This work describes the ritual stages of Misoko, a corporate group of witch-doctors (nganga) which forms the therapeutic branch of the Bwete initiation cult (Gabon). When afflicted with a witchcraft-related misfortune, individuals undertake a rite of passage, which involves eating the hallucinogenic root barks of eboga in order to get visions. This is the first stage of a long ritual path at the end of which the apprentice will himself be able to initiate other neophytes and practice as a witch-doctor and diviner. To elucidate the logic of initiatory reproduction in Bwete Misoko, the analysis focuses on the frames of interaction and enunciation in which ritual identity is elaborated (going through the ritual stages, learning an initiatory knowledge, mastering the divinatory speech, acquisition of fetish-objects).
The Mirror & the Skull. The ritual stages of the Bwete Misoko initiation cult (Gabon)