Ebando's altar in the Gabonese equatorial forest, a sacred mask at the top of a mossy stairway pierced by shafts of light

Nature Culture Future — transmission of the Bwiti tradition and Iboga in Gabon

In Gabon, we honour Iboga and the Bwiti ceremonies, safeguard a living heritage and transmit wisdom — for healing, unity and a flourishing future.

The Iboga initiation Discover our mission

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They have told the story of Ebando
and the forest peoples.

Recommended by

Institutions and researchers
who have collaborated with Ebando.

I · An association

A woman receives a blessing during a ceremony, red raffia cloth — transmission within the community

A young man shaping a traditional musical instrument — living sound heritage passed on

A dancer wearing a raffia mask in the forest — the living culture of the Bwiti

In Gabon, in Central Africa, an association of men and women who believe that the teachings of the first peoples and the Bantu cultures can contribute to a more nuanced world culture, one more in harmony.

Some are teachers, entrepreneurs, scientists. Others are craftspeople, traditional healers, village planters, fishermen, musicians, gatherers.

A whole society.An NGO rich in resources for any researcher or visitor to the Gabonese Republic.

On video · Ebando

A short introduction to Ebando.

At the heart of Ebando

The Voices of the Survivors

A space with no statutes where those who have endured sexual violence can speak with one another. Speech is set free, and shame changes sides.

Discover

An aerial view of the Gabonese canopy stretching as far as the eye can see, morning mist drifting between the trees — Gabon — one of the most preserved forest heritages in the world

Discover

Four ways in.

Initiates with faces painted white and red gathered for a ceremony — thirty years of transmission

History

Our history

Thirty years of transmission, from Tatayo to today's team.

A practitioner seated before a red-and-black ritual shelter, deep in the forest — tradition passed on day to day

Approach

Our approach

A house of transmission, honouring the Fang and Akèlè Simba traditions.

The Ebando community gathered around the fire during a night ceremony

Team

The team

Those who carry the transmission day after day, in Libreville.

Portrait of an initiate during the night ceremony — the rite of the sacred wood

Tradition

Iboga & Bwiti

The sacred wood and its ancient rite.

Discover the initiation into Bwiti and Iboga

II · The journey

An initiation is not limited to the days spent on site.

It begins with the decision to come, and continues in the months that follow.

An initiate in quiet focus, body painted with kaolin, playing the musical bow before the ceremony

Phase 01

Prepare

First contact, a phone conversation, a medical questionnaire, examinations (ECG, liver, blood pressure), and sobriety advised during the two preceding weeks. Everything is consented to, nothing is rushed.

How to prepare

An initiate lights the ritual fire at the heart of the night ceremony, the community gathered around

Phase 02

Experience

From 12 to 16 days at Ebando depending on the month. Settling in, rest, a blessing in the forest, plant baths, the main ceremony, recovery, and the closing ceremony. The pace varies with each person's process.

The day-by-day programme

Serene portrait of an initiate with painted face, after the ceremony

Phase 03

Integrate

Four to six months of sobriety advised after returning home. The Ebando team remains available. Integration is not a constraint: it is a support.

After the initiation

An initiation is not something that can be rushed. It takes time, and it takes patience.

— Bwiti tradition — Ebando 2026

Our team

Tatayo

Co-founder · Guide

Bwiti Fang Dissumba (1979) · Misoko Ngondé (1994)

What they bring

Hugues Obiang Poitevin, known as Tatayo. Arrived in Gabon in 1971. Initiated into Bwiti Fang Dissumba in 1979, then into Bwiti Misoko Ngondé na Dipouma in 1994. Co-founder of Ebando (1999). Main point of contact for visitors.

Tap a card or use the buttons to meet the team

La Sablière beach in Libreville, where Ebando sits by the ocean

The place

Fifteen minutes from Libreville airport.

Ebando sits along the beach, in a picturesque corner of Gabon's capital. The private rooms and the comfortable tents on the upper terrace are lulled by the sound of the waves.

The rhythm of the place follows that of the forest and the ocean. Silence is respected, light is respected.

Prepare your visit

An initiation under way in the evening, at the heart of the community

Day to day

Our ongoing activities.

The association lives through concrete action, at every hour of the day and night: initiations, healing, ecotourism, ecological work, presentations of traditional instruments, a survey of the country's craftspeople.

Everything that makes up this daily life is rooted in one and the same commitment — to preserve, to transmit, to accompany.

Discover our projects

Alongside Ebando

Work that is never done alone

Ebando moves forward with associations that protect Gabon's forest, Iboga and communities.

Words from initiates

They have crossed through.

Deep gratitude to Hugues Obiang Poitevin. Tatayoyo, for the living love, the prayers and the healing blessings, and to all the Bwiti brothers and sisters of Ebando who carry on the work that lights the path for so many people. Great blessings! Basse.

Gabriel (Mabunza) · January 2018

Hi Chandler, my advice: go to Tatayo. It's the only place to go in Gabon as a Westerner, and his Bwiti is an all-embracing love. Let me know if you need any information.

David / Okukue Na Aniepa · February 2016

The Ebando team is True and full of Love. Without the slightest hesitation, I would absolutely recommend them to welcome you to Gabon and introduce you to the ancient medicine of the forest. The experience will change you forever in a way I cannot describe and that you cannot anticipate.

Allison (Movianga) · January 2018

I have worked around ibogaine for the past 5 years, and for the last two I have been Director of the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance (GITA). I went to be initiated at Ebando last year with two friends, and I can say that this ceremony was an enormous blessing. It touched my life in one of the most profound ways I have ever known.

Ngadi (GITA) · March 2015

Read all the testimonials

V · To go further

If something calls you, write to us.

An initiation is prepared. A prior conversation is essential. We answer you personally.

Request a conversation See the next sessions →

Nature Culture Future — transmission of the Bwiti tradition and Iboga in Gabon

They have told the story of Ebando
and the forest peoples.

Institutions and researchers
who have collaborated with Ebando.

In Gabon, in Central Africa, an association of men and women who believe that the teachings of the first peoples and the Bantu cultures can contribute to a more nuanced world culture, one more in harmony.

The Voices of the Survivors