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West African Vodún

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This article is about the West African religion. For other uses, see Voodoo.
A Vodun shrine in Togoville, Togo in 2017

Vodún or vodúnsínsen is an African traditional religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria. Practitioners are commonly called vodúnsɛntó or Vodúnisants.

Vodún teaches the existence of a supreme creator divinity, under whom are lesser spirits called vodúns. Many of these deities are associated with specific areas, but others are venerated widely throughout West Africa; some have been absorbed from other religions, including Christianity and Hinduism. There are several all-male secret societies, including Oró and Egúngún, into which individuals receive initiation. The divinatory system of Fá is also widely utilised and is also governed by a society of initiates.

Amid the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to the 19th century, vodúnsɛntó were among the enslaved Africans transported to the Americas. There, their traditional religions influenced the development of new religions such as Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, and Brazilian Candomblé Jejé. Since the 1990s, there have been growing efforts to encourage foreign tourists to visit West Africa and receive initiation into Vodún.

Definition

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A Vodun priest in Benin photographed in 2018

Vodún is a religion.[1] The anthropologist Timothy R. Landry noted that, although the term Vodún is commonly used, a more accurate name for the religion was vodúnsínsen, meaning "spirit worship".[2] The spelling Vodún is commonly used to distinguish the West African religion from the Haitian religion more usually spelled Vodou.[2] The religion's adherents are referred to as vodúnsɛntó or, in a French version, Vodúnisants.[2]

Vodún is "the predominant religious system" of southern Benin, Togo, and parts of southeast Ghana.[3] It is part of the same network of religions that include Yoruba religion as well as African diasporic tradition like Haitian Vodou, Cuban Santería, and Brazilian Candomblé.[4]

As a tradition, Vodún is not doctrinal,[5] with no central text.[5] It is amorphous and flexible,[6] adapting to different situations.[7] It is open to ongoing revision,[5] being eclectic and absorbing elements from many cultural backgrounds,[4] including from other parts of Africa but also from Europe, Asia, and the Americas.[8] In West Africa, many individuals draw upon African traditional religions, Christianity, and Islam simultaneously to deal with life's issues.[9]

Vodun and Christianity syncretism

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The syncretism of Vodun and Christianity was created by connecting the traditional West African Vodun and Christianity in Benin.[10] Adherents are mainly found in Benin, Togo and Nigeria.[11] Syncretism in the religious domain is the merging of two or more originally distinct religious traditions.[12] Similar syncretic religions are also found in the surrounding countries,[13] where it is a connection between the Yoruba religion and Christianity,[14] the Odinala religion and Christianity, the Bori religion and Islam, or the Bwiti religion and Christianity.[15]

In Benin, in addition to the followers of syncretism, there is a large group of people who profess Vodun and Christianity without mixing.[10] This is a – common in Africa – multiple religious belonging.[13] Various syncretisms and eclecticisms are common in West Africa.[16] In addition to Christian services (mostly, but not exclusively, in Benin), believers also visit Vodun initiates, use traditional household protection fetishes and personal protective gris-gris amulets. They cultivate respect for deceased ancestors and communicate with the spirit world with the help of a Vodun priest (vodunon).[10]

The syncretism of Vodun and Christianity arose just like Vodun itself in Benin,[10] but similar syncretisms also arose overseas, when Vodun reached the Caribbean together with slaves, where its syncretism with Catholic Christianity gave rise to Caribbean Voodoo similar to Brazilian Candomble and Cuban Santería.[17][10]

Beliefs

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Theology

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A Vodun altar in Abomey, Benin in 2008

Vodún teaches the existence of a single divine creator being.[3] Below this entity are an uncountable number of spirits who govern different aspects of nature and society.[3] The term vodún comes from the Gbé languages of the Niger-Congo language family.[18] It translates as "spirit", "god", "divinity", or "presence".[4] The art historian Suzanne Preston Blier called these "mysterious forces or powers that govern the world and the lives of those who reside within it".[19] A common belief is that the vodún came originally from the sea.[20] The spirits are thought to dwell in Kútmómɛ ("land of the dead"), an invisible world parallel to that of humanity.[21]

The vodún spirits have their own individual likes and dislikes;[5] each also has particular songs, dances, and prayers directed to them.[5] When kings introduced new deities to the Fon people, it was often believed that these enhanced the king's power.[22]

