Festivals have always been a big deal amongst Africans. It is a way by which black communities across the globe protect and promote their rich cultures to the entire world.
The act, as old as the dawn of civilization, has gradually spread across the globe, especially in the Caribbean.
For some, these festivals are old-fashioned, however, for others, these festivals were said to have set the tone for our heritage hence they must be celebrated and respected.
The Voodoo Vibes Festival held in Benin is the festival where all assemble in devotion to their gods. Mostly held in January, believers are drowned in rites and rituals around the voodoo temples involving dances, trances, and sacrifices.
In Ouidah, a small town and former slave port in the West African country of Benin, the annual voodoo festival gathers visitors from far and wide. It’s a week that brings together priests and dignitaries, rich and poor, locals and visitors from as far afield as the Caribbean and France.
The gathering includes traditional dance and animal sacrifices at shrines, with some devotees entering trance states. The peak of the festival is in the last two days. Devotees offer dances to the spirits, often with bodies decorated with local powder and palm oil.
There are those who find the initiation ceremonies of voodoo, the animal sacrifices, the bloodletting and the use of fetishes unsettling. The animals used for the Voodoo Vibes Festival are usually chickens and goats.
Although many voodoo practices have been modified over the years, I have heard people, especially those who follow Christianity and Islam, voice their doubts. Whatever your opinion of voodoo, it’s hard to ignore the energy and devotion of its followers at a gathering like this.
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