Bwiti: dances with the spirits…

« Of the plants, the men, …….. and of the gods ». In the heart of Gabonese Equatorial forest lasts an ancient rite dating back to palaeolithic Age and called Bwiti, a rite inherited from pygmies. This initiatic rite is a way for youngsters to become adults. During initiations, novices ingest the iboga plant. A plant which gives visions, allowing them to « travel to the Ancestors Land ». It is a rebirth initiation.As an initiate, you’re killed symbolically, and you’re made born again during a three days and night ceremony. Photographer Laurent Sazy has worked on this reportage during the last five years and was initiated to Bwiti rites to be able to photograph particular ceremonies. Bwiti is a West Central African religion practiced by the forest-dwelling Babongo and Mitsogo people of Gabon and the Fang people of Gabon and Cameroon. Modern Bwiti is syncretistic, incorporating animism, ancestor worship and Christianity into its belief system. Missionnaries from XIXth century refer to the Iboga plant as a mean to discover « hidden things and foresee the future. Gabonese people commonly eat Iboga’s root. They find it heady, aphrodisiac and when they use it, they don’t feel sleepy.

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