Lɛgbà is the spirit of the crossroads who opens up communication between humanity and the spirit world.[23] Sakpatá is the vodún of earth and smallpox.[24] Dàn is a serpent vodún associated with riches and cool breezes.[25] Xɛbyosò or Hɛvioso is the spirit of thunder.[26] Gŭ is the spirit of metal and blacksmithing.[27]

Some Beninese acknowledge that certain Yoruba orisa are more powerful than certain vodún.[28]

Also part of the Vodun worldview is the azizǎ, a type of forest spirit.[29]

Prayers to the vodún usually include requests for financial wealth.[30] Practitioners seek to gain well-being by focusing on the health and remembrance of their families.[31]

The Temple of the Pythons in Ouidah.

There is also an underlying philosophical framing underpinning Vodun which, according to Suzanne Preston Blier, who undertook a year of research in 1985–86 in Abomey and the nearby area, highlights the importance of remaining calm in contexts of difficulty and in life more generally. According to Blier, Vodun means, "the idea of staying close to a water source, to not rush through life, to take time to attain tranquility." Her interpretation stems from two area diviners who maintain that its origins lie in the phrase "rest to draw the water", from the Fon verbs vo 'to rest', and dun 'to draw water', the stoic suggestion of "the need for one to be calm and composed" in the face of adversity.[32]

Patterns of Vodun worship follow various dialects, spirits, practices, songs, and rituals. The divine Creator, called variously Mawu or Mahu, is a female being. She is an elder woman, and usually a mother who is gentle and forgiving. She is also seen as the god who owns all other gods and even if there is no temple made in her name, the people continue to pray to her, especially in times of distress. In one tradition, she bore seven children. Sakpata: Vodun of the Earth, Xêvioso (or Xêbioso): Vodun of Thunder, also associated with divine justice,[33] Agbe: Vodun of the Sea, Gû: Vodun of Iron and War, Agê: Vodun of Agriculture and Forests, Jo: Vodun of Air, and Lêgba: Vodun of the Unpredictable.[34]

The Creator embodies a dual cosmogonic principle of which Mawu the moon and Lisa the sun are respectively the female and male aspects, often portrayed as the twin children of the Creator.[35] In other stories, Mawu-Lisa is depicted as a single hermaphroditic person capable of impregnating herself, with two faces rather than being twins.[36] In other branches, the Creator and other vodus are known by different names, such as Sakpo-Disa (Mawu), Aholu (Sakpata), and Anidoho (Da), Gorovodu.[37]

Acɛ

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Landry defined acɛ as "divine power".[38]

Practice

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A Vodun temple in Grand-Popo, Benin, in 2018

The anthropologist Diana Rush noted that Vodun "permeates virtually all aspects of life for its participants".[3] As a tradition, it prioritises action and getting things done.[5]

Vodun practitioners believe that many natural materials contain supernatural powers, including leaves, meteorites, kaolin, soil from the crossroads, the feathers of African grey parrots, turtle shells, and dried chameleons.[39] Landry stated that a connection to the natural environment was "a dominant theme" in the religion.[39] The forest in particular is important in Vodun cosmology, and learning the power of the forest and of particular leaves that can be found there is a recurring theme among practitioners.[40] Leaves, according to Landry, are "building blocks for the spirits' power and material presence on earth".[39] Leaves will often be immersed in water to create vodùnsin (vodun water), which is used to wash both new shrines and new initiates.[41]

A priest in Abomey caring for a shrine

All creation is considered divine and therefore contains the power of the divine. This is how medicines such as herbal remedies are understood, and explains the ubiquitous use of mundane objects in religious ritual. Vodun talismans, called "fetishes", are objects such as statues or dried animal or human parts that are sold for their healing and spiritually rejuvenating properties. Specifically, they are objects inhabited by spirits. The entities that inhabit a fetish are able to perform different tasks according to their stage of development. Fetish objects are often combined in the construction of "shrines", used to call forth specific vodun and their associated powers.[42]

Shrines

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A Vodun shrine in Tegbi, in the Volta region of Ghana, in 2021

The spirit temple is often referred to as the vodúnxɔ or the hunxɔ.[43] A wooden carved statue is referred to as a bòcyɔ.[44]

