Illustrations made from photographs taken by Houzé de l'Aulnoit, maps.
Illustrations include a view of the trading post at Gabon; the coal yard at Gabon; an infantry village; King Denis, in costume, and his first wife; the English station at Glass; portraits of typical Gabonese and Kru sailors; the wharf; King Denis' house. Also illustrated are the commandant's dwelling; Chinchoua and Pahouin (Fang) villages; portraits of King Kringer and family, King Yondogowiro dressed in a European ceremonial outfit, N'Gowa and Agueille (the king's wives), the trader Ouassengo and his wives, Bakalai (Kele) people (warriors, women, and children), and Pahouin (Fang) people (warriors and women); banana tree fetishes; and the sacred islands.
The French station and the town of Libreville were established after the Portuguese had controlled the coast in the mid-eighteenth century. The Gabonese profited from the slave trade and, when it was abolished, traded in precious woods and ivory. Those resources, along with rubber, were soon depleted. Mpongwe culture is described in detail: work habits, clothing, jewelry and physical appearance; marriage, the status of women, daily life, fishing techniques, and the smoking of hemp; a typical village, that of King Louis; home interiors and village life. Slavery among the Mpongwe is relatively benign, but slaves and their descendants lower social status. Chiefs are elected democratically from among a royal family, but their powers are now limited by the French authorities. One of those chiefs, King Denis, has been decorated by both the French and the English, and given a fine wardrobe. The end of the slave trade has diminished his wealth and the population he rules dwindles as contact with Europeans grows.
The author analyses the concept of fetishes and fetishism (that goes by the name of "Moondah." He describes several instances of healing, exorcism, and trial and punishment by strychnine poisoning, including eyewitness accounts of his own and some written by others: Dr. Ricard, A.E. Vignon, and Paul du Chaillu. For a handful of tobacco leaves he buys a powerful fetish of a figure crowned with turaco feathers. The ecology of the lush forest, its flora and fauna are described as is growing of bananas and manioc. A huge palm, enimba, growing in mangrove forests supplies building materials for houses that are literally sewn together. Ethnic groups mentioned include the forest-dwelling Bulu, the riverine Bakalai, or Akalai (Kele) and the Fang. The Fang are hunters, warriors, and ironworkers; their appearance, behavior, and craft work are described in detail.
Griffon de Bellay traveled along the Nazareth and Ogooué rivers and visited the Galla (Galwa) people around Lake Onangue. On the island of Aroumbe, live King Yondogowiro and his wife, and many young "fetishists" in training, whose unusual dress is described in detail. The king then takes him to visit the uninhabited sacred isles, one of them the site of legendary apparitions. On arrival the king performs an elaborate ceremony.