Exploring West Africa: Togo & Benin (Part 3)

Exploring West Africa with Silversea's Silver Explorer, starting in Accra, Ghana on 10 April 2013 and ending in Dakkar, Senegal on 26 April 2013.

West African Vodun (Voodoo)

April 12th, 2013

Dance is not very commonly integrated into our Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), but it is widespread among the older religious traditions. It is used as a means to symbolically represent the supernatural world and to tell the stories of the spirits. Dance is usually performed to the rhythm of various musical instruments, and dancers often wear special costumes and masks according to the kind of performance presented. Especially in societies that lack systems of writing, dance becomes a way of telling sacred stories and tales. Specific movements and masks are used to portray different spiritual characters.¹

A spirit embodied! (Ganvié, Benin, 2013)

Dancing to the rhythm of drums. We were instructed not to touch the dancing spirits, or else!
(Ganvié, Benin, 2013)

I wonder what these specific spirits are supposed to represent..? (Ganvié, Benin, 2013)

The West African Vodun (or Voodoo) is a word that means spirit. The cosmology of the religion centers around the spirits and other elements of divine essence that govern the Earth. A common misconception is that in West African Vodun spells are cast upon individuals. Whereas the religion really emphasizes on the cult of the ancestors and spirits. Vodun spirits are hierarchal in nature, and form the center of religious life. Adherents of Vodun emphasize ancestor worship and believe that the spirits of the dead live side by side with the world of the living, sort of like how like in Islam the djin is believed to live among people, or in Christianity, where angels are believed to be among us. 

The high priest (on the left) and his family
(Togo, 2013)

Vodun is organized around a creator/creatress deity, Mawu and Lisa. Mawu and Lisa (Goddess and God) to the Ewe is the Supreme Being, who in one tradition bore seven children and gave each rule over a realm of nature - animals, earth, and sea - or else these children are inter-ethnic and related to natural phenomena or to historical or mythical individuals. However, even if the origin of humanity and the world are explained in Vodun mythology, it is not a centered question of the faith. The followers believe that the answer to such question is beyond human reach. Priority is given to the ancestors with them interceding on behalf of their families and descendant towards the Almighty.

The first dance (Togo, 2013)

Future priest and priestess (Togo, 2013)

Vodun priests receive a calling from an oracle, which may come at any moment during their lives. They will then join their clan's convent to pursue spiritual instruction. It is also an oracle that will designate the future high priest and high priestess among the new recruits, establishing an order of succession within the convent.

Blessing the Earth

In Togo, about half the population practices indigenous religions, of which Vodun is by far the largest, with some 2.5 million followers; there may be another million Vodunists among the Ewe of Ghana, as a 13% of the total Ghana population of 20 million are Ewe and 38% of Ghanaians practice traditional religion.

Here are a few pictures from the Vodun ceremony in Togo.

The women were helping this man wash his face for some reason (maybe to cleanse from a bad spirit?) The baby looks unconcerned. 

A spirit seems to be just entering the body of this woman. Notice her face is not painted yet.

The possessed man and woman (with painted white faces) are dancing to heavy drum beats.

As strange as this whole ceremony seems, I understand when someone has a need to just let go. The daily life of these villagers can't be easy. Weekly ceremonies spent among family and friends dancing and chanting is a good way to forget worries for a change, and just relax.

This little boy and I were observing the event from the comfort of our corner.

Under the African sun...

Here are some snacks for after the ceremony...

See you tomorrow in Cotonou, Benin! Au revoir!

1. Stein, Rebecca L., and Philip L. Stain. The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft. Third ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.