Papa Nzamba Moughenda Mikala

Missoko Bwiti healer, Founder of Bwiti House, Head Spiritual Advisor of Yaou Yaou Wellness

Papa Nzamba Moughenda Mikala

10th Generation Missoko Bwiti Shaman, Nima, and Founder of Bwiti House

” Papa Nzamba Moughenda Mikala

10th Generation Shaman and Nima of the Missoko Bwiti
Without the ongoing training, support, and guidance of Moughenda, we would not be able to do what we do. He is our Nima (Chief Elder and Lead Shaman), Mentor, and Guide in all that we do.

Moughenda is a 10th generation Missoko Bwiti Shaman. He started ingesting Iboga while in utero during his mother’s pregnancy, and started apprenticing as a shaman under his maternal grandfather while he was still a child. After decades of intensive training, apprenticeship, and going through many initiations, Moughenda earned the role of lead shaman in his community.

Moughenda is the Nima (Chief Elder and Lead Shaman) and Spiritual Director of his Bwiti village in Gabon. Not only does he lead healing, and medicine work, including work with iboga, he also conducts wedding rites, funeral rites, and conflict resolution/mediation in the community, among other responsibilities.

Moughenda is the first Bwiti shaman to travel to the West (after receiving guidance from the medicine to do so), study Western culture and way of life, and learn the English language. Moughenda spent a total of 14 years travelling, teaching, and facilitating medicine work in United States, Central America, and Canada.

It was during this time that Moughenda designed a system of working with iboga for people outside of the African continent. This system integrates Bwiti shamanic healing tools and methods, incorporated into a format that addresses the unique needs of Western psychology. It is the format used by most iboga providers outside of Africa.

Moughenda is also the first Bwiti shaman to open up to teaching people outside of Africa how to safely and effectively provide iboga-based mental health and detox treatments. As knowledge of iboga spreads around the world, it is Moughenda’s goal that the Bwiti teachings spread alongside it. Moughenda is now grounded in his community in Gabon, traveling occasionally for his work internationally. His village opens their door to host international guests and students each summer for Detox and Psycho-spiritual retreats, Rites of Passage, Initiations, and Iboga Provider training.