Despite

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

's small population (just over a million), this Central African country is home to many different Bantu tribes and a small

pygmy In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...

population. Here is a partial list of the ethnic groups in Gabon, by province.

Estuaire

* Fang *

Omiene Group Myene is a cluster of closely related Bantu varieties spoken in Gabon by about 46,000 people. It is perhaps the most divergent of the Narrow Bantu languages,Benga * Akele *Simba *Beseki *Seke

Haut Ogooué

* Téké *Mbahouin *

Obamba The Obamba are an ethnic group located largely in Gabon's Haut-Ogooué Province Haut-Ogooué is the southeasternmost of Gabon's nine provinces. It is named after the Ogooué River. It covers an area of . The provincial capital is Franceville ...

* Bakaningui * Nzebi * Ndoumou *Ndassa * Ndumu *Awandji * Mbeté * Bakota

Moyen Ogooué

*Apindji * Galoa *Fang * Akele * Vili * Enenga

Ngounié

* Akélé * Banzebie * Mitsogho *

Massango Massango is a town and municipality in Malanje Province in Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , r ...

* Bavarama * Bapunu * Apindji * Bavungu * Guisir *

Eviya Viya (Gheviya, Eviya, Avias) is a minor Bantu language of Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bo ...

Mitsogho People

The Mitsoghos are the people of the Massifs de Chaillu mountains in the Ngounié province of Gabon. Tsogho is their language, hence the name Mi-Tsoghos (where the prefix "Mi" means plural). They are a relatively small ethnic group who are revered and feared for their abilities in conjuring spirits from the afterworld. They may represent the first non-Baka Gabonese of the entire area. This knowledge can be extrapolated from the widespread usage of Mitsogho words and customs, especially pertaining to the animistic religious practices of all Gabonese ethnic groups. For example, Bwiti, the dominant religious doctrine of the country is a Mitshogo name and the

Bwiti Bwiti is a spiritual discipline of the forest-dwelling Punu people and Mitsogo peoples of Gabon (where it is recognized as one of three official religions) and by the Fang people of Gabon and Cameroon. Modern Bwiti incorporates animism, ancest ...

is based on the magic powers of "the sacred wood" or ibogha (small shrub - Tabernanthe iboga) which is also a Mitsogho word meaning healing-ibo and wood-gha. Nearly all healing ceremonies in Gabonese traditional culture involve the singing of Mitsogho songs. In fact, Mitsogho words are so well known throughout the entire country that at one point the government was considering making Mitsogho the national ethnic language. The majority of modern Mitsoghos live in Libreville and Mouila; however, their roots can be traced back north–south into the tropical mountain forests just west of where the Ngounié river meets the Ogoué river to where the Ogoulou river meets the Ngounié river. The most prominent old village sites were located near the 70 mile-long Ikobé valley. This small but fierce group of people were the last ethnic group to be defeated by the French colonists (around 1940). In long-lived Mitsogho lore, a warrior by the name of Mbombet A Gnaghé hid out in the Ikobé valley to stage guerrilla attacks against the French military. Mbombet supposedly had magical powers, but was finally betrayed by a woman. The modern day offspring who can be traced directly back to Mbombet still hold special positions within the traditional Mitsogho tribal authority. They are usually celebrated magicians and healers.

Nyanga

* Bapunu * vili *

lumbu Lumbu is a Bantu language spoken in Gabon and the Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the ...

Ogooué-Ivindo

* Fang * Bakota * Mahongue * Boungome * Kwele * Baschiwe * Basimba people * Akele

Ogooué-Lolo

*Banzebi * Puvi * Akele *

Massango Massango is a town and municipality in Malanje Province in Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , r ...

* Aduma

Ogooué-Maritime

Omiene group Myene is a cluster of closely related Bantu varieties spoken in Gabon by about 46,000 people. It is perhaps the most divergent of the Narrow Bantu languages,lumbu Lumbu is a Bantu language spoken in Gabon and the Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the ...

Woleu Ntem

* Fang * Haoussa * Baka {{DEFAULTSORT:Ethnic Groups In Gabon