• Introduction

• The Bwiti initiation ceremony is a thousands year old secret rite of passage that takes place in the rainforests of Africa. Its origins are unknown but it is generally acknowledged that the ancient Pygmy folk, the original inhabitants of the Congo basin, passed the knowledge and method on to the Bantu tribes who slowly moved into the basin over the last couple of centuries. The traditional Bantu tribespeople adapted and changed the ritual to blend in with their own practices, but all acknowledge that the central premises remain the same. There are as many variations of the Bwiti ceremony as there are tribes, and more. Christianity has had a major influence in some regions, and church iconography is commonplace. Others are more animist and fetishist, in keeping with traditional African belief systems. But all have one central pervading theme - Iboga and the unseen world that it introduces you to. This page details in picture-story form the Bwiti initation ceremony. Photos were taken from various sources. The ceremony takes place in a number of stages
  

• The cleansing and preparation phases

• In the forest when the Banzi or initiate starts to consume the Iboga

• Moving from the forest toward the temple

• In the temple, early phases while the initate is led with the music to meet the Bwiti ancestors

• In the temple for the duration of the initation, while the Banzi is guided through all the phases. This period can last up to three days

(The ceremony begins - late afternoon in the rainforest as the banzi is led to the river for ritual washing and then the ceremony begins)

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