Breaking Open Heads: Iboga and the Bwiti Tradition of Equatorial Africa
Jordan Kreager
Despite being located near the epicenter of what is believed to be the largest known genocide in the world, with King Leopold II of Belgium in the early 1900s, the Bwiti movement of the Fang people equatorial Africa has successfully eluded the clutches of colonial imperialism and survived to this day. However, Christian missionaries have continuously risen all over the region, pressuring them into converting, but without complete success. Averting acculturation may not have been possible without the incorporation of Christian ideals into their religion, but their extant interpretation of the Bible appears like that of no other Christian denomination. Though it is not to be confused as a Christian denomination at all, it is a separate faith altogether that adopted some of the Bible's stories. It symbolizes their resilient nature and ability to adapt to the forces of religious indoctrination by merging Christian principles into their own set of beliefs in order to preserve their original practices and rituals. Despite its slight Christian influence, the foundation of the Bwiti religious cult is fortified by the medicinal and spiritual use of a hallucinogenic shrub indigenous to the area known as Tabernanthe iboga. Regarded as one of the strongest hallucinogens known today, iboga is used by Bwiti like a cure-all for illnesses, infertility, psychological problems as well as various aspects of spirituality. The research of James Fernandez in his ethnography, Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa, provides a solid foundation for understanding this unique religious movement. Since ingesting iboga is accompanied with the risk of death, Fernandez did not actually take the substance personally, but through participant observation he witnessed the ceremonies and rituals dedicated to iboga . In order to become a member of the Bwiti church, or a banzie, one must ingest the bark or root of the shrub which is usually ground up, and participate in the initiation ceremony. Through the observations of Fernandez pertaining to the religious beliefs, rituals, and the experiences of its members will demonstrate that a more thorough understanding of this religion depends greatly on taking the sacrament of iboga. The Bwiti refer to this as a process called “breaking open the head.”(Fernandez, 387)
Although the incorporation of Christian ideals is present in Bwiti, it certainly does not represent the core of the religion. It seems as if the occurrence of Christian values parallels to the teachings of iboga. “Bwiti aims to move its members toward personal and public peace and away from the preoccupation with vengeance.” (Fernandez, 307) It was founded on two main principles of right action nyuge bot bevok (love for others) and evwalevwalen (mutual aid) which are established by a series of articles or even commandments. Fernandez writes of having provoked by inquiry a list of commandments, but it seems apparent that provocation may not be the most effective way to extract data. In order to show that the incorporation of Christian ideals into Bwiti and the existence of its reflection of an adaptation to European acculturation for the sake of preservation, some articles are provided; “Every Banzie must respect authority and cooperate with Government; It is forbidden to speak badly of another religion; Every Banzie accepts the justice of the punishment meted out to the guilty by the Government; Banzies do not employ hemp.” While others reflect very similarly to the Bible's Ten Commandments, it is obvious that this exhibits a common conflict in ethnographic fieldwork in which the validity of information obtained must sometimes be questioned. And this is especially the case in a location where slavery, racism, and even genocide has prevailed and when the anthropologist can be easily associated with the oppressors at least by being white. The following dichotomies are employed by Fernandez to ascertain the “minor shifts” from despair to grace and corporeality to spirituality. These shifts cannot be completed until the “minor shifts” are completed. They are as follows, bad body to clean body, turbulence to orderly tranquility, sexual indulgence to sexual purity, disorder to orderliness, sloth to industry, obscurity to clarity, complexity to simplicity, and cupidity to satisfaction.