The constituent parts of the shrine are dependent on the identity of the spirit being enshrined there. Fá for instance is enshrined in 16 palm nuts, while Xɛbyosò's shrines require sò kpɛn ("thunderstones') believed to have been created where lightning struck the earth.[45] Lɛgbà, meanwhile, is represented by mounds of soil,[46] typically covering leaves and other objects buried within it.[25] In a ritual that typically incorporates divination, sacrifices, and leaf baths for both the objects and the practitioner, the spirit is installed within these shrines.[47] For adherents, these shrines are deemed to be physical incarnations of the spirits.[47]

Plant material is often used in building shrines,[40] with specific leaves being important in the process.[41] Shrines may also include material from endangered species, including leopard hides, bird eggs, parrot feathers, insects, and elephant ivory.[47] Various foreign initiates, while trying to leave West Africa, have found material intended for their shrines confiscated at airport customs.[48]

A shrine to Lɛgbà

An animal will often be sacrificed to ensure the spirit manifests within the shrine;[21] it is believed that the animal charges the spirit’s acɛ, which gives the shrine life.[21] For shrines to Lɛgbà, for instance, a rooster force-fed red palm oil will often by buried alive at the spot where the shrine is to be built.[21] At many shrines, years of dried blood and palm oil have left a patina across the shrine and offering vessels.[25] When praying at a shrine, it is customary for a worshipper to leave a gift of money for the spirits.[49] There are often also pots around it in which offerings may be placed.[25]

Oró and Egúngún

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The Oró and Egúngún groups are all-male secret societies.[50] In Beninese society, these groups command respect through fear.[51] In contemporary Benin, it is common for a young man to be initiated into both societies on the same day.[51]

A culture of secrecy surrounds the Egúngún society.[52] Once initiated, a man will be expected to have his own Egúngún mask made;[53] these masks are viewed as embodiments of the ancestors.[54] Some people also make these masks, but do not consecrate or use them, for sale on the international art market, but other members of the society disapprove of this practice.[55]

Offerings and animal sacrifice

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An animal sacrifice at a shrine in Abomey, Benin in 2004

Vodun involves animal sacrifices to both ancestors and other spirits,[21] a practice called vɔ in Fon.[25] Typically, a message to the spirits will be spoken into the animal's ear and its throat will then be cut.[56] The shrine itself will be covered in the victim's blood.[57] This is done to feed the spirit by nourishing its acɛ.[58] Practitioners believe that this act maintains the relationship between humans and the spirits.[21] The meat will be consumed by the attendees.[58]

Among followers in the United States, where butchery skills are far rarer, it is less common for practitioners to eat the meat.[59] Also present in the U.S. are practitioners who have rejected the role of animal sacrifice in Vodun, deeming it barbaric.[59]

Initiation

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Animal heads and other body parts, sold for ritual uses, at the Akodessawa Market in Lomé, Togo in 2015

Initiation bestows a person with the power of a vodún.[28] It results in long-term obligations to the spirits that a person has received; that person is expected to honour their spirits with praise, to feed them, and to supply them with money, while in turn the spirit offers benefits to the initiate, giving them promises of protection, abundance, long-life, and a large family.[47]

The process of initiation can last from a few months to a few years.[5] Initiation is expensive;[60] especially high sums are generally charged for foreigners seeking initiation or training.[61] Practitioners believe that some spirits embody powers that are too intense for non-initiates.[28] Being initiated is described as "to find the spirit's depths".[62] Animal sacrifice is a typical feature of initiation.[21] Trainees will often be expected to learn many different types of leaves and respective qualities.[29]

Divination

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In Vodun, a diviner is called a bokónó.[63] A successful diviner is expected to provide solutions to their client's problem, for instance selling them charms, spiritual baths, or ceremonies to alleviate their issue.[64] The fee charged will often vary depending on the client, with the diviner charging a reduced rate for family members and a more expensive rate to either tourists or to middle and upper-class Beninese.[64] Diviners will often recommend that their client seeks initiation.[65]

Fá is a divinatory system originally adopted from the Yoruba.[66] Fá diviners typically believe that the priests of other spirits do not have the right to read the sacred signs of Fá.[28] A consultation with an initiate is termed a fákínan.[67]

