Babongo of Gabon - The Iboga Ritual - Part 3

An Interesting Video The guy in the film lives with them for a while and goes through the ritual. They give him TONS of Iboga. There was even a point where they didnt want to give it to him as they though the may die. I am satisfied that he doesnt trivialize the experience either, as we would see in other videos. It was very real.

Babongo
The Babongo of Gabon have an expertise and knowledge of the forests and are unique in their use of Iboga. Iboga is a powerful hallucinogenic which lies at the heart of Babongo culture and Bwiti religion making them famous throughout Gabon.
The Babongo have recently changed from being nomadic hunter-gatherers to settled villagers with subsistence agriculture supplemented by hunting.

Bwiti
Bwiti is a West Central African religion practiced by the forest-dwelling Babongo and Mitsogo people of Gabon (where it is one of the three official religions) and the Fang people of Gabon and Cameroon. Modern Bwiti is syncretistic, incorporating animism, ancestor worship and Christianity into its belief system. Bwiti use the hallucinogenic rootbark of the Tabernanthe iboga plant, specially cultivated for the religion, to induce a spiritual enlightenment, stabilize community and family structure, meet religious requirements and to solve problems of a spiritual and/or medical nature. The root bark has been used for hundreds of years as part of a Bwiti coming of age ceremony and other initiation rites and acts of healing, producing complex visions and insights anticipated to be valuable to the initiate and the chapel. The root bark or its extract is taken in doses high enough to cause vomiting and ataxia as common side effects.

More about Iboga
Tabernanthe iboga or Iboga is a perennial rainforest shrub and hallucinogen, native to western Central Africa. Iboga stimulates the central nervous system when taken in small doses and induces visions in larger doses. In parts of Africa where the plant grows the bark of the root is chewed for various pharmacological or ritualistic purposes. Ibogaine, the active alkaloid, is also used to treat substance abuse disorders.
Normally growing to a height of 2 m, T. iboga may eventually grow into a small tree up to 10 m tall, given the right conditions. It has small green leaves. Its flowers are white and pink, while the elongated, oval-shaped fruit are orange. Its yellow-coloured roots contains a number of indole alkaloids, most notablyibogaine, which is found in the highest concentration in the root-bark. The root material, bitter in taste, causes an anaesthetic sensation in the mouth as well as systemic numbness to the skin.

The Iboga tree is the central pillar of the Bwiti religion practiced in West-Central Africa, mainly Gabon,Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo, which utilizes the alkaloid-containing roots of the plant in a number of ceremonies. Iboga is taken in massive doses by initiates when entering the religion, and on a more regular basis is eaten in smaller doses in connection with rituals and tribal dances, which is usually performed at night time.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Bwiti
• Africa
• Gabon
• Cameroon
• Fang
• Nature
• Congo
• DRC
• Central Africa
• West Africa
• Sub Saharan
• hunter-gatherers
• Pygmy
• Babongo
• Babonga
• Black
• Ritual
• hallucinogen
• rain forest
• tribal
• ethnic group
• spiritual

[DesertSmeagle]

how can he be scared? Id LOVVE to dive into my subconscious....oh ya, hes probably an anthropologist, hes immersing himself in the culture to learn.

[wisesakura]

this is very cool. You are an amazing spirit. I must say it looks like you have never met a women who deeply transformed you. .... By the way, speaking of fears - being afraid like that is not the most intelligent perspective. It seem to me much wiser to go into the Iboga experience understanding that you are not "perfect" but are doing this to know thyself and to be a better human.

[OnkelMickwald]

@okay2122007 He's just trying to see what their lives are like. Comparing this to other similar documentaries I must say he's doing a good job.

[lucart9]

Gabon NOT Congo

[okay2122007]

@dtpbael just what the congo needs! more white guys clockin dollas!

[dtpbael]

@okay2122007 He goes and lives in the Congo for a month.. All I can think of reading your comment is Dickhead dickhead dickhead.

[okay2122007]

this word absolutely never enters my mind, but listening to this guy all i can think is douchebag douchebag douchebag is that how you spell douchebag