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123 1993, but also African historian Hubert Deschamps 1962), two theories can be put forward concerning the origins of these peoples of the Lower Ogooué and particularly of the Galwa. One is based on the refl ections of historians and the other on the study of the oral traditions. PERMEABLE MASKING TRADITIONS This two-pronged approach reveals that the Galwa and the other peoples of the Lower Ogooué today have a far more complex history than anyone in the twentieth century believed they did, especially since it is a history punctuated with hitherto unknown infl uences, most importantly, involving the peoples of the Upper Ogooué and the Ivindo River regions. It is possible that elements of the material culture from the Lambaréné area, such as masks or other sculptures, may have derived not only from sculptural and ritual traditions attributed to communities identifi ed as Galwa or Orungu (their cousins among the Myene), but from others such as those of the Kele (Akele), the Okande, the Pindji, the Duma, the Obamba, or the Sangha groups (Kwele), etc. In situ research has shown that masking traditions have been more open to infl uences from other communities than those associated with the ancestors, since the latter were rooted in clan- or lineage-associated conservatism. This was important because the ancestors had to be “recognized” as such by their descendants. In contrast, masks are wooden images associated with animist beliefs in the spirits of the forest, which while not identical in all of the region’s communities, tend to at least be similar. The transmission of the masks’ symbolic forms and colors is related to ensuring their magical effi ciency, for example, as a means for healing or divination. There was no perceived problem with “borrowing” a mask or a ritual from neighbors, even from ones who spoke a different language, and it was used if it was believed that it could function more effi ciently than a mask or ritual already in use.


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