Benin was the seat of one of the great medieval African kingdoms called Dahomey. Europeans began arriving in the area in the 18th century, as the kingdom of Dahomey was expanding its territory. The Portuguese, the French, and the Dutch established trading posts along the coast (Porto-Novo, Ouidah, Cotonou), and traded weapons for slaves. In the late 1800s, the French were intent on expanding their colonial empire in West Africa, and they set their sights on conquering the Kingdom of Dahomey. King Behanzin led the Dahomey forces in fierce resistance against the French invasion. Despite the bravery of Dahomey's resistance, the French had superior military technology and firepower. After several years of fighting, King Behanzin's capital was captured by the French in 1894. Rather than surrender, King Behanzin went into exile, evading the French for over a year. However, in 1894 he was finally captured and exiled to the French territory of Martinique in the Caribbean. Benin became a French colony ruled by a French Governor, and remained so until gaining independence in 1960. After independence, Benin went through periods of military dictatorships and unstable governments for several decades. In 1990, Benin transitioned to a multi-party democracy.
For the average visitor, one of the main draw of Benin is being the birthplace of voodoo (vodun). Vodun is a traditional African religion that involves the worship of spirits and ancestors; it is believed that these spirits can be called upon to provide protection and guidance. The biggest festival to celebrate Voodoo is held every year in January, and is truly one of a kind.
Cotonou
The economic capital, Cotonou, is a bustling and vibrant city that is known for its lively markets, busy streets, and diverse population. The city is home to a number of interesting landmarks, including the Cotonou Cathedral, which is a beautiful example of modern architecture, and the Fondation Zinsou, which is a contemporary art museum that showcases the work of African artists. One unusual fact about Cotonou is that it is home to the largest market in West Africa, the Dantokpa Market, which covers an area of over 20 hectares. But by far the most interesting landmark, is the huge statue of the Amazon woman, which is a tribute to the Dahomey Amazons.
The Dahomey Amazons, also known as the "Mino" or "Our Mothers," were an all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were renowned for their ferocity and skill in combat. The origins of the Amazons date back to the early 1700s when King Houegbadja began recruiting young women to serve as elephant huntresses and bodyguards. His successors continued expanding the women's military roles. By the 1800s, under King Gezo, the Amazons had become a formidable force comprising up to 6,000 women at times. They participated in many battles and were feared for their unwavering dedication and mercilessness towards enemies. The Amazons underwent intense training from childhood, receiving instruction in martial arts, weapons handling, and battle tactics. They were expected to show exceptional bravery and were supposedly denied marriage. In the late 1800s, the Amazons fiercely resisted the French colonial invasion led by King Behanzin, but were ultimately overpowered by French artillery and modern weaponry. After the fall of Dahomey in 1894, the Amazon tradition came to an end. However, their legacy lives on through oral histories and European accounts of their legendary prowess.
Ouidah
Benin is the cradle of voodoo and has been the scene of the sad history of the slave trade for almost three centuries. The strongest impact on the country’s magical traditions and terrible history comes in the coastal town of Ouidah. Located about 42 km from Cotonou, this quiet town hides a dramatic history and preserves the terrible memory of entire peoples, deported to the Americas from the 17th to the end of the 19th century. Today, a walk along the road (the Route des Esclaves) leading from Place Chacha to the beach is a reminder of the sad fate of 12 million slaves, first sold at auction in the square, then forced to walk around a tree in chains to forget the land they were leaving behind (the Tree of Oblivion), and finally boarded on the ships that left from the coast at the point where the Gate of No Return memorial stands today. The place is so beautiful that it is hard to imagine it as the scene of these historical events.
