Benin
The Birthplace of the REAL VOODOO
It seems that even though Benin’s size (about the size of Ohio) is smaller than the rest of its neighbors, it holds more interesting sites that many countries that surround it.
The evidence of the French, Portuguese, Dutch and English colonial empires is still seen in many cities and towns along the south.
Voodoo was born here many years ago and spread to the Americas with the shipping of slaves over the Atlantic. I had a chance to visit a voodoo village to see some of the shrines they have built which was amazing. Hollywood has done a good job at damaging how people view voodoo and it is nothing more than praying to gods like most religions do (with the performing of more rituals.
Catholicism makes up around 30 percent of the population with Islam making up another 20 percent, and voodoo and/or animism finally making up about 50 percent. Even though the monotheistic religions follow their own rituals, many of them incorporate forms of voodoo into their everyday lives.
I had the chance to do the slavery walk which is when colonizers took the many slaves to the ports to be hauled off to different parts of the New World. Along the way, there were many statues of different animals and people that have some significance of the native people.
Lastly seen in a few parts of the country are the stilt villages in which people live and work above the water, mostly doing fishing. This was the highlight of the country for me as we got to see how people function in everyday life. Interesting to see all in a square kilometer was a church, a mosque, and a voodoo shrine…..Why was it interesting? Shows how different people can all get along in a small community and there is no fighting over religion or beliefs….
