Iboga is a hallucinogenic shrub that grows in Africa and is used in the
United States as a medical therapy in order to get rid of addiction. In African
religions it has a different use. In Going Tribal, Bruce Parry decided to go live with the Babongo
people in Gabon Africa in order to be initiated into the Bwiti religion. Part
of initiation was for him to ingest Iboga as part of the ritual for becoming a
man. When taken in small doses, Iboga is supposed to stimulate the central
nervous system, but vivid hallucinogenic visions when taken in large doses. This drug was first used by the Pygmies in
Africa and then were spread to the Fang people, and also other ethnic groups in
Gabon, where it begun to be incorporated into religious ceremonies.
This use of Iboga is used as a part of the Bwiti religion in order to initiate a man into the tribe. The idea of initiation is prevalent in many primal religions in order to show one's capacity for the religion. The drug induces a hallucinogenic experience in which the consumer must confront painful memories from their past and awake fro the trance as a new man. This trip is considered a vision or spiritual quest in which the consumer must complete this task in order to achieve the goal of finding themselves or a spiritual awakening.
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