Tsogho : Les Icônes Du Bwiti

The art of the populations residing in south-central Gabon, between the Ngounié River and the Chaillu massif, has not received the recognition accorded to that of the Fang or the Kota. The difficulties of access to this mountainous and landlocked region, while preserving the customs and rites of the many ethnic groups who live there, have delayed the recognition of their material culture. However, Tsogho and Apindji are at the origin of Bwiti and its cult objects. This important initiation rite, which guarantees social order, has found a considerable echo throughout the country and even beyond its borders. This book devoted to the art of the Tsogho and its neighbors the Sango, Vuvi, Apindji or Eshira has endeavored to bring together the best specimens of their anthropomorphic statuary while observing its evolution over the course of history, with the ambition of giving this "center of style" the place it deserves in the history of African arts.