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Bwiti is a spiritual discipline of the forest-dwelling Punu people and Mitsogo peoples of Gabon (where it is recognized as one of three official religions) and by the Fang people of Gabon. Modern Bwiti incorporates animism, ancestor worship, and in some cases, Christianity, into a syncretistic belief system.
Bwiti practitioners use the Psychedelic drug, dissociative root bark of the Tabernanthe iboga plant, specially cultivated for the religion, to promote radical spiritual growth, to stabilize community and family structure, to meet religious requirements, and to resolve pathological problems. The root bark has been consumed for hundreds of years in a Bwiti rite of passage ceremony, as well as in and acts of healing. The experience yields complex visions and insights anticipated to be valuable to the initiate and the chapel.
During some ceremonies, a traditional torch made of bark and tree sap, the mupeto, is burned. Music and dance are central to the Bwiti tradition. Participants sing and play drums and shakers. Some traditions use the Ngombi harp, while other use the traditional Mongongo. The N'ganga and other participants usually dress in red, black, and white cloth. They may wear skirts of raffia material and small shells or beads. Animal skins, such as Genet fur, are often worn. The iboga root may be made into a tea or more often taken in the form of scrapings. Ceremonies usually begin at night and may last for days since the effects of doses of the drug of the size employed in such ceremonies are particularly long lasting.
The initiation ritual is important for the Gabonese: it is during this ritual that they are initiated into the Bwiti religion and consume iboga for the first time in their lives. After successfully completing the initiation ritual, they can consume iboga throughout their life, whether during festivities, treatment, or for their personal spiritual development. The initiation ritual in Gabon usually takes three to seven days (depending on the area). The common characteristics of the initiation ritual in various areas are monotonous music with a repetitive melody, purification, vomiting, fasting, censing and receiving a drug from the iboga root. The initiation ritual is sometimes called simply after the shrub the crushed root of which is consumed – iboga.
In Gabon, Bwiti is practiced separately as an independent religion, but often together with Catholic Church in a syncretized form.
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