Healing and bǒ

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Healing is a central element of Vodún.[9]

The Fon term bǒ can be translated into English as "charm"; many Francophone Beninese refer to them as gris gris.[68] These are amulets made from zoological and botanical material that is then activated using secret incantations,[69] the latter called bǒgbé ("bǒ's language").[70] Families or individuals often keep their recipes for creating bǒ a closely guarded secret;[71] there is a widespread belief that if someone else discovers the precise ingredients they will have power over its maker.[72] Bǒ are often sold;[73] tourists for instance often buy them to aid in attracting love, wealth, or protection while travelling.[74]

Bǒ designed for specific functions may have particular names; a zǐn bǒ is alleged to offer invisibility while a fifó bǒ provides the power of translocation.[71] Anthropomorphic figurines produced especially in the Fon and Ayizo area of southern Benin are commonly called bǒciɔ ("bǒ cadaver").[75] These bǒciɔ are often kept within the house or shrine—sometimes concealed in the rafters or under a bed—although in some places have also been situated outside, in public spaces.[76] Although bǒciɔ are not intended as representations of vodún,[77] early European travellers who encountered these objects labelled them "idols" and "fetishes".[78]

History

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Landry noted that prior to European colonialism, Vodún was not identified as "a monolithic religion" but was "a social system made of countless spirit and ancestor cults that existed without religious boundaries."[4] From the early 16th century, waves of Adja and related peoples migrated eastward, establishing close ties with each other and forming the basis for the emergent Fon people.[79] The Fon made contact with Portuguese sailors in the 16th century and subsequently also the French, British, Dutch, and Danish in the 17th and 18th centuries.[79]

The 17th century saw the rise of the Dahomey state in this area of West Africa.[77] From circa 1727 to 1823, Dahomey was a vassal state of Oyo, the Yoruba-led kingdom to the east, with this period seeing considerable religious exchange between the two.[66] Fon peoples adopted the Fá, Oró, and Egúngún cults from the Yoruba.[66] Fá was for instance present among the Fon by the reign of Dahomey's fifth ruler, Tegbesú (r.1732-74) and by the reign of Gezd (r.1818-58) had become well established in the Dahomean royal palace.[66]

Colonialism and post-colonial periods

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A ritual dance in Dahomey photographed in the 1920s

In 1890, France invaded Dahomey and dethroned its king, Béhanzin.[80] In 1894, it became a French protectorate under a puppet king, Agoli-agbo, but in 1900 the French ousted him and abolished the Kingdom of Dahomey.[80]

In 1960, Dahomey became an independent state.[81] In 1972, Mathieu Kérékou seized power of Dahomey in a military coup.[80] He subsequently transformed the country into a Marxist-Leninist state, the People's Republic of Benin.[82] Kérékou believed that Vodún wasted time, money, and resources that were better spent on economic development.[83] In 1973 he banned Vodún ceremonies during the rainy season, with further measures to suppress the religion following throughout the 1970s.[84] Under Kérékou’s rule, Vodun priests had to perform new initiations in secret, and the duration of the initiatory process was often shortened from a period of years to one of months, weeks, or days.[83]

In 1989, Benin transitioned to democratic governance.[82] After becoming prime minister in 1991, Nicéphore Soglo lifted many anti-Vodún laws.[82] The Beninese government planned "Ouidah '92: The First International Festival of Vodun Arts and Cultures," which took place in 1993.[82] It also established 10 January as "National Vodún Day."[82] From the 1990s, the Beninese government increasingly made a concerted effort to encourage Vodún-themed tourism, hoping that many foreigners would come seeking initiation.[85]

By the late 1960s, some American black nationalists were travelling to West Africa to gain initiation into Vodún or Yoruba religion.[86] By the late 1980s, some white middle-class Americans began arriving for the same reason.[86] Some initiates of Haitian Vodou or Santería still go to West Africa for initiation as they believe that it is there that the "real secrets" or "true spiritual power" can be found.[87] Many of the spiritual tourists who arrived in West Africa had little or no Fon or French, nor an understanding of the region's cultural and social norms.[88] Some of these foreigners seek initiation so that they can initiate others as a source of revenue.[89]

Demographics

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A Vodun altar in Grand-Popo, benin photographed in 2018

