Introduction
Understanding Vodun d'West Africa
Vodun refers to powers and traditions that organize relations with them. The word has been caricatured by colonial imagination and cinema.
It does not mean black magic or the use of "vaudou dolls", an object largely foreign to ordinary Beninese practices.
To be retained
Four essential principles
- Vodun refers to powers and traditions that organize relations with them.
- The kingdoms of Dahomey, D-Allada and Ouidah have structured some cults without standardizing them.
- A supreme creator can coexist with many more directly engaged "vodun" in the world.
- vodun is a world of relations between community, ancestors, powers and territories.
Small timeline
A tradition shaped by history
Origins and training
The kingdoms of Dahomey, D-Allada and Ouidah have structured some cults without standardizing them.
Historical developments
The Atlantic trade has transported people, divinities and ritual languages to Haiti, Cuba, Brazil and Louisiana.
Ritual life and teachings
A supreme creator can coexist with many more directly engaged "vodun" in the world.
A living and plural tradition
Colonization and missions have fought against these traditions, which nevertheless remain officially recognized in Benin.
History and development
The kingdoms of Dahomey, D-Allada and Ouidah have structured certain cults without standardizing them. The Atlantic trade has transported people, divinities and ritual languages to Haiti, Cuba, Brazil and Louisiana.
Colonization and missions have fought against these traditions, which nevertheless remain officially recognized in Benin.
Worldview, beliefs and practices
A supreme creator can coexist with many more directly engaged "vodun" in the world. Mawu-Lisa, Legba, Heviosso and Sakpata are among the known powers, with local variations.
Initiation, divination, offerings, drums, songs, dance and possession establish communication. The ancestors and the protection of the community are essential.
Texts, symbols and transmission
Oral tradition, songs, consecrated objects, altars and divinatory signs Fa. Serpent, iron, water, lightning, mounds and colours have meanings unique to cults.
Objects are not "fetches" in the pejorative sense, but supports of presence and relationship.
What research can and cannot say
Anthropology and history show a complex institutional religion. Charges of witchcraft must be treated with caution and without replicating colonial stereotypes.
References