Voodoo Festival (Vodun festival)
The religious tradition of voodoo rituals is still strongly rooted in Benin culture today. Voodoo's literal meaning is 'that which is hidden, mysterious'. Voodoo recognises the existence of various deities and the higher Mawu. Juju priests are consulted for their ability to communicate with certain spirits and to intercede with them. This communication takes place in many cases through spirit possession and often involves the offering of sacrifices of palm wine, chickens and cattle. In 1996, Voodoo was formally recognised as an official religion, Since then, 10 January has been considered a national religious holiday and Ouidah hosts the Voodoo Festival, the most interesting event dedicated to this religion. Ceremonies, sacrifices, songs, dances and large banquets are held in the presence of the country’s most influential religious and political figures. A stay in Ouidah during the festival is definitely an opportunity not to be missed.
A little guidance if you'd like to go:
The vodun festival is held every year on January 6th onwards with 10th being the big day, this period is well worth timing a visit to Benin for. Ouidah is the main spot, although supposedly ceremonies are also held in Grand Popo, Abomey and Porto Novo. Similar to Sunday mass or Friday prayers, vodun rituals take place regularly throughout the year, each village worship their own deity, which could be a symbol of an element (fire, water etc.), or an animal, or a tree or rock or any natural phenomenon. The benefit of visiting during the festival is the chance to see a dozen or so worships and ceremony all in one place, a "best of vodun" day if you will. The ceremonies:
• Visiting village ceremonies (every day starting from a few days before the 10th to many days after) that last ~60-90min.
• Entering the sacred forest for the goat & rooster sacrifice ceremony. It involves a baby goat bleeding for dear life - shockingly for a couple of minutes longer even after an 8-inch blade has been stabbed straight through its neck, and blood pouring down the "fetish" statues of the deities, and the body spasming for a few minutes more, before the carcass is then used during a trance dance.
* Seeing the Dagbe deity by visiting the python temple, which is full of pythons.
* Observing the Egungun spirits and Zangbeto watchmen dance and perform rituals to the chants of women, drumming of men and the occasional shrieks of children and gasps of adults when they freewheeled too close to the audience.
I was in complete awe over the ceremonies taking place before my eyes, different to anything and everything I've witnessed before.
Post festival: contrary to views popularized in the west, ritual animal sacrifices is neither dark nor evil magic, it is used to open up a gateway between the living world and the spiritual ancestral world. What we often think of as voodoo - the voodoo doll and needles used to bring pain and death, is considered dark and evil witchcraft in contrast to the beliefs & good intentions of protection and spirituality of vodun, basically it is a bit like what satanism is to Christianity, it makes entertaining movies, but it's also seldom related to the practice in reality. Once again, blame Hollywood!
Ganvie lake villages on stilts
Ganvié is a town near Cotonou, famous for its bamboo and wooden huts built on stilts around the perimeter of Lake Nokoué and inhabited by some 30,000 Tofinu people. The Tofinu took refuge in this marshy area in the 17th century to escape the slave hunters of Dahomey, who were not allowed to go near the water because of a religious ban. The idea was that living on a lake protects from evil forces: in voodoo traditions, evil spirits, sorcerers, or forces cannot cross over bodies of water. Therefore, living over water on stilted houses provided a sense of security and separation from malicious supernatural influences on land.
The lake mainly consists of people of fishermen, who have adopted a very special technique for creating artificial fish farms, consisting of planting branches on the muddy bottom of the lake, the leaves of which, once decomposed, become excellent bait that attracts fish. Another characteristic of these incredible people is their typical bamboo dwellings, built on ebony stilts, which have to be renovated every twenty years. Often nicknamed the Venice of West Africa, arriving at Ganvié by small boat from the port of Calavi is like witnessing a crescendo of visuals, unique in the world; everything in Ganvié immerses you in an atmosphere that is out of time and out of place.
Porto Novo
Porto-Novo is the official capital city of Benin, although Cotonou serves as the economic capital. Located along the Gulf of Guinea, Porto-Novo was established in the 16th century as a Portuguese settlement and slave trading post. Its name literally means "New Port" in Portuguese. The city still bears remnants of its colonial past, with old Portuguese-style buildings and architecture. Despite being designated the capital, Porto-Novo has a much smaller population compared to the much larger Cotonou. It has a relaxed, small-town feel and a languid pace of life. Porto-Novo is considered the spiritual home of Vodun (Voodoo) culture, hence a Museum of Voodoo is being constructed there.
