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In this picture, a Gabonese tribal man is playing a traditional Gabonese instrument, the Mongongo. Besides the Mongongo, you can also see some traditional Gabonese jewelry and headwear. These items are common in Gabonese tribes, and if you went to Gabon you would most likely see locals wearing them. The Mongongo is also very important because music is one of the main focuses of a lot of tribes, and they go to great lengths (including taking hallucinogens) to make sure they enjoy it. People in Gabon also enjoy literature; however, although most people can read and write, they tend to tell stories orally that have been passed down from generation to generation rather than writing them down and reading them.

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Classes (upper, middle, lower) (social structure)

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Classes (upper, middle, lower) (social structure)

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This photo is from a TV show episode where 6 British women, who grew up in poverty and are incredibly angry at their moms for the way they grew up, are spending time in third world countries living as sidekick moms to experience how hard things could be and see things from a fresh perspective. This episode features Linda Plover, from Liverpool, who is spending time in Southern Gabon living as a “Tribal Mother”. In this part, we can see kids in their house cooking food. This family is definitely in poverty, you can see just by looking at their clothes and their surroundings that they barely have any money. People in Gabon’s upper class can be identified by wearing starched clothing, having many items in your house (such as pots and pans) and by how many wives you have, as polygamy (marriage with more than two spouses) is legal in Gabon, and having more than one wife is more expensive than just one. The middle class live a more communal way of life, with a kid’s neighbor being like their second mom. They generally start school at about 5 or 6 if they have the money, but if they don’t have the money for school supplies, they won’t start school until they do. They speak a Gabonese form of French, which is Parisian French that has been adapted by the Gabonese, with some of the pronunciations, spellings, and rhythms of the words changing.

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Depicted in this picture is Gabon’s currency, XAF, also known as the CFA Franc. The words that CFA is an acronym for are in French, but it translates to Financial Cooperation in Central Africa. As you can see, Omar Bongo, Gabon’s second of the three presidents, is in the right hand corner. This particular bill is a 1,000, which is about 1.60 in US dollars. Compared to many other African countries, Gabon doesn’t have a super high poverty rate, but it’s below-poverty line rate is 34.3%, while America’s is 12.3%.

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This photo was taken on a ship collecting oil from oil banks in the bottom of the ocean. Gabon’s main industry is oil, and oil makes up for 80% of the money they make from exports. People who work collecting oil in unsafe conditions. As you can see, the worker on this boat is standing on the edge of the ship and doesn’t even have a life jacket. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the oil rigs and ships in the distance. Gabon’s other main sources of incomes from exports include timber and uranium. The uranium is shipped all over the world to be used as an ingredient in nuclear bombs.

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Law enforcements and political rights (political system)

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Law enforcements and political rights (political system)

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This is a picture of Gabon’s main prison. In the right half of the picture, you can see the entrance to the prison. With just a quick look, you can see that it looks very old and rundown. In fact, our local prison (Lake County Adult Corrections Facility) looks much nicer just from the outside, and that’s just a local prison. Next, let’s move on to the left half of the prison. The prisoners are all wearing dirty t-shirts and shorts. It is very cramped, and most of the people that we can see in the picture, and at the prison, are probably there because they opposed the government, specifically the Bongo dictatorship. Gabon’s prisons are known for being very harsh and unsuitable for living, with inmates not having access to very much food or basic hygiene.

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The picture above is of Omar Bongo, the man who ruled Gabon for 42 years. He was corrupt and ran a dictatorship which was carried on by his son, Ali Bongo Ondimba. Omar Bongo was president for the 5th longest amount of consecutive years on Earth. Because his son took over when he died in 2009 without a fair election, Gabon is considered a dictatorship.  You can find dozens of things named after Omar Bongo and Ali Bongo Ondimba in Gabon, including the town that Omar Bongo was born in. It was originally called Lewai, but was changed to Bongoville after Omar died. Gabon’s current president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, has now served two terms, both of which had elections. However, these elections were corrupt and involved riots, rigged votes, unwarranted arrests, and even killings.

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This picture depicts the Museum of Arts and Culture in Libreville, Gabon’s capital. This is one of Gabon’s most well known and expansive museums in Gabon. It includes a lot of traditional Gabonese art, including masks and wooden statues, and also some traditional Bantu art. An example of some art you could find inside is the big statue in front of the museum. The Museum of Arts and Culture is especially popular and informative because it doesn’t only have art, but it also has some important items from and information about Gabon’s history. Many museums in Gabon hold ancient and artifacts, all of which include these historical masks.

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This is the outside of the University of Science and Technology of Masuku. This is one of Gabon’s many great universities, and it is rated in the top 5 best schools in Gabon. It was founded in 1986. It was originally in a town in Gabon called Masuku, which is why part of the name of the university is “of Masuku”, but the town was later renamed to Franceville, and it is still called Franceville today. If you look closely at the picture, you can notice the multiple Gabon flags in front of the university, which is a symbol of the country it is in. Universities are definitely one thing Gabon is known for because, since it’s almost 80% rainforest, there’s not much going on.

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What we can see here is three Gabonese Muslims who have just bought goats to sacrifice as part of the celebration of the Muslim holiday Eid Al Adha. Part of this holiday requires that the people sacrifice a goat, lamb, or sheep to remember how Ibrahim, a character in Muslim religion, sacrificed a goat instead of his son as he had intended. This is a very important and a big part of the holiday that Muslims are sure to do every year when Eid Al Adha rolls around on about July 30. Two more holidays that are widely celebrated in Gabon are All Saints’ Day and Ascension Day, Christian holidays.

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In this picture, a Gabonese Roman Catholic choir is singing a hymn for a rally for the  Catholic Charismatic Renewal Church in Owendo in 2014. This type of thing is very common, as 88% of Gabonese citizens are Christian, and many of these Christians are Roman Catholic. Many Gabonese Roman Catholics believe that all spiritual leaders have powers, and they practice their religion by using traditional spiritual practices. A very small percentage of people in Gabon are the religion of Bwiti, and they practice controversial religious ceremonies such as animism and human sacrifices.

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This is an aerial view of part of Gabon. It was taken in August of 2014. In this picture, you can see the more touristy, urban area of Gabon (at the bottom of the picture) and the heavily forested area (near the top of the picture.) The forested area of Gabon makes up nearly 80% of Gabon. You can also see the ocean that Gabon is on, the Atlantic Ocean.

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This picture shows a beautiful day on a beach in Sette Cama, Gabon, a town that is well known for their fishing. The people in the picture are tourists going fishing on the beach. This picture was taken very recently to display the scenery of the fishing beaches and the fishing you can do on them. This picture was taken during the warm, sunny, season in Gabon. Because Gabon also has a rainy season and Gabon has many beaches, it floods often, however, this picture was not taken during a flood.