Furthermore, Bwiti reflects a religion that can be more accurately categorized as a form of animism as wind, air, and breath are all associated as spirits. Additionally, the folklore of Bwiti features a crocodile which assisted the ancestors in the crossing of a river which provided them with safety, a spider and her web, and a giant serpent. Iboga is regarded as the main sacrament in Bwiti and in addition to the aforementioned shifts of consciousness that stem from its use, the user enters a liminal phase of death, and then to be reborn after the effects subside. In this symbolic death, communication with dead ancestors is common, communication with other spirits which provide visions and reveals itself in several forms, often through the representation of animals or humanoids. Contrarily, it produces a “liminal atmosphere where the dead are suddenly again living.” (Fernandez, 466) There is a sect, noted as the Ancestor Cult by Fernandez, whose sole purpose is to connect its members with the deceased and trace one's genealogy. However, communicating with the dead is a common occurrence in all contexts of its use, so one does not have to be a member of the Ancestor Cult to experience this phenomena. The ultimate goal for Bwiti can be best summed up as spiritual transformation or enlightenment. “A gaining of new knowledge, heads are broken open and people come to 'see' the 'science' of hidden things, promises those who don't know can become 'knowledgeable ones'” (Fernandez, 325) The application of stories from the Bible demonstrate a definite correspondence to Christianity in Bwiti, but the same can be said of Eastern religions and philosophies as well.
Subsequently, to become a banzie (member of Bwiti) depends on the ingestion of the sacrament. This rite of passage is comprised of a series of rituals performed by various members of the church and the initiates. They commence at dusk and conclude shortly after dawn, which is symbolic of the darkness that is often associated with death and being in the womb. The church is made up of mostly males, but in the church, gender is ignored insofar as bisexuality is employed. While men generally reside at the higher positions, this is not always the case and is more likely a product of men outnumbering women by an average of four to one in the church. The Beti Ngombi (harp player) is one of the most important positions in the church, and his music symbolizes the connection between the living and the dead. He also ingests the iboga during the ceremony and plays throughout the night and the ceremony begins and finishes with the playing of the harp. Next, the Bomo Obaka (beater of bamboo staves) accompanies the harp player to give the music more depth. The Kombo (Guardians of the Chapel) are responsible for supervising all ritual activity. The Nganga (leader of songs and dance) help facilitate the ritual through leading the singing and dancing which also lasts on and off throughout the night and into daylight. Lastly, the Nyima Na Kombo (Leader of the Chapel) oversees all activity and his master of spirit possession. Together the members and initiates as ascribed, “Dancing successively down the path of birth and death demands orderliness within the chapel. It demands the exclusion of agents of disorderliness within the chapel.” (Fernandez, 490) Not only does this liminal phase represent a voyage into the underworld, but also symbolizes being reborn and thus exiting the 'womb.' Although there is no clear distinction from death and being in the womb, they both symbolically represent the same liminal phase and can be used interchangeably up until one is fully reborn. To be reborn, one must die as they pass over to the spirit world, or the womb of existence, only to re-enter their body anew. The attire worn is mostly white clothing or robe with a red belt. The white represents seminal fluid, or moonbeams which in turn represent the menstrual cycle. The red belt represents the umbilical cord and actual menstruation.(Fernandez, 426) After the onset of the iboga the initiates are taken to be cleansed in a nearby stream or river, but they require assistance due to the ataxic nature of the drug. Additionally, nausea is commonly experienced as well, so they are taken from the chapel to vomit if necessary. They are not always able to be participants in the dancing after the iboga takes effect, but are encouraged to do so. The dancers seek to ward off any lingering spirits that might threaten the wellbeing of any members or try to possess the initiates' bodies. There are usually some kinds of sacrifices performed at the beginning of the ritual with goats or chickens, but livestock is not always sacrificed. Sometimes an egg is given as an offering to the gods, probably to represent the state of being reborn and notions of fertility. Initiates must fast throughout the day of the ceremony and are served peeled and boiled manioc in the morning after. The boiling of the maniocs for the removal of prussic acid, which is toxic to ingest, symbolizes the purification process that initiates had just undergone. “Sometimes roasted peanuts are passed around for they, too, like the Banzie, have had their heads broken open and have come free of their skins, their external appearances, having been purified by fire.” (Fernandez, 533) After the morning meal, the initiation ceremony concludes with one more dance and those who ingested the iboga are most often fatigued and require rest, although some experience the effects for up to a few days and are unable to sleep. They are generally encouraged to then reflect on their experience in that time if their visions have ceased.
