Traditional music and dance
In Gabon, there are just as many musical traditions as there are ethnic groups. And, as a reminder, there are around fifty of them in the country - descended from the Bantu people - the main ones being the Fang, the Myènè, the Obamba and the Punu. These musics include rituals, dances and instruments, and often form the basis of the identity of the ethnic groups from which they originate.
One of the most representative is undoubtedly Bwiti . An initiation rite and dance, Bwiti is a spiritual discipline practiced mainly by the Fang, Punu and Mitsogo peoples, involving the use of iboga, a hallucinogenic plant whose consumption gives rise to complex visions. Essentially for men, this rite of passage to adulthood is widespread throughout the country's nine provinces and varies from one ethnic group to another. During these ceremonies, the inner journey is often accompanied by typical instruments such as the ngombi harp, a triangular plucked string instrument, the gesandza or the mungongo, a mouth bow.
Less famous than bwiti - which has gained some notoriety in our country thanks to the many Europeans who travel to Gabon to try their hand at this rite - areikoku, a rotating dance from the basin of the Punu ethnic group, from which the mukudji dance on stilts is derived;ekounda, a Myènè dance with large jumps, performed at weddings and wakes; ndjobi, a male initiation rite of the Obamba and Téké ethnic groups; the mwiri, an initiation rite of passage to adulthood; the ndjembé, an initiation rite and dance for women from the Mpongwè, Myènè and Benga ethnic groups; theingwala, a fairly well-known dance from the Nzebi ethnic group, celebrating weddings or circumcisions and inviting both sexes; or theelone, a dance favored by young people in northern Gabon and particularly important among the Fang.
In addition to traditional music, another essential element of Gabonese culture is, as is the case throughout Africa, oral tradition. As the driving force behind the transmission of knowledge, it conveys, from generation to generation, the secrets of nature, the social rules of the community and the wisdom of the ancestors. Finally, it would be impossible to speak of oral tradition without mentioning Gabon's mvett, the art through which the founding myths of the Fang people are expressed. The mvett is a very spiritual art, a word that refers to the storyteller, the epic and the instrument. The latter is a harp-zither, mastery of which requires a long initiation by a mvett master.
And speaking of instruments, Gabonese traditional music boasts a rich collection. Among the most emblematic are the sokè ritual rattle used in the ndjembé orélombo (initiation rite), the nkul, a slotted wooden drum used by the Fang, the djaga, a rattle from Haut-Ogooué whose calabash is filled with seeds or, as in many places on the African continent, the sanza. Widely used, this thumb piano accompanies traditional tales as well as modern music. And let's not forget the drums or tam-tam, which vary according to the ethnic group of origin, but remain indispensable and omnipresent in traditional Gabonese music.
Far from being confined to rituals and ceremonies, Gabonese traditional music has had many megaphones that have brought it to the ears of many listeners. Vyckos Ekondo is undoubtedly the great herald in this field. The creator of Tandima, a fusion of multiple traditional aesthetics from different provinces, he has shed a unique light on Gabon's musical wealth. Alongside Pape Nziengui, the great artist of the Gabonese zither, and Mouyanga, a lingwala group, he is the guardian of the national musical tradition.
For a taste of the latter in person, two excellent events are the Fête des Cultures, organized by the Ministry of Culture and offering its share of traditional songs, dances and clothing in the streets of Libreville, and Gabon 9 Provinces, during the first half of August. Each year, the latter offers each province the opportunity to showcase its cultural riches.
Popular music
Over time, Gabonese traditional music has modernized, allowing in a few Western influences and seeing the emergence of a new wave of artists, some of whom have become stars. And star, in Gabon, is a term that best describes Pierre Akendengué. This national monument is the starting point of modern Gabonese popular music. A blind guitarist and singer, Pierre Akendengué began his career while in Paris, being treated for an eye disease. It was here, in the 1970s, that he studied, and soon became part of a wave of popular African music stars in the French-speaking world. Since then, thanks to his poetic, committed lyrics, immortal voice and inescapable melodies, Akendegue has become a spokesman for the people of Gabon. Like Patience Dabany, Akendegue has become a benchmark of Gabonese song. Former First Lady of Gabon (she was Omar Bongo's wife), nicknamed " la Mama ", her musical career has been particularly prolific, with a series of albums combining Gabonese sounds - such as the Batéké repertoire from the southwest of the country or Pygmy songs - with Western and African aesthetics (Congolese rumba, for example). In particular, Patience Dabany helped launch the career of Annie Flore Batchiellilys, widely regarded as one of the ambassadors of Gabonese music, who has blended her traditional forms with jazz and blues. Let's round off this musical landscape with some highly appreciated names such as Nicole Amogho, who highlights the sounds of Haut-Ogooué and, for example, mixes lingwala with rumba and afro zouk. There's also Pamela Badjogo, much loved in France for her Afro jazz, Alexis Abessolo, inspired by mvett, and Naneth Nkoghe, who tends more towards hip-hop.
Want to hear the crème de la crème of Gabonese artists live? Libreville is bursting with just the right addresses: Le Murmure, in Montée de Louis, where you can see the famous Mbala orchestra; the Pearl, in the same district, but more oriented towards blues and jazz; and the Lokua Bar, in the Glass district, where you can hear a lot of soul and African variety.
