By Robert Houndohomè HOUNON alias DAAGBO HOUNON HOUNA II
Religions, whether traditional or revealed, proliferate from one place to the other, from one region to the other, even from one continent to the other. The substrate of all religions is nothing more nor less than love of the neighbor, tolerance and peace. In a world in which peace is the goal of an ongoing quest, what is the role of the Vodun religion so that the whole of Africa, starting from one of its components, can rediscover this peace around which so much fuss is made day after day?
I – GEOGRAPHIC SITUATION
Vodun is a traditional religion that is authentically African, and specifically Beninois, having stemmed from the religious values of Ouidah. Its principal strength resides in the fact that it reflects the cultural identity of the mass of the people.
1-1- Benin on the map
A West African country formerly called Dahomey, Benin occupies an area of 116 000 squ. m. with 7 million inhabitants. It is a democratic country that wants to become one of the emerging economies.
The administrative capital is Porto-Novo, the economic capital is Cotonou and the historical capital is Abomey. Its religious capital is Ouidah.
1-2- Ouidah on the map
Situated at the foot of the Gulf of Guinea, the historical city of Ouidah is rich in attractions – historical, religious, cultural and tourist. From the 16th century it was our country’s gate of entry to the Dutch, Portuguese, English, Danes and, notably, the French.
Ouidah was a sadly renowned port owing to the tragic slave trade that is indelibly written in the dark pages of universal history.
I need to recall the past of this city in order to explain the
foundations of the particularly rich religious and cultural diversity symbolized by Ouidah.
The slave legacy meant, among other things, that this was a city of transit. There was a mingling of indigenous populations and those coming from distant regions. For many different reasons, they arrived in Ouidah and also in other parts of Benin or Africa, with their own religious and cultural identities.
The result is that Ouidah is the city of diasporas par excellence, its different religious and cultural spaces constituting its special character and unique identity.
Ouidah is a place of memory, a place of blending religions, a place of resourcing and pilgrimage, a sacrosanct place, a place of memories, a place of mixing cultures and, above all, a gateway of return, today open to the ocean.
II – ADVANCING TOWARD PEACE
Prayers and blessings are messages containing grains of good health, long life, harmony, conviviality, dialogue, thus of peace, supposedly lasting. Then there is praise and thanksgiving, litany and dancing. The very many expressions in the Fongbé language guarantee that we are rooted in the love of our neighbor, of accepting difference, the social, mental and physical well-being of all, and thus of peace.
For that reason the VODUN HWENDO tradition, to which 65% of the Benin population belong, have decided to emerge from its oral tradition to show the world its remarkable and undeniable contributions to the establishment of a lasting peace.
2-1- The culture of loving the other
Internment – being placed in a convent or monastery for the formative initiation to VODUN – constitutes the first source of learning morality, acquiring a public spirit and experiencing community life.
Nowadays, the formative initiation and the reinforcement of adaptation skills through regular ceremonies, rituals and cults make each of those initiated into complete human beings who love their neighbor.
2-2- The culture of tolerance
The initiation sessions, training, cults and rituals are occasions to recall the principles and taboos to be observed by the initiate.
For example, slapping a Vodunsi is prohibited on pain of paying a heavy fine and suffering social pressure. Thus the Vodunsis are made aware that they should avoid getting involved in fights or using insulting language. The following events are organized:
a. Short talks with discussions: about behavior, attitudes to adopt towards a grown-up apart from your parents, towards your brothers and sisters, fellow students, believers of other religions and the theory of non-violence.
b. Seminars to raise awareness about schooling, particularly for girls, and about the way the VODUN HWENDO school is run.
c. an awareness seminar on the contribution of the VODUN HWENDO religions to environmental protection.
d. Water ritual ceremonies.
e. Other actions in the form of child rights advocacy, the phenomena of children placed under communal care, which we call Vidomgon, and about the worst forms of child labor.
f. Two sessions on awareness-raising and reorganizing women, on the family, sexually transmissible diseases and HIV/AIDS, income-generating activities, crafts and manual trades.
III – BEHAVIOR
No day goes by without the word peace being uttered almost everywhere. How long has it been talked of, how many prizes have been awarded in its name, how many conferences have been held on the subject? With regard to the VODUN HWENDO religion, establishing peace is, and remains, an ongoing quest despite all the measures taken at the national, regional and international levels.
Nowadays peace is the equivalent of a fabric that one person sows together and the other tears apart, or of a house that one builds and the other demolishes.
3-1- Attacks and provocations
Unfortunately, VODUN is the object of attacks and provocations by the supporters of other religions. For examples, there are songs and expressions in which Vodun is synonymous with a bad spirit, devil, Satan, sorcery etc…
3-2- Counter-reactions
Vodun has never sought to revenge itself or hit back. On the contrary, it has always met attacks with tolerance, seeking frank and sincere dialogue leading to consensus.
IV – INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
Benin is regarded as a land of VODUN. The historic city of Ouidah is called the cradle of VODUN and DAAGBO HOUNON is its supreme leader.
4-1- Ouidah, city of tolerance and peace
The first missionaries arriving in Ouidah were welcomed by the Vodun dignitaries without any further ado.
The Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of Ouidah was built on the sacred Vodun land oppposite the sacred temple of the Pythons thanks to the labor of Vodun believers.
The Methodist church was authorized to build in the middle of several Vodun temples not far from the area allocated to the Muslims. The biggest mosque and the city’s oldest one is separated by a simple alley from the great Central VODUN Temple, where the grand dignitaries of Vodun, called VODUNNON, are consecrated.
Vodun temples, Catholic churches, Protestant churches and mosques stand side by side, offering a religious framework that is a symbol of the acceptance of the other, of love of the neighbor, of tolerance and, to top it all, of peace.
This value of tolerance in the field of faith and respecting others carries the seeds of peace, of which Ouidah is a fine example.
The religious leaders meet, dialogue, create contexts for concertation, and find solutions to problems by consensus. Thus, despite a certain skepticism, an official Cadre de Concertation des Confessions Religieuses du Bénin (CCCR-BENIN) (framework for concertation of the religious confessions of Benin) has been established, with VODUN playing an active part. This structure is recognized by all the political and administrative authorities of our country, and has branches at the local level. It is relevant to mention here the regional African body Interreligious Action Interreligieuse for Peace in Africa (AIPA).
The believers of indigenous and/or revealed religions must follow their leaders. But religion and politics do not have the same vision of things. So what is the influence of politics on religious believers?
4-2- The influence of politics
Nowadays, liberal democracies trample on believers and people of faith in a very specific way, sometimes to the point of contempt. The liberal multi-party system has unfortunately divided the population. The person of faith met in a convent, monastery or church speaks in a way that unites others and sets a good example. This same person encountered on political terrain speaks unclearly and can cause division.
Why claim one thing and its opposite at the same time? Where is the dilemma?
This reflection aims to make a contribution to seeking solutions to a well-known weakness: what type of behavior should we adopt in order not to confuse religion and politics?
Africa presents itself as a continent of peace par excellence, given the diversity of religions that have chosen to live there and engages in awareness-raising, training, capacity building, continuing education and reorganization.
Religion has made people good but politics divides this great unity. In order to safeguard our faith, we have to rapidly work on our behavior, avoiding any confusion of religion and politics.
The VODUN HWENDO religion intends, for its part, to conduct a vast awareness-raising campaign to ensure that true faith is not instrumentalized. To that end, it will avail itself of all interreligious support. That is the path of salvation for peace in Africa, in general, and for each of our regions, in particular.