Abomey
Abomey is located 144 km northwest of Cotonou in the region inhabited mainly by the Adja-Fon and is a mythical place because of its historical vicissitudes. It was the beating heart of the ruthless kingdom of Dahomey, whose kings ruled in a bloodthirsty manner, carrying out human sacrifices, wars and enslaving their enemies. They were the main collaborators in the slave trade, but also the most fervent opponents of the French colonial government, so much so that the railway between Cotonou and Parakou was designed by the colonists specifically to take power away from Abomey, passing 9 km away through Bohicon which became the new commercial centre. The bloody history of this city is well illustrated by the fabric panels of the Musée Historique d’Abomey, depicting bloody war scenes by the famous military corps of Amazons. The undisputed symbol of what was once royal power is the throne of Ghézo, placed over the skulls of four enemies. The museum stands on the ruins of what was the most impressive piece of architecture in West Africa, covering an area of 44 hectares, enclosed within 4 km of 10-metre high walls and surrounded by a moat. Originally there were many palaces, as each ruler had one built from scratch, but they were burnt down by King Béhazin before the Kingdom fell to French troops at the end of the 19th century. Today, the two main palaces have been restored and made accessible to visitors. They were once the seats of the two most important rulers, Ghezo and Glélé.
Roads of the Tata houses (Koussoukoingou)
The Atakora region is one of the unmissable wonders of Benin. To reach it from Natitingou, you have to drive along a road set amidst spectacular scenery of fertile plains, dotted with fields of maize, cotton and baobabs, protected by mountain profiles that stretch as far as the eye can see to the border with Togo. It is here that the Somba-Betammaribé (in Benin) and Tamberma (in Togo) peoples, fleeing slavery, tribal wars and religious conversion, found refuge, preserving their ancestral traditions intact over the centuries. It was in this spectacular place that they found fertile land and rocky heights in which to hide. It was here that they built their small defensive fortresses with what nature offered them, thatch, wood and mud.
Their typical houses called tatatchenta (or more simply tata), scattered across the plain and between the hills, despite their simplicity, are a true synthesis of defensive, functional and religious engineering. Entirely modelled in clay by laying one on top of the other, both families and their herds find shelter inside. The roof consists of a terrace on wooden cavities and small towers with straw caps (rooms and granaries). Numerous 'surveillance' systems were designed to repel possible enemy attacks. But surely the greatest protection of the hearth of peoples who remained profoundly animist was entrusted to the innumerable protective fetishes, also moulded in clay in front of the door, and on which propitiatory sacrifices are periodically made, even today. The most representative examples of these small traditional dwellings with their fairy-tale appearance are to be found at Koussoukoingou on the Beninese side and at Koutammakou on the Togolese side. Crossing the border, one realises that the geopolitical borders imposed by the great European powers did not succeed in dividing these peoples, who share the same customs, languages and traditions.
Today, the border is crossed in a constant coming and going from one country to another, as if it did not exist, and the Betammaribé and the Tamberma continue to meet and do business at the small Nadoba market, one of the most representative in the region, where traditional goods mix with cheap chinoiserie. Every Wednesday, the feticheurs/soothsayers welcome under their canopies of branches all those who wish to have their fortunes read, or for advice on important personal decisions. The answer will be given to them by a complex theory of symbols that the feticheur’s stick traces in the sand, under dictation from the spirits.
Natitingou
Natitingou is a city in northwestern Benin, near the border with Togo. It serves as the capital of Atakora Department and is situated in the Atakora Mountains region. The city lies along an ancient trade route that connected the coastal regions with the inland areas. Natitingou has a rich cultural heritage, being home to the Somba people.
Djougou
Djougou is a city located in northwestern Benin, and it is the capital of the Donga department. It is known for its vibrant market, which is one of the largest in the region, and its rich cultural heritage. The city is home to several ethnic groups, including the Bariba, Fulani, and Dendi peoples.
