Rose Bernadette Rebienot Owansango was a traditional medicine practitioner from Gabon known for her membership in the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers.
Rose Bernadette Rebienot Owansango | |
---|---|
Born | 1st January 1934 Libreville |
Died | 21st January 2021 Libreville |
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 |
Early life
Rebienot was born in Libreville on 1 January 1934.
Although having received a Catholic education, Rebienot was confronted with traditional African medicine at a very young age. As a teenager, she suffered from incurable pain in her feet. She found no effective solution to help her ailments, and turned to traditional medicine through which she received relief. She was initiated into the traditional Ndjembè rite in July 1948 at the age of 14. In July 1958, she ascended to the supreme grade of Ngwèvilo (priestess).
She was later introduced to the Bwiti Dissumba rite with iboga and then to Abanji, which opened the doors to her career as a traditional healer on a national and international scale. She worked for a better knowledge of the use of iboga and for an enhancement of the place of women in society.
Career
She was the president and founder of the association Village Oyenano, located in Libreville and which works for the development of traditional medicine and the preservation of cultural heritage.
She started as president of the Union of Traditional Medicine Practitioners from Gabon in 1994.
Rebienot and Maria Alice Campos Freire met Jyoti, a descendent of the Cherokee Nation, and encouraged Jyoti to gather indigenous grandmothers, which she did starting with their first meeting in 2004 at the Dhalai Lama's retreat. This gathering became known as the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers established in 2004. The last meeting was held at Village Oyenano, and resulted in the production of a film entitled Le Dernier Conseil by Jean-Claude Cheyssial.
Rebienot died on January 21, 2021. She was the mother of 10 biological children.
Filmography
- Secrets de femmes de Jean-Claude Cheyssial (1999)
- L'esprit de l'Ayahuasca de Jean-Claude Cheyssial (2002)
- La Guérisseuse de la forêt de Jean-Claude Cheyssial (2005)
- For the next 7 Generations de Bruce Hart et Carol Hart (2009)
- Le Dernier Conseil de Jean-Claude Cheyssial (2016)
References
- "Grandmother Bernadette Rebienot / Omyene, Gabun, Afrika". Earth Oasis.
- ^ 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.
- 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.
- ^ "Conclave à Libreville du Conseil Internationale des 13 grands-mères autochtones". Gabon Review (in French). 22 July 2015.
- ""Une guérisseuse gabonaise chez les chamans de l'Amazonie"". L'Union (in French). 16 June 2002. p. 4.
- Rahmani, Sabah (29 November 2012). "Une guérisseuse gabonaise chez les chamans de l'Amazonie". Le Monde (in French).
- Tsoumba, Anita J. (21 May 2017). "La mère, au cœur de la transmission des savoirs" (PDF). L'Union (in French).
- "GRANDMOTHER BERNADETTE REBIENOT". menla.org.
- Gianturco, Paola (2012). Grandmother power : a global phenomenon. Internet Archive. Brooklyn, NY : PowerHouse Books. pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-1-57687-611-4.
- Learning endogenous development : building on bio-cultural diversity. Internet Archive. Bourton on Dunsmore, Rugby, Warwickshire, UK : Practical Action Publishing. 2007. pp. 71–73. ISBN 978-1-85339-664-9.
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: CS1 maint: others (link) - "CINÉMA : LE "DERNIER CONSEIL" POUR L'ÉTERNITÉ". L'Union (in French).
- "NOUVEL AN: CEUX QUI NOUS ONT QUITTES". L'Union (in French). 2 January 2022. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022.
- "Secrets de femmes". www.film-documentaire.fr (in French). 1999.
- "L'esprit de l'Ayahuasca". www.film-documentaire.fr (in French).
- "La guérisseuse de la forêt". www.film-documentaire.fr (in French). 2005.
- "Global grandmothers". Press-Republican. 2010.
- "Le Dernier Conseil". www.film-documentaire.fr (in French). 2016.