Vodoun Day or Fête du Vodoun (literally Vodoun Festival, also known as Traditional Religions Day) is a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

that celebrates the nation's history surrounding the West African religion of Vodoun. The celebration is held annually on January 10 throughout the country but most notably in the city of

Ouidah Ouidah (English: ; French: ) or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch), and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on t ...

. Beginning with the slaughter of a goat in honor of the spirits, the festival is filled with singing, dancing and the imbibing of liquor, especially

gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands ...

. Vodoun was officially declared a religion in Benin in 1996 and the festival has attracted thousands of devotees and tourists to Ouidah to participate in the festivities ever since.

Pictures

File:Zangbeto Benin festival Jan 2018.webm, Zangbeto performing in Fête du Vodoun in

Grand-Popo Grand-Popo is a town, Arrondissements of Benin, arrondissement, and Communes of Benin, commune in the Mono Department of south-western Benin. The commune covers an area of 289 square kilometres and as at the 2013 Census had a population of 57,636 ...

, Benin in January 2018. File:Zangbeto running in Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, Zangbeto running. File:Zangbeto in Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, Zangbeto File:Two Zangbetos landing in Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, Two Zangbetos landing to the festival area. File:Restaurant in Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, A restaurant in the festival area. File:Two Zangbetos in Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, Two Zangbetos. File:Procession Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, Festival procession. File:Procession and audience in Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, Procession and audience. File:Photohraphing procession Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, Procession and a photographer. File:Audience in Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, Speakers, TV-group and festival audience. File:Dancers in Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, Dancers File:Obseving Zangbeto in Vodoun Festival Grand Popo Benin Jan 2018.jpg, Zangbeto

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fete Du Vodoun West African Vodun Culture of Benin January observances Articles containing video clips