Culture of Gabon
Encyclopedia
Music
Gabonese music is little-known in comparison with regional giants like the Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
and Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
. The country boasts an array of folk styles, as well as pop stars like Patience Dabany
Patience Dabany
Patience Marie Josephine Kama Dabany , also known by the names Marie Joséphine Kama and Josephine Bongo, is a Gabonese singer and musician. For nearly 30 years she was married to Omar Bongo Ondimba, who was President of Gabon from 1967 to 2009. After their divorce, she successfully pursued a career...
and Annie Flore Batchiellilys, a Gabonese singer and renowned live performer.
Dabany's albums, though recorded in Los Angeles, have a distinctively Gabonese element and are popular throughout Francophone Africa. Other major musicians include Pierre-Claver Akendengue (considered a master-poet), "the veteran" Mack Joss, Vickos Ekondo, known as "the king of Tandima".
Annie Flore has participated in musical events, both improvised and planned, with a wide variety of musicians from around the world, including: Youssou N'dour (Senegal), Ray Léma (DRC), Lokua Kanza (DRC), La Baronne (France), Carlo Rizzo (Italy), Cynthia Scott (USA), Mario Chenart (Canada), Solange Campagne (Canada), Philip Peris (Australia) and Qiu-Xia-He (China).
Also known are guitarists like Georges Oyendze, La Rose Mbadou and Sylvain Avara, and the singer Oliver N'Goma
Oliver N'Goma
Oliver N'Goma was a Gabonese Afro-zouk and reggae singer and guitarist. Nicknamed "Noli," he was born in Mayumba in south-west Gabon in 1959...
. Imported rock and hip hop from the US and UK are popular in Gabon, as are rumba
Cuban Rumba
In Cuban music, Rumba is a generic term covering a variety of musical rhythms and associated dances. The rumba has its influences in the music brought to Cuba by Africans brought to Cuba as slaves as well as Spanish colonizers...
, makossa
Makossa
Makossa is a type of music that is most popular in urban areas in Cameroon. It is similar to soukous, except that it includes strong bass rhythm and a prominent horn section. Makossa, which means " dance" in Duala, originated from a type of Duala dance called kossa, with significant influences...
and soukous
Soukous
Soukous is a dance music genre that originated in the two neighbouring countries of Belgian Congo and French Congo during the 1930s and early 1940s, and which has gained popularity throughout Africa...
. Gabonese folk instruments include the obala, the ngombi, balafon
Balafon
The balafon is a resonated frame, wooden keyed percussion idiophone of West Africa; part of the idiophone family of tuned percussion instruments that includes the xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, and the vibraphone...
and traditional drums.
Literature and oral tradition
A country with a primarily oral traditionOral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
up until the spread of literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
in the 21st century, Gabon is rich in folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
. "Raconteurs" are currently working to keep traditions alive such as the mvett among the Fangs and the ingwala among the Nzebis.
Masks
Gabon also features internationally celebrated masks, such as the n'goltang (Fang) and the relicary figures of the KotaBakota
The Bakota are a Bantu ethnic group from the northeastern region of Gabon. The language they speak is called iKota, but is sometimes referred to as Bakota, ikuta, Kota, and among the Fang, they are known as Mekora. The language has several dialects, which include: Ndambomo, Mahongwe,...
. Each group has its own set of masks used for various reasons. They are mostly used in traditional ceremonies such as marriage, birth and funerals. Traditionalists mainly work with rare local woods and other precious materials.
See also
- List of Gabonese films
- Ethnic groups in GabonEthnic groups in GabonDespite Gabon's small population , this West African country is home to many different Bantu tribes and a small pygmy population.Here is a partial list of the ethnic groups in Gabon, by province.-Mitsogho People:...
- Languages of GabonLanguages of GabonThe official language of Gabon is French, while 32% of the people speak Fang as a mother tongue. French is the medium of instruction. Before World War II very few Gabonese learned French, nearly all of them working in either business or government administration...
- Religion in GabonReligion in GabonMajor religions practiced in Gabon include Christianity , Islam, and traditional indigenous religious beliefs. Many persons practice elements of both Christianity and traditional indigenous religious beliefs...