a poisonous plant. But we look at a person's weight and health before we agree on a rite. People with a weak heart should not undergo it. Also, we give the person dose by dose and look at their reaction.
— An important part of traditional Gabonese culture is the veneration of the spirits of the dead. Very often at initiations people see their deceased ancestors. What does death mean to the Bwiti?
— We live with death together, every day. We are always communicating with our ancestors.
«There is the metaphor of the crossroads, which represents something intermediate between continuity and rupture and is both the road that continues and the road that must be crossed. An image that is even more suggestive of continuity is the umbilical cord that connects life and death. The umbilical cord is always present in the bwiti and is represented by a red and white yam weave. It is worn around the waist and held in the left hand during the prayer when the lineage is enumerated. After all, a lineage is, figuratively speaking, a long series of umbilical cords that tie a person to each other, to ancestors and to the great gods in the land of the dead.
When a baanzi dies, his genealogy is spoken to warn all those ancestors who will meet him in their world. This ritual «clears the way» for the lineage. The recitation called opening the doors of death (kutu mbf awu) is a motif that recurs in the song cycle... Finally, there is another image, the mirror used at initiation... and in it the ancestor, actually a reflection of the initiate, appears during the final stages of the session with the iboga. This image implies not only continuity, but also the unity of the living with the dead».
— J. Fernandez, «Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa»
When a baanzi dies, his genealogy is spoken to warn all those ancestors who will meet him in their world. This ritual «clears the way» for the lineage. The recitation called opening the doors of death (kutu mbf awu) is a motif that recurs in the song cycle... Finally, there is another image, the mirror used at initiation... and in it the ancestor, actually a reflection of the initiate, appears during the final stages of the session with the iboga. This image implies not only continuity, but also the unity of the living with the dead».
— J. Fernandez, «Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa»
— For a while, during the colonial era, the bwiti cult was banned. But the first president of independent Gabon, Leon Mba, who took over the republic in 1961, was a follower of bwiti. Did his personality have any influence on the development of your tradition?
— No, I wouldn't say it affected anything. Of course, a lot of people are cheered up because Leon Mba is a bwiti, and for some people it may be a matter of pride. But our tradition itself has not been affected.
— The fact is that it was never interrupted, knowledge was transmitted all the time, albeit secretly. We had many enemies, including some missionaries, such as Monsignor Volker [André Raponda Volker is a Catholic priest, ethnographer and cultural activist, of Mpongwe descent], whose foundation continues to work in Gabon. We were accused of various bad things, but it was impossible to ban and suppress us, because our activities were for the good, and bwiti is an important part of the culture of the people. However, among the missionaries there were not only opponents of bwiti, but also people who were quite favorably disposed, and some even became adherents of bwiti themselves. For example, Monsignor Albert Schweitzer.
— Are you talking about the same Dr. Schweitzer, the great humanist and Nobel Prize winner?
— Yes, he is a very respected, even, one might say, revered man in Gabon. The people have a grateful memory of him. Schweitzer was a musician, a doctor and a Christian missionary. He came to Africa to treat people, to save them during huge epidemics, and he succeeded a lot. The bwiti tradition helped Schweitzer to gain the trust of the Gabonese people, to gain status, and the knowledge he applied by combining it with the knowledge he had gained in Europe.
— It is known that Schweitzer used low doses of ibogaine to relieve fatigue in patients. In addition, ibogaine, which was then legally produced by French pharmacologists, was given the trade name «Lambarene» — after the name of the area where Dr. Schweitzer's famous clinic was located. But what I didn't realize was that Schweitzer was not just familiar with bwiti as an observer...
— Schweitzer had no other choice but to take the path of bwiti, because he needed, firstly, to find a common language with the people of Gabon, and secondly, he tirelessly studied the healing plants of our country and used them in his practice. There is nothing special about it, because bwiti is open to people of different views. That is also why I believe that bwiti is not a religion but a tradition. Actually, there are different opinions, but this is what I believe.
— Yes, he is a very respected, even, one might say, revered man in Gabon. The people have a grateful memory of him. Schweitzer was a musician, a doctor and a Christian missionary. He came to Africa to treat people, to save them during huge epidemics, and he succeeded a lot. The bwiti tradition helped Schweitzer to gain the trust of the Gabonese people, to gain status, and the knowledge he applied by combining it with the knowledge he had gained in Europe.
— It is known that Schweitzer used low doses of ibogaine to relieve fatigue in patients. In addition, ibogaine, which was then legally produced by French pharmacologists, was given the trade name «Lambarene» — after the name of the area where Dr. Schweitzer's famous clinic was located. But what I didn't realize was that Schweitzer was not just familiar with bwiti as an observer...
— Schweitzer had no other choice but to take the path of bwiti, because he needed, firstly, to find a common language with the people of Gabon, and secondly, he tirelessly studied the healing plants of our country and used them in his practice. There is nothing special about it, because bwiti is open to people of different views. That is also why I believe that bwiti is not a religion but a tradition. Actually, there are different opinions, but this is what I believe.
