|
DESTINATION BENIN 2007  The Portuguese Fort at Ouidah remained in sovereign Portuguese hands until after Dahomey became independent in 1961, being for many years the smallest international territory in the world.  Cannon in demi-lunes provided the Portuguese Fort with a field of fire covering the whole town of Ouidah.  Voodoo practitioners in action, Ouidah.  The 2007 International Festival of Voodoo, at Ouidah, saw the inauguration of a new Supreme Chief of Voodoo, the first time this had happened in 29 years. The new Chief is in the centre, in the black and white hat.
Video: Following the inauguration, the crowd proceeds along the 4km Route of Slaves - the path from Ouidah to the coast along which the slaves were forced before being deported to the Americas. (The Supreme Chief is under the umbrella.)  The Gate of No Return on the Ouidah shoreline symbolizes the place from which the slaves were carried out to the waiting ships.  The remains of a once impressive 17th century Dahomian palace at Abomey. The Dahomian kings swore at their coronation oath to expand the boundary of their empire. They did this by attacking their neighbours and enslaving the population, becoming hugely wealthy in the process.  An audience with HM King Gbehanzin II of Abomey. Although holding no formal power, the kings of Benin are recognized under the constitution and receive state funding under a civil list.  HM King Gbehanzin II of Abomey.  Egungun are spirits of the dead who return to occupy the bodies of an elite corps of Yoroba-speaking priests. This pair are in Bohicon, near Abomey.  An Egungun offers advice to a petitioner.  In the north, the Tata Somba group of peoples adopted a different solution to the problem of resisting slavers. Each Tata Somba settlement is a miniature, self-contained fortress, with a defensible upper level. Each settlement is out of musket range of its neighbour, making capturing each fort a separate, and costly, business.  Household goods on the upper level of a Tata Somba fort.  Pots 'n' pans...
|
|
|
|
|
© Site contents Stuart Notholt Communications Ltd, 2010. Not to be reproduced without permission.
|