About 17% of the population of Benin, some 1.6 million, people follow Vodun. (This does not count other traditional religions in Benin.) In addition, many of the 41.5% of the population that refer to themselves as "Christian" practice a syncretized religion, not dissimilar from Haitian Vodou or Brazilian Candomblé; indeed, many of them are descended from freed Brazilian slaves who settled on the coast near Ouidah.[90]

In Togo, about half the population practices indigenous religions, of which Vodun is by far the largest, with some 2.5 million followers; there may be another million Vodunists among the Ewe of Ghana, as a 13% of the total Ghana population of 20 million are Ewe and 38% of Ghanaians practice traditional religion. According to census data, about 14 million people practice traditional religion in Nigeria, most of whom are Yoruba practicing Ifá, but no specific breakdown is available.[90]

However, because the Vodun deities are born to each clan, tribe, and nation, and their clergy are central to maintaining the moral, social and political order and ancestral foundation of its village, these efforts have not been successful. Recently there have been moves to restore the place of Vodun in national society, such as an annual International Vodun Conference that has been held in the city of Ouidah, Benin since 1991.[91]

Reception and influence

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In the view of some foreign observers, Vodún is Satanism and demon worship.[92] Some Beninese regard Christianity as "less worrisome and less expensive" than Vodun.[67]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Landry 2019, p. 6.
  2. ^ a b c Landry 2019, p. ix.
  3. ^ a b c d Rush 2017, p. 2.
  4. ^ a b c d Landry 2019, p. 5.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Rush 2017, p. 3.
  6. ^ Rush 2017, p. 5; Landry 2019, p. 2.
  7. ^ Rush 2017, p. 5.
  8. ^ Rush 2017, p. 4.
  9. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 125.
  10. ^ a b c d e Havelka, Ondřej (2021). "Syncretism of Catholic Christianity and West African Vodun from a Theological-Ethical Perspective". Studia Theologica. 23 (3): 149–174. doi:10.5507/sth.2021.033 – via Web of Science Core Collection (Arts & Humanities Citation Index), Scopus.
  11. ^ Gottlieb, Roger S. (2006). The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 264–268.
  12. ^ Mbiti, John S. (1991). An Introduction to African Religion. Portsmouth, London: Heinemann Educational Books. p. 15.
  13. ^ a b Ojo, J. O. (1999). Understanding West African Traditional Religion. Ile-Ife: S. C. Popoola Printers. pp. 59–68.
  14. ^ Peel, J. D. Y. (2016). Christianity, Islam, and Orisa-Religion: Three Traditions in Comparison and Interaction. Oakland: University of California Press. pp. 172–191.
  15. ^ Havelka, Ondřej (2022). "The Syncretism of the Gabonese Bwiti Religion and Catholic Christianity from a Theological and Theological-Ethical Perspective". Acta Universitatis Carolinae Theologica. 12 (1): 143–159 – via Web of Science Core Collection (Arts & Humanities Citation Index), Scopus.
  16. ^ Riggs, Thomas (2006). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices. Detroit: Thomson Gale. pp. 2–13.
  17. ^ Touchstone, Blake (1972). "Voodoo in New Orleans". Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association. 13 (4): 371–386. ISSN 0024-6816. JSTOR 4231284.
  18. ^ Landry 2019, pp. 4–5.
  19. ^ Blier 1995, p. 4.
  20. ^ Landry 2019, p. 2.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g Landry 2019, p. 61.
  22. ^ Rush 2017, p. 11.
  23. ^ Landry 2019, p. 97.
  24. ^ Landry 2019, p. 37.
  25. ^ a b c d e Landry 2019, p. 53.
  26. ^ Blier 1995, p. 2; Landry 2019, p. 53.
  27. ^ Blier 1995, p. 2; Landry 2019, p. 55.
  28. ^ a b c d Landry 2019, p. 11.
  29. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 65.
  30. ^ Landry 2019, pp. 34–35.
  31. ^ Landry 2019, p. 4.
  32. ^ Suzanne Preston Blier, African Vodun: Art, Psychology and Power. University of Chicago Press. 1996 p. 39.
