Bontongu, One of The Last Bantu Walé

This image was inspired by the painting Manao Tupapau by Paul Gauguin. Many initiation rites are disappearing, but the Walé ritual has survived. The Pygmies have become the guarantors of this tradition that also once existed among the Bantu. Walé Bontongu is the only Bantu that I met. Amba Mboli, Botongu’s mother, a former Walé, wanted her daughter to become one. In her arms, she holds Falone, who will surely never be a Walé.