January 10th is National Voodoo Day, a public holiday in the West African country of Benin. In the official French it's called Fête du Vodoun.
Voodoo (or alternately Vodoun/Vodun/Voudou/Vaudou/Vodon) is a religion indigenous to West Africa with offshoots in the Americas. It likely goes back about 6,000 years making it significantly older than Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam. Voodoo is thought to have originated in what is now the Republic of Benin. Over 40% of the people of Benin are thought to observe Voodoo as their religion. Some estimates run as high as 65% depending on how you count those who also observe other religions. Many believers also live in Togo and adjacent areas in Nigeria and Ghana.
French colonial authorities, influenced by Christian missionaries, regarded Voodoo as witchcraft and had it banned. This only drove it underground and it technically remained illegal long after independence from France in 1960.
In 2004 the BBC described how Voodoo went from an object of suppression to the focus for a national holiday.
Voodoo Day was declared a national holiday in Benin more than a decade ago, under the administration of former President Nicephore Soglo.
Mr Soglo is said to have been saved from death thanks to Voodoo powers. So in gratitude to the Voodoo community of the country, he gave them official recognition.
Soglo's successor tried to reverse this decision but failed big time.
(In) 1996, the new President, Mathieu Kerekou, attempted to ban it, saying Benin was a secular state.
The matter was brought before parliament and Mr Kerekou's challenge was thrown out.
The MPs' move made the Voodoo community stronger and Mr Kerekou withdrew from the Voodoo business.
This was quite strange given that Mr Kerekou was himself born to a Voodoo priestess, Yokosi, who is said to have given him "native" insurance against spiritual enemy attacks.
In 2011 the BBC summarized Voodoo.
It has none of the negative connotations it has in the West and many of those who are officially Christian or Muslim also incorporate some Voodoo elements into their beliefs, especially in times of crisis.
But Voodoo is more than a belief system, it is a complete way of life, including culture, philosophy, language, art, dance, music and medicine.
The Voodoo spiritual world consists of Mahou, the supreme being and about 100 divinities - or Voodoos - who represent different phenomena, such as war and blacksmiths (Gou), illness, healing and earth (Sakpata), storms, lightning and justice (Heviosso) or water (Mami Wata).
Voodoo priests ask these gods to intervene on behalf of ordinary people but local adherents stress that they have nothing to do with sorcery or black magic.
People here do not stick needles into dolls to cause misfortune to their enemies, as you see in some Western films - this image may have arisen from the icons of a particular god which a priest may have in their shrine.
Some Voodoo priests use herbs to cure the sick - and possibly to poison enemies.
A 2011 piece in the New York Times Travel Section picks it up from there.
Despite the efforts of Christian missionaries, this ancient belief system still has millions of adherents along West Africas former Slave Coast, from Ghana to the Yoruba-speaking parts of Nigeria, but especially in Benin.
[ ... ]
For visitors, the resurgence of vodun offers a chance to catch a rare glimpse of an indigenous cultures spiritual practices. In recent years, a steady flow of Western tourists have traveled the vodun route in Benin and Togo, visiting temples and fetish markets, and occasionally gaining entry to ceremonies presided over by priests who lead adherents in singing, dancing and animal sacrifices.
[ ... ]
There are historical markers along the coast, like the Door of No Return in Ouidah, a beachfront memorial identifying the point of departure for slaves bound for Brazil and the West Indies. In the 17th and 18th centuries, West African rituals fused with Catholicism and metamorphosed into Haitian voodoo, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé; returning slaves in the 18th century then transported this syncretic form of vodun back to Ouidah and other African coast settlements.
Vodun practitioners worship a pantheon of gods and lesser deities that inhabit objects ranging from stones to waterfalls. They believe that the spirits of their ancestors dwell among them, and they employ talismans, or fetishes like dried animal parts, for spiritual and physical rejuvenation as well as for protection against spells cast by malevolent sorcerers.
Slaves who were taken from this part of Africa brought their belief system to the New World. There were especially large concentrations of believers who ended up in Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, and Louisiana.
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Part of National Voodoo Day in the port city of Ouidah involves a re-enactment of the journey from the slave auction block to the Gate of No Return. The 3 km walk goes past memorials to enslaved peoples and statues honoring the ancient Kingdom of Dahomey.
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Gate of No Return
At the beach itself the festivities turn less somber as the BBC reported in 2006.
They met at a beach called the point of no return, where slaves left on ships for the Americas centuries ago, taking their religion with them.
Followers of the once-banned religion have been dancing, drumming, praying as animals are slaughtered in ceremonies.
[ ... ]
"There is little resembling the popular Western imagination on show - no dolls with pins stuck in them and certainly no zombie-like creatures lumbering around," described the BBC's James Copnall, who is at the festival.
"Instead there were speeches praising the religion, emphasising the positive impact it has on people's lives."
[ ... ]
Voodoo followers believe that all life is driven by spiritual forces of natural phenomena such as water, fire, earth and air and that these should be honoured through rituals like animal sacrifices.
Followers acknowledge the existence of both a supreme being and many smaller gods which can intercede with the supreme being on behalf of humans.
Martine De Sousa, a former curator of the Voodoo Museum in Benin and an expert on the religion rejects criticism of Voodoo from many Africans.
"People have a negative image of voodoo because of some of the bad practices, a sort of a witchcraft, where you can put a bad spell on someone when you are jealous of that person."
Adding that, "That [bad practice] is totally different from Voodoo."
The day has turned into a major cultural event with lots of singing, dancing, and costumes.
Here are some scenes from last year's celebrations on the beach.
NOTE: There are those who don't like the term Voodoo. But it is internationally the best known spelling available in English language media. And there are more than just those five variations mentioned above.