  33. ^ Ojo, J.O. (1999). Understanding West African Traditional Religion. S.O. Popoola Printers. p. 63. ISBN 978-978-33674-2-5. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  34. ^ Anthony B. Pinn (2017-10-15). Varieties of African American Religious Experience: Toward a Comparative Black Theology. Fortress Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-1506403366. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  35. ^ Anthony B. Pinn (2017-10-15). Varieties of African American Religious Experience: Toward a Comparative Black Theology. Fortress Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1506403366. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  36. ^ Herskovits, Melville J. and Frances S. "Dahomean Narrative: A Cross-Cultural Analysis." Northwestern University Press (1958), p 125.
  37. ^ Eric J. Montgomery and Christian N. Vannier. "Ethnography of a Vodu Shrine in Togo: Of Spirit, Slave, and Sea." Brill(2017), pg. 127
  38. ^ Landry 2019, p. 112.
  39. ^ a b c Landry 2019, p. 63.
  40. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 64.
  41. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 67.
  42. ^ Landry, Timothy (2016). "Incarnating Spirits, Composing Shrines, and Cooking Divine Power in Vodún". Material Religion. 12: 50–73. doi:10.1080/17432200.2015.1120086. S2CID 148063421.
  43. ^ Landry 2019, p. 60.
  44. ^ Landry 2019, p. 40.
  45. ^ Landry 2019, pp. 98, 101.
  46. ^ Landry 2019, p. 101.
  47. ^ a b c d Landry 2019, p. 98.
  48. ^ Landry 2019, p. 99.
  49. ^ Landry 2019, p. 33.
  50. ^ Landry 2019, p. 83.
  51. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 84.
  52. ^ Landry 2019, p. 116.
  53. ^ Landry 2019, p. 117.
  54. ^ Landry 2019, p. 94.
  55. ^ Landry 2019, p. 95.
  56. ^ Landry 2019, p. 54.
  57. ^ Landry 2019, pp. 54, 61.
  58. ^ a b Landry 2019, pp. 55, 61.
  59. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 62.
  60. ^ Landry 2019, pp. 32.
  61. ^ Landry 2019, pp. 9, 32.
  62. ^ Landry 2019, p. 7.
  63. ^ Landry 2019, p. 43.
  64. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 44.
  65. ^ Landry 2019, p. 46.
  66. ^ a b c d Landry 2019, p. 57.
  67. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 47.
  68. ^ Landry 2019, p. 107.
  69. ^ Landry 2019, pp. 107–108.
  70. ^ Landry 2019, p. 111.
  71. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 108.
  72. ^ Blier 1995, pp. 20–21.
  73. ^ Blier 1995, p. 21; Landry 2019, p. 108.
  74. ^ Landry 2019, p. 110.
  75. ^ Blier 1995, p. 2.
  76. ^ Blier 1995, pp. 16–17.
  77. ^ a b Blier 1995, p. 5.
  78. ^ Blier 1995, p. 7.
  79. ^ a b Rush 2017, p. 9.
  80. ^ a b c Landry 2019, p. 17.
  81. ^ Rush 2017, p. 10; Landry 2019, p. 17.
  82. ^ a b c d e Landry 2019, p. 18.
  83. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 55.
  84. ^ Landry 2019, pp. 17–18.
  85. ^ Landry 2019, pp. 3, 13.
  86. ^ a b Landry 2019, p. 3.
  87. ^ Landry 2019, p. 10.
  88. ^ Landry 2019, p. 14.
  89. ^ Landry 2019, pp. 91–92.
  90. ^ a b "CIA Fact Book: Benin". Cia.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  91. ^ Forte, Jung Ran (2010). Percy C. Hintzen; Jean Muteba Rahier; Felipe Smith (eds.). Vodun Ancestry, Diaspora Homecoming, and the Ambiguities of Transnational Belongings in the Republic of Benin. University of Illinois Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-252-07753-1. Archived from the original on 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2017-09-15. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  92. ^ Landry 2019, p. 50.

Sources

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  • Blier, Suzanne Preston (1995). African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
  • Landry, Timothy R. (2019). Vodún: Secrecy and the Search for Divine Power. Contemporary Ethnography. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812250749.
  • Rosenthal, Judy (1998). Possession, Ecstasy and Law in Ewe Voodoo. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0813918044.
  • Rush, Diana (2017) [2013]. Vodun in Coastal Bénin: Unfinished, Open-Ended, Global. Critical Investigations of the African Diaspora. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 978-0826519085.
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