Bwiti Initiation Ceremony Spiritual Healer Musicians Dancers

There are numerous articles, books, and films by Westerners partaking in the Bwiti initiation ceremony. These typically focus on the sensational hallucinatory effects from the large iboga consumption (coined by some as “The Mt Everest of Psychedelics”) coursing through their veins. This is real and accurate, but if you are so fortunate to attend such a ceremony, the person experiencing the out of body revelations will likely be comatose on the floor. What will captivate and enthrall you is the trancelike sounds and movements of the white kaolin painted faced dancers, singers, and musicians moving past you, the fiery torch being swung around the room, perhaps the offer of a small amount of iboga. An evocative dreamlike state with traditional instruments such as the Ngombi harp and Etsika antelope horn. A bell rings in new arrivals while various percussions tap out rhythmic beats. You are not a spectator. You are part of a community supporting an initiate’s transformation and rebirth. This video of a Fang tribesman’s initiation ceremony is the real event, this part lasting twelve hours, finishing at dawn. The short clips in this video focus on the musicians, singers, dancers, and spiritual healer that are essential to the initiation ceremony. We are extremely thankful and grateful for being allowed to attend and video this ceremony. If you are so fortunate as to be invited to one, then do attend!