Benin, a small country in West Africa open to Gulf of Guinea at its southern tip, an ethnic mosaic that preserves Indigenous traditions and languages despite the effects of French colonisation. Benin is a place seemingly frozen in time, with very little tourism, a painful history of slavery and a long road to development. It is also the birthplace of voodoo.
Voodoo worship has its roots in this small country. The slave trade spread it around the world, to North and South America and the Caribbean, where it developed its own interpretations.
The term voodoo comes from a branch of “animism” meaning “spirit” in the language Fon and Ewe. and holds that spirits and forces inhabit each of us and everything around us, some protecting us and others causing harm.
It is considered that Ouidah is the birthplace of voodoo, a religion more often called "vodun" in the west of Africa, with a hierarchy of tribal deities and spirits encompassing magical practices and healing remedies considered divine.
The many events rituals They remain an inherent part of daily life in Benin: they provide healing and maintain balance in society. It is a mystical world of priests, healers and magicians, which explains the cult of ancestors and the rituals of sacrifice.
The voodoo has undergone many changes over time, resulting in different variations. This is the case with Santería in Cuba and in the Dominican Republic the macomba, as well as the candomblé, the umbanda and kimbanda, which are mainly practiced in Brazil. These evolutions of voodoo arose when enslaved Africans arrived in the New World and continued their practices, enriching them with new elements.
⇒ More information about our trip to Benin departing on 26 December