Ananda Villa Zanzibar, Bwejuu, Tanzania
Up to 12 in group
Apr 15 - 22, 2026
About this Retreat
Nzambe Divanga, also known as Tembo, is a Nganga Missoko, a Franco-Gabonese hypnotherapist and musician, and a former member of the internationally recognized traditional Gabonese dance troupe Mbeng Ntam.
Initiated in Gabon over 25 years ago, his initiatory path has unfolded between Africa and the Western world from its very beginning, allowing him to bridge ancestral African wisdom with contemporary Western perspectives.
In 2004, he moved to France, where he facilitated Iboga-based personal development seminars as the close assistant and designated successor of his spiritual father. In 2015, he received formal authorization from his peers and elders to administer the sacred Iboga plant and independently guide ceremonies. He subsequently completed professional training in hypnotherapy and in the therapeutic practitioner–client relationship, further strengthening the safety and depth of his work.
Today, drawing on decades of experience, Tembo leads his own Iboga retreats, grounded in strict respect for tradition while integrating a therapeutic and conscious approach. He has worked extensively with both African and European participants through workshops, seminars, and—most importantly—within the ceremonial space. His practice reflects a deep mastery of the theory, practice, and lived science of African initiatory culture.
Julie, known in the Bwiti tradition as Mudanga, was initiated in Gabon in 2007, at the age of 24, into Mabundi, the female lineage of Bwiti Missoko Ngonde. Mabundi is a sacred initiatory path reserved for women, centered on deep spiritual knowledge, ancestral transmission, and inner transformation.
Alongside her spiritual path, Julie is a trained hypnotherapist and works in France, supporting individuals facing a wide range of physical and emotional illnesses. Her therapeutic approach bridges modern hypnotherapy with a profound understanding of subconscious processes, healing, and personal resilience.
Over the years, she has continued her traditional training in Mabundi, progressing through multiple initiatory levels and rising in rank according to ancestral Bwiti protocols, under the guidance of elders and within the cultural framework of the tradition.
In 2013, Julie met Nzambe Divanga (Tembo). Since then, they have been working together internationally, facilitating Bwiti- and Iboga-inspired retreats and ceremonies around the world. Their collaboration is rooted in authenticity, safety, and respect for tradition, combining African initiatory wisdom with contemporary therapeutic tools to support deep inner work, healing, and transformation.
Details of this retreat
Twice a year, we host a special event, unique in its depth, intention, and transformational potential.
Together with Tembo and Mudanga, experienced Bwiti healers and hypnotherapists, we open a sacred ceremonial space rooted in the Bwiti tradition, intentionally recreating the communal framework in which healing traditionally occurs.
During the retreat, we consciously mirror this community-based structure, its rhythm, values, and ceremonial frame, bringing that living context into our own space. This collective container provides safety, grounding, and continuity, allowing deep inner work to take place while remaining connected to others.
Within this carefully held framework, participants are invited to explore the origins of emotional wounds and behavioral patterns, often formed in early childhood, when experiences were absorbed emotionally before the mind had the capacity to interpret them. Trauma is not the event itself, but the imprint left when it could not be processed at the time.
During the Iboga experience, memories, both conscious and deeply repressed, may surface. You revisit them not as a helpless child, but with the awareness of your adult self. From this new perspective, understanding emerges, emotional charge softens, and a new relationship with the past becomes possible. Integration follows naturally, allowing outdated patterns to release and healthier choices to emerge.
What distinguishes Iboga from other entheogenic experiences such as ayahuasca, mushrooms, or peyote is the active nature of the journey. You are not merely an observer of past experiences, you actively engage with them. This engagement makes it possible to transform the emotional imprint itself, changing how memories are held and interrupting repetitive patterns.
The healing continues beyond the ceremony itself, as insights are embodied, relationships are mirrored, and new ways of relating to oneself and others take shape.
It is an intense, honest, and deeply grounding journey, one that honors tradition by restoring the communal context in which true healing has always occurred.
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
Verified
A preparation course valued at $109 is included with the retreat at no extra cost
