In Gabon, the Mpongwe people celebrated Mpago on Sunday, an animist tradition which aims in particular to preserve the coastline, a victim of rising waters.
The ritual brings together hundreds of Indigenous people in a village on the Pointe Denis peninsula. For several days, they perform ancestral rites.
"In Gabon, we are not the only ones to practice this ritual. But in the Estuary region, we are the only ones. It is the Assiga clan. The Mpago is about making offerings to the spirits of the sea. It is about establishing a link between the spirits of the sea, our ancestors, the Agombes, and the divinity ," explains Gérard-Aimé Adande, grandson of Prince Félix Adande Rapontchombo, of the Assiga clan.
So for stability in the country, in our waters, we practice this ceremony every five years," he adds.
Throughout the weekend, all water sports, including boating, fishing, and swimming, are strongly discouraged. An official notice has even been issued to warn residents of the capital.
During these traditional rituals, people of royal lineage go to the cemetery at night to place flowers on the graves of their ancestors before continuing with the water-related steps.
On the eve of Mpago Sunday, Mpongwe women gather for an initiation rite. They sing and dance throughout the night to ensure the balance of their environment.
"Among us, the Mpongwe, it is the Ndjembé who captures the land. It is the women who capture the land. And through the Ndjembé initiation rite, Mpongwe women, or Myene women in general, capture the land. Since we are among the Mpongwe, it is normal that the Mpago departs with the Mpongwe women, the women of the Ndjembé in particular," explains Paulette Akoni, a member of the Assiga clan.
The ancestral ritual takes place in the region every five years.