The fact is that among the adherents of bwiti are representatives of a wide variety of religions.
We are approached by Catholics, and we are in contact with voodoo adherents in Benin, Togo, and Nigeria. Most Bwiti followers are also baptized themselves. Bwiti has been around for centuries, it is an ancient and respected tradition of the Bantu peoples. Religions on the land of Gabon came later. In addition, we Bwiti people now study different religions and cultures and can take something from them. For example, we have studied Buddhism and now we have our own Buddha.
— And your own Virgin Mary?
— No, there isn't, but there is something very similar, reminiscent of the Holy Virgin.
— According to ethnologists, the Bantu peoples adopted the practice of using iboga from the Pygmies. This is reflected in some legends, such as the legend that the first iboga bush came from the remains of a murdered Pygmy man, whose wife, by eating parts of the plant, was able to talk to his spirit and to the spirits of her ancestors. What can you say about this?
— Yes, our tradition comes from the Pygmies. They were the first bearers of the wisdom of the forest. When the Bantu came to this land, they met the forest dwellers, the Pygmies, and they passed on their knowledge.
— What is your relationship with the Pygmies like now?
— The process of knowledge transfer has not stopped. There are people living in the forest, whom we do not bother and do not touch, we leave alone with the forest, with their life. And the pygmies now, of course, participate in bwiti rituals.
We continue to learn a lot from the Pygmies. We don't mix our way of life with the Pygmies', we don't intrude into their lives, but we communicate with them.
There is a Pygmy forest settlement that takes three days to walk to from Libreville [the capital of Gabon]. There is no transportation, and it is quite difficult to get there. We sometimes invite pygmies from this village to our ceremonies. They have specific knowledge. I myself spent seven months in the forest among the pygmies, it was, so to speak, a sacrifice, my contribution. Now, thanks to the knowledge I gained there, I can heal people.
— Are there any other ritual specialists in bwiti other than healers?
— Of course. There are different paths and a hierarchy. First you become a baanzi, then a combo and only then a nima like me. A nima is someone who takes the spirit of the forest and uses it to heal people. At certain stages you realize what is closer to you and you can become not a healer, but, for example, a clairvoyant and fortune teller. In bwiti there are many different knowledge and directions. I belong to the bwiti gonde, that is the bwiti of the moon, and we have a special relationship with the moon. There is also the term nganga. It is more commonly used in villages. Just like you go to the doctor, we go to the nganga to solve our health problems. I am also a nganga.
— The process of knowledge transfer has not stopped. There are people living in the forest, whom we do not bother and do not touch, we leave alone with the forest, with their life. And the pygmies now, of course, participate in bwiti rituals.
We continue to learn a lot from the Pygmies. We don't mix our way of life with the Pygmies', we don't intrude into their lives, but we communicate with them.
There is a Pygmy forest settlement that takes three days to walk to from Libreville [the capital of Gabon]. There is no transportation, and it is quite difficult to get there. We sometimes invite pygmies from this village to our ceremonies. They have specific knowledge. I myself spent seven months in the forest among the pygmies, it was, so to speak, a sacrifice, my contribution. Now, thanks to the knowledge I gained there, I can heal people.
— Are there any other ritual specialists in bwiti other than healers?
— Of course. There are different paths and a hierarchy. First you become a baanzi, then a combo and only then a nima like me. A nima is someone who takes the spirit of the forest and uses it to heal people. At certain stages you realize what is closer to you and you can become not a healer, but, for example, a clairvoyant and fortune teller. In bwiti there are many different knowledge and directions. I belong to the bwiti gonde, that is the bwiti of the moon, and we have a special relationship with the moon. There is also the term nganga. It is more commonly used in villages. Just like you go to the doctor, we go to the nganga to solve our health problems. I am also a nganga.
— Was Dr. Schweitzer a baanzi or a nimah?
— He started with baanzi and then progressed higher and higher.
— How did you become a nimah?
— First I was taught by my father. And then other intelligent people passed on their knowledge of this tradition to me. My father Jean Tsanga was a great shaman and king of the Membe ethnic group. He passed away not too long ago. Now the king is gone and we are waiting for a new one, looking for a responsible person to take over. It is a very difficult procedure and a very serious role for the Membe.
— How many people have you cured and how many people have you initiated into the bwiti cult?
— I cannot tell you the number of people who have been cured, although I have a notebook where I keep a record of all the visitors and they all sign it. As for those initiated into bwiti, it is about a hundred people.
— You listed the specializations of bwiti adepts, naming clairvoyance and healing. Is there any specialization related to battle magic? Do bwiti priests attack each other, do they keep defense?
— There are some procedures for attacking and repelling attack. But we don't have such a specialized area. In general, the main thing that we all protect is bwiti. And bwiti protects us in turn, gives us strength. Yes, there are conflicts between some bwiti directions. It can be competition, but more often it is a matter of different ideological approaches, i.e. a difference in views on how to serve bwiti. But in general, bwiti helps us to be one peaceful nation, even though there are 70 ethnic groups in Gabon.
