Kadi Yombo (Reissue)

 
Papé Nziengui, the tree that unveils the forest

The tree that veils the forest...

Never has this expression been so appropriate as when it applies to the relationship that Papé Nziengui has with the world of Gabonese harpists, to the central place that he occupies to the point of seeming ineradicable, unmovable and perpetual.

However, if history is any clue, this situation seems to be a characteristic feature of Gabonese harp music insofar as previously, in the years leading up to Independence, one harpist figure was the focus of all attention: Maturin Rampano.

But, if we superimpose Nziengui’s and Rampano’s two stories, one fact stands out: they claim not to be “insiders.” In other words, they would not have subscribed to the rites of passage which are conditions for access to the various initiatory brotherhoods (Bwiti, Mouiri, Mabandgi, etc.) whose harp aestheticizes the mysteries and musicalizes the rituals. Nziengui echoes this sentiment: “Uninitiated, my harp penetrates the initiates.” Could this be the nec-plus-ultra, the particular touch that separates the Exceptional from the Ordinary? How can we admit that the beti, the ngombi (harp) player, the one who receives messages from the beyond and "converts these statements by means of the harp," is not himself an eminent member of the Brotherhood? In any case, shedding light on this mystery, removing this paradox, should be the preferred way to understand the worldwide success of Papé Nziengui.

In a conservative society where the sacred is confused with secrecy, exposing the mysteries of Bwiti in broad daylight is often apostasy and can be punished by exclusion or even execution.

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