Bwiti is a religion of Central-West Africa practiced by the Babongo and Mitsogo peoples of Gabon (where it is one of three official religions) and by the Fang of Gabon and Cameroon peoples. The modern Bwiti is syncretic, incorporates animism, worship of ancestors and Christianity. The Bwites use the hallucinogenic root of the Tabernanthe iboga plant - specially cultivated for religious use - to induce spiritual enlightenment, to stabilize the structure of the community and family, to perform religious tasks and to solve spiritual or medical problems. The root has been used for thousands of years as part of an adulthood ceremony: it produces complex visions and offers great revelations both to the beginner and to the community. The root - or an extract of it - is taken in sufficiently high amounts to cause, as side effects, vomiting and ataxia. Links externalize the wikitesto
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