— He started with baanzi and then progressed higher and higher.
— How did you become a nimah?
— First I was taught by my father. And then other intelligent people passed on their knowledge of this tradition to me. My father Jean Tsanga was a great shaman and king of the Membe ethnic group. He passed away not too long ago. Now the king is gone and we are waiting for a new one, looking for a responsible person to take over. It is a very difficult procedure and a very serious role for the Membe.
— How many people have you cured and how many people have you initiated into the bwiti cult?
— I cannot tell you the number of people who have been cured, although I have a notebook where I keep a record of all the visitors and they all sign it. As for those initiated into bwiti, it is about a hundred people.
— You listed the specializations of bwiti adepts, naming clairvoyance and healing. Is there any specialization related to battle magic? Do bwiti priests attack each other, do they keep defense?
— There are some procedures for attacking and repelling attack. But we don't have such a specialized area. In general, the main thing that we all protect is bwiti. And bwiti protects us in turn, gives us strength. Yes, there are conflicts between some bwiti directions. It can be competition, but more often it is a matter of different ideological approaches, i.e. a difference in views on how to serve bwiti. But in general, bwiti helps us to be one peaceful nation, even though there are 70 ethnic groups in Gabon.
— Do traditional healers collaborate with conventional medicine? Do Gabonese healers work together with doctors in white coats?
— Yes, there is such cooperation.We exchange knowledge. Meetings are organized between doctors and healers under the auspices of the WHO. And after my visit to Germany, I am going to go to a place in Gabon, to the Masoukou Medical Research Center in Franceville, where I will learn how to treat diabetes and blood pressure problems.
— Are there any clinics in Gabon where it is the doctors and not the nganga who use ibogaine therapy?
— No, there are no such clinics. We are at the very beginning of the collaboration between shamans and doctors. We have now started to enumerate all our healers, but our community organizations have a lot of work ahead of them.
— Yes, there is such cooperation.We exchange knowledge. Meetings are organized between doctors and healers under the auspices of the WHO. And after my visit to Germany, I am going to go to a place in Gabon, to the Masoukou Medical Research Center in Franceville, where I will learn how to treat diabetes and blood pressure problems.
— Are there any clinics in Gabon where it is the doctors and not the nganga who use ibogaine therapy?
— No, there are no such clinics. We are at the very beginning of the collaboration between shamans and doctors. We have now started to enumerate all our healers, but our community organizations have a lot of work ahead of them.
— In recent times, bwiti has attracted many spiritual seekers from all over the world who travel to Gabon and Cameroon — some for insights, others simply for special sensations and exoticism. Have you had any interesting experiences with people from other cultures in your practice?
— In general, initiation always changes a person. He comes to us with some beliefs and leaves with others. It is difficult to single out some peculiarities, because each person has his own unique destiny... But there was one interesting story with a man named Christophe Matelet. He was a Frenchman who served in a white man's military base. He trained in his military structure, went to his home country, wandered around Europe and suddenly realized he had to go back to Gabon. He lived with me, didn't go through initiation, just watched us, sometimes ate iboga. He was studying us. Eventually he decided to take his initiation in bwiti, after which he stayed in Libreville. A year later, Christophe renounced his French citizenship, took Gabonese citizenship and now lives in our country, married a Gabonese woman, studying iboga and bwiti dances.
— What did you like about Germany, from which you recently arrived?
— Hospitality. When I flew here, I thought it would be very difficult, that there would be a bunch of people around who I didn't understand, who would speak a foreign language. And the fact is that Germany is not very open to Africans. They don't know much about us here. But in the end, my visit went well, and I am grateful to everyone.
— Thank you for the conversation.
Interested readers are also encouraged to check out our other Ibogaine publications on BBgate. Iboga is extremely interesting from a scientific point of view and is promising in medicine.
— In general, initiation always changes a person. He comes to us with some beliefs and leaves with others. It is difficult to single out some peculiarities, because each person has his own unique destiny... But there was one interesting story with a man named Christophe Matelet. He was a Frenchman who served in a white man's military base. He trained in his military structure, went to his home country, wandered around Europe and suddenly realized he had to go back to Gabon. He lived with me, didn't go through initiation, just watched us, sometimes ate iboga. He was studying us. Eventually he decided to take his initiation in bwiti, after which he stayed in Libreville. A year later, Christophe renounced his French citizenship, took Gabonese citizenship and now lives in our country, married a Gabonese woman, studying iboga and bwiti dances.
— What did you like about Germany, from which you recently arrived?
— Hospitality. When I flew here, I thought it would be very difficult, that there would be a bunch of people around who I didn't understand, who would speak a foreign language. And the fact is that Germany is not very open to Africans. They don't know much about us here. But in the end, my visit went well, and I am grateful to everyone.
— Thank you for the conversation.
Interested readers are also encouraged to check out our other Ibogaine publications on BBgate. Iboga is extremely interesting from a scientific point of view and is promising in medicine.
