Spiritual association in Mouila, Gabon

Mr. Magwangu poses in front of the courtyard of the Mbanja chapel where we will meet with the initiate of the Boumba. The initiate is a young woman dressed in white with kaolin on her arms, legs and forehead. She wears a white packet attached to her arm, a small wooden bell on her chest, necklaces around her chest and ankles and feathers. The visitors sit inside the Mbanja. The painted pillar in front is typical of Bwiti temples. The initiate sits on a bench and a mat. Visitors pay her 1,000 CFA and her invisible twin another 1,000 CFA. She rings the small bell and listens to questions.