Rose Bernadette Rebienot Owansango
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Rose Bernadette Rebienot Owansango was a traditional medicine practitioner from Gabon. She was also a master and a priestess of several traditional initiatic rites. Among the elders of the Mpongwe community[1], her high grade allowed her to exert various responsibilities of spiritual and temporal power.[2]
| Rose Bernadette Rebienot Owansango | |
|---|---|
| File:Bernadette 2007.jpgBernadette 2007.jpg | |
| Born | 1st January 1934 Libreville |
| 💀Died | 21st January 2021 Libreville21st January 2021 |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Gabonese |
| 💼 Occupation | Traditional medicine practitioner |
| 🏢 Organization | Village Oyenano |
| Known for | Member of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers |
| Title | President of the Union of Traditional Medicine Practitioners from Gabon (U.T.S.G) |
She was the president and founder of the association Village Oyenano, located in Libreville and which worked for the development of traditional medicine and the preservation of cultural heritage.
She had been the president of the Union of Traditional Medicine Practitioners from Gabon (U.T.S.G) since 1994.[3][4][5]
She was a member of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers established in 2004.
Starting in 1994 she was the president of the Health Department of Traditional Medicine.[6]
Spiritual and Traditional Path
Although having received a Catholic education, Rose Bernadette was confronted with traditional African medicine at a very young age. Born blind, modern medicine did not diagnose any anomaly and could do nothing for her. Her family took her to see a traditional healer, and she regained her sight.[6] As a teenager, she suffered from incurable pain in her feet. Then, when she was a very young mother, unexplained headaches and tinnitus made her unable to work and forced her to stay in the darkness of her room. Finding no effective solution to relieve these various ailments, she despaired and turned to traditional medicine. Through encounters, she was directed to the traditions of her family line and, through various initiations, managed to heal.[7]
She was initiated into the traditional Ndjembè rite in July 1948 at the age of 14.[8] In July 1958, she ascended to the supreme grade of Ngwèvilo (priestess).[9]
Subsequently, she was introduced to the Bwiti Dissumba rite with iboga[6] and then to Abanji[9], which opened the doors to her career as a traditional healer on a national and international scale.[10]
Her growing reputation helped her work for a better knowledge of the use of iboga[5] and for an enhancement of the place of women in society.[11]
The Village Oyenano
Having become a priestess and initiatory master in the various aforementioned rites, the one called Grandmother Bernadette, created the Village Oyenano association, a cultural space located in Libreville, intended for the practice of her traditional medicine activities, where she received patients from all over the world until the end of her life. In the Myene language, the word Oyenano means: “reunion”. The name of the village therefore symbolizes the unifying character that predominated in Grandmother Bernadette's therapeutic approach. She saw her role as that of a bridge between two shores, linking the visible and invisible worlds, the different cultures, and above all human beings with themselves.
Within the associative framework of the Village Oyenano, she participated in more than one way in many events of traditional medicine and all the cultural values related to it. The village regularly hosted various community life events such as initiations into the Gabonese female rite, the Ndjembè, taking place every summer.
The Village Oyenano also hosted the last gathering of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers in July 2015[9] as well as the World Days for Cultural Diversity in May 2017[12], each time under the aegis of UNESCO.
The International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers
In 2001, an American woman named Dayna Wicks went to Grandmother Bernadette for treatment, accompanied by her companion and her mother-in-law Jyoti Ma. During Dayna's initiation into bwiti dissumba[13], Jyoti confided to Bernadette that she had recurring visions of several people gathered in prayer around a fire.[14] They were grandmothers who insisted on bringing together certain women elders holders of traditional wisdom and transmitting to the world and to new generations a message of peace and ecology.
Grandmother Bernadette encouraged her to listen to this sign and to put everything in place to achieve this meeting.
Following this trip, Dayna and Jyoti went in search of those who were to form the future circle. They brought together thirteen women from various continents, guardians of sacred knowledge related to ecology, health and spirituality.
The International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers was born. It was held for the first time in October 2004 in New York State in the presence of the Dalai Lama.[15][circular reference] Grandmother Bernadette was the only African representative.
The gatherings that followed were organized successively in the countries of origin of each of the thirteen members.[16][circular reference]
The last meeting was held at Village Oyenano, at Grandmother Bernadette's, and resulted in the production of a film entitled Le Dernier Conseil by Jean-Claude Cheyssial.[17]
.
Heritage
After the death of Grandmother Bernadette in January 2021, the Village Oyenano association that she created continued to work for the preservation of her spiritual heritage and her healing methods. The banja (temple) that she set up there was still alive and open to everyone.[18] This sacred place retained its usual activity, patients were welcomed and cared for there according to the same skilfully proven protocol.
Beyond her therapeutic and initiatory knowledge, the heritage transmitted by Grandmother Bernadette remained above all, a message of peace and love. Through numerous conferences and publications, she made every effort to disseminate it to as many people as possible, constantly taking care to bring people together.
