TOURISME A TOKPA DOME
SOME KEY POINTS
ON BENIN
Why visit us?
Lagoons and beaches lined with coconut trees in the south, gentle hills planted with wooded savannah in the center, arid mountains in the north... Benin offers an amazing condensed version of African landscapes.
But its true wealth lies above all in its immense cultural heritage, its diverse traditions (some forty ethnic groups), and its rich and tumultuous history, which predates the colonial presence. Travelers know this well, and when they choose to visit this country, it is often to search for something, to make a kind of pilgrimage, a return to their roots...
Benin is also the land of Vodun, a still-prevalent animist religion that has spread to Brazil, Haiti, and Cuba. The country was marked by the slave trade, from which millions were deported from its shores. Today, one encounters many African Americans there, walking in the footsteps of their history.
Benin is finally experiencing a vibrant intellectual and artistic scene. It was even nicknamed the Latin Quarter of Africa.
As for animal lovers, they can venture to the north of the country, home to two wildlife parks (one of which is shared with Burkina Faso and Niger).
Also worth noting: Benin is the only French-speaking West African country to have achieved non-violent political transitions since independence.
(excerpt from the Routard Guide to Benin)
Additional information: visa, formalities, transport, budget, practical information...
Visit the Guide du Routard website
Quelques repères
- Population: 12.5 million inhabitants (2021 estimate).
- Area: 112,763 km².
- Capital: Porto-Novo.
- Languages: French, Fon (in the Centre and in the South), Yoruba (East), Mina (West), Dendi, Bariba, Goun, Tem, Adja, Fulani.
- Human Development Index: 163rd place out of 189 countries.
- Currency: the CFA franc
- Regime: presidential.
- Head of State: Patrice Talon (since April 2016).
The Voodoo religion
In Benin , January 10th is the national Voodoo festival. A public holiday to celebrate the worship of nature deities and ancestors. Accompanied by drums, Hèviosso, god of thunder, Sakapta, god of the earth, Mami Wata, goddess of the sea, the impressive Zangbeto, guardians of the night, and many others will be out and about. This festival welcomes, of course, practitioners of the cult and initiates, but also many visitors from Africa , Europe , the Caribbean, and the Americas, who come to discover Voodoo in its country of origin.
Voodoo is a religion encompassing a vast range of practices, rituals, and beliefs. Originating in West Africa, it traces its roots more specifically to the ancient kingdom of Dahomey. It took its current form around the 17th century.
Far removed from the clichés of cinema and popular culture of recent years, this spirituality is based on the sacralization of the forces of nature and ancestors. It seeks to answer the great human questions of the essence of life, but also the needs of daily life (problems with money, relationships, health, etc.).
For followers, maintaining a balance between the visible world (that of animals, plants, and humans) and the invisible world (that of deities and ancestors) is essential. Thus, the two worlds must communicate through the art of divination, songs, dances, and objects, to foster the flourishing of deities, ancestors, and human beings.
In the Fon language, "Vo" means to make oneself comfortable, to purify oneself, to get rid of bad thoughts, and "Doun" means to draw from, extract, or fetch. Thus, "vodoun" could be translated as "to make oneself comfortable in order to draw from the invisible realm all that one needs to flourish in the physical world."
Vodou includes a pantheon of several hundred deities, each possessing its own specificities: its function, its rituals, its symbols.
It is a rich and complex culture that still holds many secrets.
The FÂ :
One cannot speak of vodoun in Dahomey without mentioning Fa. This divinatory art of ancient Egypt passed through the Nile, before ending up in Ife, Nigeria, and then being adopted and adapted by the Fon.
This is a geomancy that allows one to decipher the forces at play following the casting of cowrie shells or wild apple peels, and to provide an interpretation in order to draw recommendations from them.
Fa divination has become the key to vodoun, in the sense that it creates a language that allows men to communicate with the gods.
( Excerpt from the Vodou Museum-Strasbourg website)
Interview with Philippe Charlier by Le Point Afrique: "Voodoo, a religion but also a culture"
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