Ngounié is a province of south-central

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

covering an area of . Its capital is

Mouila Mouila is the capital of Ngounié Province in Gabon. It lies on the Ngounié River and the N1 road (Gabon), N1 road and has a population of about 20,000 people. Its main sight is Lac Bleu, Gabon, Lac Bleu, a lake known for its bright blue water ...

. At the 2013 census it had 100,838 inhabitants. In 2016, its governor was Benjamin Nzigou.

History

The province is named after the Ngounié River, which crosses it with its many tributaries. In December 1858 the French explorer

Paul Du Chaillu Paul Belloni Du Chaillu (July 31, 1831 (disputed)April 29, 1903) was a French-American traveler, zoologist, and anthropologist. He became famous in the 1860s as the first modern European outsider to confirm the existence of gorillas, and later t ...

navigated the Nguoiné river upstream to Fougamou. On his journey, he met several local tribes whom he described in his diaries of his second voyage. Later,

Catholic missions Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...

were built in Mandji, Sindara, and Saint Martin, whose architecture attracts many tourists.

Geography

The geography varies from large expanses of

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

and forest to the Monts de Cristal in the north to the Chaillu and Ikoundou ranges further south. Steep sloping mountains abut plains and dense forests, savannah, lakes, and rich farmland.

Population

Estimated at 101,415 inhabitants, the population of the Ngounié includes significant ethnic diversity including Eshira, , Punu, Tsogo, , Massango, Vungu and , who immigrated to Gabon in successive waves, and have lived together peacefully for many centuries. All of these ethnic groups are Bantu.

Ethnic distribution

Ethnic group and number of inhabitants * Punu- Eshira: 35260 * -Dyma: 22260 * Okandé- Tsogho: 11815 * Kota-Kélé: 2435 Traditional social and religious organizations are still very present in the daily life of the province, especially Bwiti and (female secret society).

Legends and myths

Popular legends say that the province of Ngounié is protected by several genies. Thus the sirens Ipeti and Mougoumi, female genies living in Dola and Ngounié respectively, would according to legend be the protectors of Ndendé and

. Tsamba, a male genie, and Magotsi, a female genie, would be the protectors of Fougamou, which they watch over from the top of the Empress Eugenie Falls. These genies are the symbolic protectors of the departments of the province. They inspire fear and respect in the inhabitants, who honor them by throwing coins and pouring liquor into the rivers they cross. To the southeast, Ngounié borders the Niari Region of the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

. Domestically, it borders the following provinces: * Nyanga – south * Ogooué-Maritime – west * Moyen-Ogooué – north * Ogooué-Ivindo – northeast, at a

quadripoint A quadripoint is a point on Earth where four distinct political territories meet. The territories can be of different types, such as national and provincial. In North America, several such places are commonly known as Four Corners (disambiguatio ...

* Ogooué-Lolo – east

Departments

Ngounié is divided into 9 departments: * Boumi-Louetsi Department ( Mbigou) * Dola Department ( Ndendé) * Douya-Onoy Department (

) * Louetsi-Wano Department ( Lébamba) * Ndolou Department ( Mandji) * Ogoulou Department ( Mimongo) * Tsamba-Magotsi Department ( Fougamou) *Louetsi-Bibaka Department (Malinga) *Mougalaba Department (Guietsou)

References

Provinces of Gabon {{Gabon-geo-stub