While the effects of iboga consumption vary immensely in the experiences of each person, there are a number of astounding similarities that direct some focus to the use of the phrase “religious imagination” in Fernandez' title. Since he did not ingest iboga himself, it at least seems worth contemplating. It is unclear if his intention is to imply that the experiences are a result of imagination or hallucination as there lies a clear distinction between the two. Imagination implies that the stimuli witnessed and experienced is a product of one's mind or a creation with no outside influence, whereas a hallucination is defined as a derangement of the mind, or actually perceiving external stimuli or distortions of reality that appear to be real at the time of their occurrence, but are not. Exploring the possibility that Fernandez is unsure of his own distinction is necessary in approaching the conclusions drawn by him, but given his data, it would be hard to imagine his skepticism of the effects. Given the statistics of his data which based on first-hand accounts of various banzie men surveyed ,
22 communicated with their dead fathers
14 communicated with their dead mother
10 communicated with a dead grandparent
4 communicated with a dead sibling
2 communicated with a dead maternal uncle
2 communicated with a deceased child
36 communicated with great gods
9 reported no communication with the dead or gods
(Fernandez, 483)
Though Fernandez fails to make a distinction between the imagination as being something that one does not actually perceive, but creates on their own and then with a hallucination being something that is perceived, but not actually there, it is clear that he also understands the significance of the effects producing a state of being that feels real to the participants. The inspiration behind questioning the use of the word imagination versus hallucination derives from my personal experience with the substance. Although, the form of which I consumed is known as ibogaine HCI, it is an extracted form of the same species of shrub native only to central Africa. Given the inherent health risks with iboga in all of its forms and especially given the time frame of this research, it is not surprising that Fernandez did not take the substance. Since he is studying the people and not the drug though, respectively. In any case, my experience with the substance quickly quelled any skepticism I had regarding the metaphysical world. While there was never a moment where I felt as if I had died, I certainly felt like I had a running dialogue with my recently deceased grandmother for a few minutes. It felt uniquely real and more detailed than any dream I have ever had. All of my anxiety towards death has since ceased to exist, as I have, too, been reborn in ways unimaginable. While I understand that I ingested a hallucinogenic substance, I did not expect to have intimate conversations with deceased people or talking to a levitating baboon, but it happened, and it still feels real. Since I thus witnessed it, the imagery has not faded from my memory. What I had perceived as the spirit, referenced by many as a great god, had encouraged me to ask it questions. The answers were provided with visual imagery that I could never imagine even if I were a successful artist. I was shown things in my childhood of my infancy, featuring my family members appearances of age whose visual representations all corresponded with the age of that specific time being represented. I witnessed myself literally grow up before my eyes. When I asked about my distant ancestors I watched a Native American Chief get torn in half after being tied up to two separate horses that ran opposite of each other. I saw mountains forming, oceans swallowing islands wholly, and watched the Earth's geography evolve into what it is today. I know my imagination could not produce any of this on its own, but as for its actual existence or having transpired in the way that I witnessed it, back in time, it is difficult to not be skeptical, but it is even more difficult to dismiss it as just a hallucination or a figment of my imagination.
The potential for ibogaine or iboga far surpasses the legal restraints put on it for research. It has effectively treated eating disorders, drug addiction, post traumatic stress, anxiety and many other therapeutic uses. It rejuvenated my whole existence in life. It cured my depression and I no longer suffer from anxiety almost 5 years after the experience. Overall, it changed my life and still continues to do so today. I feel blessed in so many ways and I cannot compare it to any other experience in my life. The concept of medicine in Westernized civilization is completely lost to me, it was before the experience, but now there is no question about it. Researching indigenous cultures in their natural environment is important on so many levels. Iboga has the ability to replace several prescription medicines that have hundreds of side effects that often end up being more fatal than the cause for them to be prescribed in the first place. And since colonialism systematically removes these people from their land, the potential of this research needs to be realized. How many other medicines are lost due to a capitalist view of medicine by way of imperialism on indigenous cultures throughout the world.
References
Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa