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BENIN | Visit Benin with TransAfrica |
Benin
has much to offer – as well as an authentic taste of African bush
country, there is a whole range of natural and human curiosities to be
found there and they can all be characterised by one simple word: charm.
The word ‘charm’ leads us first of all to describe the extraordinary presence of the Beninese women. Their social emancipation was not a recent development. In the last century, they were famous for making up the battalions of Amazon warriors who served the King of Abomey. Their fieriness still manifests itself today in their business dealings in the markets where they reign as the uncontested matrons, their spirited presence compounded by their air of natural authority and the richness and magnificence of their appearance: each one of them has her own particular way of wrapping 12 metres of cloth around herself: quite majestic.
The Latin Quarter of Africa
So as not to be outdone by the women, the Beninese men are renowned for their assiduous approach to education. From one generation to the next they study harder at school in the hope of ensuring a higher level of culture for their children and their children’s children. Benin is even referred to as the ‘Latin Quarter of Africa’. It is a fact that before independence, most government officials, secretaries, directors and nurses in Francophone Africa were Beninese or Togolese. From where did it come, this liberated approach, this desire to succeed through learning, this ready dialogue that man, woman and child will readily engage in with another? The Beninese people have always been known as intelligent people.
Voodoo Country
The town of Ouidah, 40 km west of Cotonou (even though you do sometimes come across the occasional foreigner who lives there) is typically and profoundly African. Ouidah is known as the religious capital of the country because of the numerous festivals with chanting, tam-tam and strange dances that still take place there, bearing witness to a tradition of beliefs and local superstitions that hasn’t been interrupted or changed over many, many years.
Voodoo was born in the villages that lie between Abomey and Ouidah – a religion whose rites are practised today on the other side of the world by the black people of the Caribbean. The fetishists of Ouidah are real fetishists; the Temple of the Sacred Pythons, in spite of its modest appearance, houses a fetish that is still venerated today. Although wonderfully interesting, these attractions should not keep you from also taking a walk along the wide avenues of the town to visit the very modern Youth and Cultural Centre, the cathedral opposite the Dangbe Temple and the history museum which is housed in the buildings of the old Portuguese residence. A 4km walk through the majestic groves of coco palms will lead you to the sea, edged by a beach of fine white sand.
Villages on the water
Short excursions out from the coastal towns are always a possibility and there are many to choose from. A classic trip out, probably the most sensational on offer, is the one with the shortest journey time – you travel by pirogue to the lake villages, in particular, the village of Ganvié. Ganvié is a very large village, uniquely made up of huts resting on bamboo stilts, perched above the water level. The village is very spread out, the huts scattered around, seemingly at random, several metres apart. When you are there, however, it is not only the ingenuity of the constructions that you admire – your attention is also drawn to the details of village life. The fishermen are very welcoming and like to show off their fishing engines and the ovens where they smoke their fish, which they have built above the water level close to their homes. The fishermen also benefit from being able to sell their crafts to visitors – small wooden carvings that they have made themselves.
Abomey – Art & Legend
Our first port of call in Abomey is the palace museum where we will be able to learn more about the kings of this brave and valiant people. The palace has been restored and is well set up for visitors with detailed guided tours available. There you will see not only the relics of the recent kings but the entire history of a dynasty that dates back to the end of the 16th century, whose tragic conflicts and troubles have inspired even the plays of William Shakespeare. The museum clearly gives the visitor an impression of the Amazon warriors and the troubled reigns of kings who led armies in never-ending wars against the Nagos in the east as well as an idea of the splendours of the court. The palace also houses a huge range of Beninese art – samples of all of the different kinds of art and craft work that is produced in Benin are exhibited there: sculpted bas-reliefs, statues, furniture, thrones, sceptres, tapestries, embroidery, vanneries and bronze and copper artefacts. To bring us quickly back to the Benin of the present day, we can take a walk through the palm groves where wild boar and goats run around freely in the shade of the trees or a stroll through the neighbouring villages where poverty doesn’t necessarily preclude a certain degree of comfort for the villagers.
To the north of Abomey, the palm groves gradually fade away and bush country takes its place. The African bush is neither dense forest nor flat plain – it’s something in between: the land north of Abomey is covered in light forest, punctuated by black hills, on the slopes of which perch curious villages amongst the rounded blocks of rock.
Castles of Clay
Following the mountain range of the Atakora, we eventually
find ourselves in Somba country. This word describes a whole range of
different peoples, such as the Tamberma, the Betammaribe, the Bessoribe,
the Betiabe and the Wama; it is often very difficult to tell them apart.
The thing they all have in common, however, is the ‘tata’.
The ‘tata’ is the name of the dwelling in which they live.
‘Tatas’ are built in the shape of small castles and are several
storeys high. The definition of a man in Somba country is a male who has
followed a long route of initiation rites and who owns his own traditional
‘tata’. The hills of the Atakora region are dotted here and
there by these clay and thatch buildings that so enchanted the great architect
Le Courboisier. Each house is surrounded by cultivated fields. Centuries
ago the peoples of these villages chose to take refuge in this territory
because it is not easily accessible and they wanted no outside influences
to interfere with their way of life. The villagers there still hunt with
bows and arrows and adhere to strict rites of initiation. The beautiful
scarification on their faces and their bellies clearly shows the price
that these people pay in order to reach adulthood.