She always advocated cultural balance as a prerequisite for social balance. Her fight for the preservation of traditional values remained very present throughout Gabon and even beyond.
In 2020, she informed the United Nations in Gabon of her wish to organize a march for peace and cultural diversity, according to the tradition of the original communities of Libreville. This march called Évandanganié had not taken place for many years.
Her last public message was on the topic of transmission and was posted on social media just days before her death.[19]
Mother of 10 biological children,[6] she left behind countless grandchildren, great-grandchildren and spiritual children scattered all over the world, as a gift of her knowledge transmitted to future generations.
Filmography
- Secrets de femmes de Jean-Claude Cheyssial (1999)[20]
- L'esprit de l'Ayahuasca de Jean-Claude Cheyssial (2002)[21]
- La Guérisseuse de la forêt de Jean-Claude Cheyssial (2005)[22]
- For the next 7th Generations de Bruce Hart et Carol Hart (2009)[23]
- Le Dernier Conseil de Jean-Claude Cheyssial (2016)[24]
Bibliography
As a member of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers:
- Grandmothers Wisdom by Grandmothers Wisdom Project, 2020.[25]
References
- ↑ "NOUVEL AN: CEUX QUI NOUS ONT QUITTES". L'Union (in français). 2 January 2022. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ↑ "Ossouka Raponda à la Primature: La communauté Mpongwe remercie Ali Bongo". Gabon Review (in français). 27 July 2020.
- ↑ "GRANDMOTHER BERNADETTE REBIENOT". menla.org.
- ↑ Rebienot, Bernadette (1994). "L'UNION DES TRADIPRATICIENS DE LA SANTE DU GABON (U.T.S.G.)" (in français). Archived from the original on 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Une guérisseuse gabonaise chez les chamans de l'Amazonie". Le Monde (in français). 29 November 2012.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Schaefer, Carol (2006). "Bernadette Rebienot". Grandmothers counsel the world : women elders offer their vision for our planet. Internet Archive. Boston : Trumpeter. pp. 21–25. ISBN 978-1-59030-293-4. Search this book on
- ↑ "Grandmother Bernadette Rebienot / Omyene, Gabun, Afrika". Earth Oasis.
- ↑ Bellebeuno, Holly (2014). Women healers of the world : the traditions, history, and geography of herbal medicine. Internet Archive. New York : Skyhorse Pub. pp. 196–204. ISBN 978-1-62914-589-1. Search this book on
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Conclave à Libreville du Conseil Internationale des 13 grands-mères autochtones". Gabon Review (in français). 22 July 2015.
- ↑ ""Une guérisseuse gabonaise chez les chamans de l'Amazonie"". L'Union (in français). 16 June 2002. p. 4.
- ↑ "La mère, au cœur de la transmission des savoirs" (PDF). L'Union (in français). 21 May 2017.
- ↑ "Un week-end riche de diversité culturelle" (PDF). L'Union (in français). 21 May 2017. p. 6.
- ↑ Wicks, Dayna (15 November 2021). "The passing of a Spiritual Mountain..." daynawicks.com.
- ↑ "Origins of the 13 Grandmothers Council - by Jyoti". YouTube. 4 October 2012.
- ↑ "International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers". Wikipedia.
- ↑ "Major Accomplishments: A Prayer Unfolding". grandmotherscouncil.org.
- ↑ "CINÉMA : LE "DERNIER CONSEIL" POUR L'ÉTERNITÉ". L'Union (in français). Archived from the original on 2022-04-17. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
- ↑ "THE WAY OF THE MOTHER: Embracing the Infinite". Grandmothers Wisdom.
- ↑ Rebienot, Bernadette. "La Transmission". Facebook.
- ↑ "Secrets de femmes". www.film-documentaire.fr (in français). 1999.
- ↑ "L'esprit de l'Ayahuasca". www.film-documentaire.fr (in français).
- ↑ "La guérisseuse de la forêt". www.film-documentaire.fr (in français). 2005.
- ↑ "Global grandmothers". Press-Republican. 2010.
- ↑ "Le Dernier Conseil". www.film-documentaire.fr (in français). 2016.
- ↑ "About the Grandmothers Wisdom Book". Grandmothers Wisdom.
External Links
- Hommage of United Nations, Gabon.
- Echoes of the Grandmothers: Roots of humanity : Official program of the last 13 Grandmothers gathering.
- Press release from the Union of Traditional Medicine Practioners from Gabon (UTSG). Archived 2023-11-23 at the Wayback Machine
- Schaefer, Carol (2006). "Bernadette Rebienot". Grandmothers counsel the world : women elders offer their vision for our planet. Internet Archive. Boston : Trumpeter. pp. 21–25. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/978-1-59030-293-4}|978-1-59030-293-4}]] Check
|isbn=value: invalid character (help). Search this book on
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