In equatorial Africa,
the forging bellows is not only a technical instrument of the blacksmith, but also an almost ritual object.
In fact, metallurgy is considered a kind of liturgy, transforming by the magic of fire the reddish colors and
earthy rock of ore into a precious metal, indispensable for the manufacture of weapons and tools. In the southern region of Gabon, between Shira and Punu, the bellows called okuka have, according to the blacksmiths interviewed, an anthropomorphic symbolic connotation. The object, which ends in the shape of a woman's head with a long, ringed neck, is an exploited representation of femininity, but
associated with male elements: the air supply nozzle would be the vulva, while the two air compartments
covered with antelope skin would be the testicles. As for the penis, it would be the small rods that are used to activate the
bellows. We can see that the activity of the forge is linked to that of the relationship between the sexes,
the source of all life and the perpetuation of lineages.