More than 1,000 people visited the coastal Beninese town Ouidah for an elaborate festival to mark the country's national voodoo holiday
Over a thousand people gathered in the small Atlantic coast town of Ouidah on Tuesday, once an important port in the slave trade, to watch the elaborate annual rituals of dance and drumming to honour the 500-year-old religion's panoply of gods and spirits.
"They come in increasing numbers because voodoo is no longer considered sorcery, it is no longer considered barbarism," said voodoo spiritual leader Daagbo Hounon Houna II, adorned in colourful beads and a top hat. Voodoo is practiced by around 12% of the West African country's population of 13 million people, but the authorities also want to use these deep spiritual roots and spectacular customs to attract more tourists and boost the agriculture-dependent economy.
In Ouidah, dance groups move to spellbound drumming and chants as spectators watched and shot videos on their phones. Nigerian therapist Flora Domenis, 44, travelled to the festival with friends from the Caribbean, who she said had a special interest in these kind of traditions due to their shared African heritage.Devotees perform as they take part in the annual celebration of Voodoo festival in Cotonou, Benin January 10, 2023. REUTERS/ Charles Placide Tossou
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