17 August: Gabon Independence Day

Today is Gabon's Independence Day celebrating independence from France on this date in 1960. Here are 10 things you may not know about Gabon.

1. Gabon's capital and largest city is Libreville, which translates as "Free Town". The city is so called because freed slaves in the 1800s landed there.
2. The country's name originates from "Gabão", Portuguese for "cloak", after the shape of the estuary of the Komo River by Libreville.
3. 85% of the country is covered in rainforest.
4. The Gabonese Flag consists of three horizontal stripes: Green, Yellow, and blue. Green symbolises the forest, yellow the equatorial sun, and blue the water from the sky and sea.
5. Gabon's longest river is the Ogooué which is 1200 km long, and the highest point is Mont Iboundji (1575 m) in the Chaillu Massif.
6. The country has hundreds of unexplored caves.
7. Gabon is home to 80% of Africa’s Gorilla population.
8. Any children born within marriage belong to the father - so if a couple divorce, the father takes the kids. Hence women are actually expected to have several children before they marry, because those children would stay with her in the event of a break-up.
9. The official language of Gabon is French and the other languages spoken are Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira and Bandjabi.
10. The dominant religion is Christianity, although older, animistic religions are also practised. Ceremonies for death, healing, and initiation often include the consumption of palm wine with eboga, a hallucinogenic root, which helps the people communicate with their ancestors. The ancestors will be offered food and wine, and there will be singing, dancing and drumming.

My Books

As well as this blog, I also write fiction and have published two novels (Death and Faxes and Glastonbury Swan) and a collection of short stories (Jigsaw). If you like ghost stories, crime stories, a bit of romance and anything slightly bizarre you might enjoy them. 

Further details on my books page