About Gabon

Apart from the wedding, I made also some shopping. I bought: 1) A Ngombi harp Mungongo musical bow, umbilical cord to the world and ngombi harp , access route to the Mystery. The mungongo musical bow and ngombi harp are the two main musical instruments of bwiti ceremonies in Gabon. The musical bow, male element, symbolizes the voice of the ancestor and the father. The harp , female element, symbolizes the woman's body and the mother-ancestor's face. The ngombi harp bears five to eight strings that are the fruit of her fecundity. The first ancestor, Disumba («the mother») is represented by the sculpted head. During ceremonies, the harp 's voice teaches the initiates the true meaning of hermetic accounts. The instrument becomes performer and mediator. In the primeval myth, the «upper» and «lower» villages are connected by a cord: mungongo and ngombi symbolize this primeval link between the spiritual and human worlds, as well as the pass...

An African-style wedding is like a play that takes place in several acts. The wedding I attended was between a woman, whose traditions are between the Fang and Bamileke customs, and a man of Bapounou custom. 1st act: The announcement to families The future newlyweds have announced to their respective families their intention to unite 6 months in advance. It is rather short as delay. Most often families have an average of 1 year to prepare. 2nd act: The preparation of the ceremony   Scene 1: The choice of the custom for the ceremony The wedding took place according to the customs of the woman (a mix of customs Fang and Bamileke). This is always the case when the man and the woman are of different customs. It is the man who comes to marry, so he does it according to the customs of the woman.   Scene 2: The choice of the loincloth The loincloth or wax is a piece of cloth often of very bright colors which is very widespread in the countries of sub-Saharan A...