The powdered bark (especially the root bark) of the iboga shrub is consumed by the natives of Gabon and part of the Congo in the initiation rites of a number of secret societies.

Native to Africa, Iboga has been used ceremonially as a hallucinogen. A powerful medicinal plant, Iboga has several pharmacological effects that have led it to be employed in the use of breaking addictive cycles, including tobacco and alcohol addiction.

Under the influence of iboga, the Bwiti initiates are able to communicate directly with an assembly of dead ones—a chain of ancestors.
The initiate falls to the ground in a stupor after drinking the iboga brew.

Iboga

Meaning

Noun