Vodun names related religious traditions in coastal West Africa, particularly in Benin and Togo. In this setting the word can also refer to a divinity. English-language discussions sometimes call the traditions “African Voodoo.” The spelling Vodun helps identify the West African traditions discussed here. Vodou commonly refers to the related Haitian religion, whose history also includes other African traditions and life under colonial slavery. The objects in this article come from Benin, where people have drawn distinctions between honoring divinities, remembering the dead and seeking protection. Suzanne Preston Blier on the arts of Vodun in Benin and Togo · The origins of Haitian Vodou
Vodun divinities in a border community
A profile published by Benin’s government describes Ifangni, near the Nigerian border, as a meeting place for Nago, Tori and Goun traditions. It names Sakpata, associated with the earth and smallpox, and Dan, described there in serpent form and associated with good fortune. These names carry particular associations in the locality described. Identifying the place and the communities is important because an account of worship in Ifangni describes relationships maintained there. Benin government profile of Ifangni
That local account also refers to Egun-gun, or Kuvito, in connection with ancestors. Divinities and ancestors can both have a place in the religious life of one locality. The distinction becomes clearer when a source names the being addressed or the deceased person honored, and describes what participants do on a particular occasion. Ifangni profile, local traditions and ancestors
How a bocio figure could offer protection
One Fon figure at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has two faces turned in opposite directions and a dog’s skull at the top. It is a bocio, a kind of object that a priest or diviner might prescribe for someone seeking protection. The scholar Suzanne Preston Blier explains that the two faces suggest vigilance in multiple directions. In the museum’s account, such figures could act as substitutes for their clients, intended to draw harm away from the people they represented. A figure might be placed near a house or along a path, giving its location a part in the way it was expected to work. The Met, Bocio with opposing faces and Blier’s commentary
Blier’s study situates bocio among Fon, Ewe and other communities in coastal Benin and Togo. A museum can record what an object is made from and where it was collected. The explanation of how people used a figure adds another level of evidence. The two faces can be seen in the carving, while the idea of a protective substitute comes from accounts of its ritual context. Blier’s study of bocio figures
An altar made to remember a person
An asen from Ouidah in the same collection was made in memory of a deceased person. The museum describes how a family could set the metal staff in the ground of a shrine house and make offerings there. A scene at the top assembles objects and figures that recall the person and the rites of commemoration. The gourd in this example refers to a vessel used in the rites, while the curved seat suggests that the person may have held an office. The cataloguers also identify cruciform pendants as evidence of contact with Christian devotional practice in Benin. The Met, Ouidah asen and its imagery
The asen provides a place where the living can address and make offerings to someone who has died. The bocio described above was intended to protect a client from harm. Both involve a made object and ritual action. Their different purposes explain why the broad label of religious sculpture tells only part of the story.
Conclusion
Vodun is easier to understand when a description identifies the relationships involved. Ifangni’s divinities have names and associations that matter to local worshippers. A protective bocio is made or prescribed with a client and a purpose in mind. An asen gives a family a place to continue its relationship with someone who has died. The place, the participants and the intended use explain what each example means within the wider West African tradition.
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