Also, some sources have tried to create a distinction between Voodoo in the Americas and Vodoun in Africa. But this is far from universally accepted.
The Benin Embassy in Washington uses Voodoo and so does the BBC. So for the sake of clarity we'll use that spelling and pronunciation. But be aware of the others. ;)
Voodoo (or alternately Vodoun/Vodun/Voudou/Vaudou/Vodon) is a religion indigenous to West Africa with offshoots in the Americas. It likely goes back about 6,000 years making it significantly older than Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam. Voodoo is thought to have originated in what is now the Republic of Benin. Over 40% of the people of Benin are thought to observe Voodoo as their religion. Some estimates run as high as 65% depending on how you count those who also observe other religions. Many believers also live in Togo and adjacent areas in Nigeria and Ghana.
French colonial authorities, influenced by Christian missionaries, regarded Voodoo as witchcraft and had it banned. This only drove it underground and it technically remained illegal long after independence from France in 1960.
In 2004 the BBC described how Voodoo went from an object of suppression to the focus for a national holiday.
Quote:
Voodoo Day was declared a national holiday in Benin more than a decade ago, under the administration of former President Nicephore Soglo.
Mr Soglo is said to have been saved from death thanks to Voodoo powers. So in gratitude to the Voodoo community of the country, he gave them official recognition.
Quote:
(In) 1996, the new President, Mathieu Kerekou, attempted to ban it, saying Benin was a secular state.
The matter was brought before parliament and Mr Kerekou's challenge was thrown out.
The MPs' move made the Voodoo community stronger and Mr Kerekou withdrew from the Voodoo business.
This was quite strange given that Mr Kerekou was himself born to a Voodoo priestess, Yokosi, who is said to have given him "native" insurance against spiritual enemy attacks.
Quote:
It has none of the negative connotations it has in the West and many of those who are officially Christian or Muslim also incorporate some Voodoo elements into their beliefs, especially in times of crisis.
But Voodoo is more than a belief system, it is a complete way of life, including culture, philosophy, language, art, dance, music and medicine.
The Voodoo spiritual world consists of Mahou, the supreme being and about 100 divinities - or Voodoos - who represent different phenomena, such as war and blacksmiths (Gou), illness, healing and earth (Sakpata), storms, lightning and justice (Heviosso) or water (Mami Wata).
Voodoo priests ask these gods to intervene on behalf of ordinary people but local adherents stress that they have nothing to do with sorcery or black magic.
People here do not stick needles into dolls to cause misfortune to their enemies, as you see in some Western films - this image may have arisen from the icons of a particular god which a priest may have in their shrine.
Some Voodoo priests use herbs to cure the sick - and possibly to poison enemies.
Quote:
Despite the efforts of Christian missionaries, this ancient belief system still has millions of adherents along West Africas former Slave Coast, from Ghana to the Yoruba-speaking parts of Nigeria, but especially in Benin.
[ ... ]
For visitors, the resurgence of vodun offers a chance to catch a rare glimpse of an indigenous cultures spiritual practices. In recent years, a steady flow of Western tourists have traveled the vodun route in Benin and Togo, visiting temples and fetish markets, and occasionally gaining entry to ceremonies presided over by priests who lead adherents in singing, dancing and animal sacrifices.
[ ... ]
There are historical markers along the coast, like the Door of No Return in Ouidah, a beachfront memorial identifying the point of departure for slaves bound for Brazil and the West Indies. In the 17th and 18th centuries, West African rituals fused with Catholicism and metamorphosed into Haitian voodoo, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé; returning slaves in the 18th century then transported this syncretic form of vodun back to Ouidah and other African coast settlements.
Vodun practitioners worship a pantheon of gods and lesser deities that inhabit objects ranging from stones to waterfalls. They believe that the spirits of their ancestors dwell among them, and they employ talismans, or fetishes like dried animal parts, for spiritual and physical rejuvenation as well as for protection against spells cast by malevolent sorcerers.
Part of National Voodoo Day in the port city of Ouidah involves a re-enactment of the journey from the slave auction block to the Gate of No Return. The 3 km walk goes past memorials to enslaved peoples and statues honoring the ancient Kingdom of Dahomey.
Gate of No Return
At the beach itself the festivities turn less somber as the BBC reported in 2006.
Quote:
They met at a beach called the point of no return, where slaves left on ships for the Americas centuries ago, taking their religion with them.
Followers of the once-banned religion have been dancing, drumming, praying as animals are slaughtered in ceremonies.
[ ... ]
"There is little resembling the popular Western imagination on show - no dolls with pins stuck in them and certainly no zombie-like creatures lumbering around," described the BBC's James Copnall, who is at the festival.
"Instead there were speeches praising the religion, emphasising the positive impact it has on people's lives."
[ ... ]
Voodoo followers believe that all life is driven by spiritual forces of natural phenomena such as water, fire, earth and air and that these should be honoured through rituals like animal sacrifices.
Followers acknowledge the existence of both a supreme being and many smaller gods which can intercede with the supreme being on behalf of humans.
Martine De Sousa, a former curator of the Voodoo Museum in Benin and an expert on the religion rejects criticism of Voodoo from many Africans.
"People have a negative image of voodoo because of some of the bad practices, a sort of a witchcraft, where you can put a bad spell on someone when you are jealous of that person."
Adding that, "That [bad practice] is totally different from Voodoo."
Here are some scenes from last year's celebrations on the beach.
NOTE: There are those who don't like the term Voodoo. But it is internationally the best known spelling available in English language media. And there are more than just those five variations mentioned above.
Also, some sources have tried to create a distinction between Voodoo in the Americas and Vodoun in Africa. But this is far from universally accepted.
The Benin Embassy in Washington uses Voodoo and so does the BBC. So for the sake of clarity we'll use that spelling and pronunciation. But be aware of the others. ;)