By: GIORGIO SAMORINI
This section on the cults of the hallucinogenic iboga plant of equatorial Africa first presents a general overview of divinatory practices, including those using mirrors or other reflective surfaces (catoptromancy). Follows the presentation of the African nganga, understood as a witch-doctor. The principal divinatory rites using iboga are then presented, including the gbana of the Gbaya people of the Central African Republic and Cameroon, and the misoko of the Mitsogho people of southern Gabon. The origins of misoko—which may be recent, as no documents prior to 1960 are at this time known—and its alleged affiliation with the religious cult of Bwiti—as claimed by its adherents but considered anomalous by several scholars and opposed by many Bwitists—are extensively analysed.
