Discussion Board Forum 3
Rhonda Ray
HIWD 320 Africa
Liberty University in Lynchburg VA
Religion is a major part of the Benin culture. Their constitution provides freedom of religion and it determins legal guidelines that goven religius practices.
Beninese follow a diverse mix of Atheism, Christianity, Islamic and Methodists religions. Many of these incorporate voodoo rituals in their religion.
Voodoo is the ancient indigenous tradition of ancestor worship and animism that evolved in West Africa in the 17th century. Voodoo is a creole religion practiced by more than 30 million people in Benin.
The religious cosmology of voodoo is centered around Mawu, a divine creator who bore 7 children with her mate Liza. Each child was given a dominion over 7 different realms of nature. Clergy are central to maintaining the moral and ancestral traditions.
Various art forms like this figure of a little boy is called a bocioi. It is a medicine ball that presents a supernatural being and can be activated thru specific rites. They are designed to attract and hold powerful forces; the owner can then control, protect or harm people. The sources of their power comes from the deity Papa Legba, the son of Mawu, who is the keeper of the crossroads and was given the gift of language. He also enables believers to be possessed. He works as a mediator between the living and the spirit world. Myths have said that Legba was a trouble maker, equivalent to Loki in Norse mythology. He would lay with corpes and was even accused of sleeping with his mother-in-law. When asked why he simply stated that she layed in the same spot as his wife and he simply gave into the idea of his wife as he slept with her. 2
Beninese also believed that kings have powers to view the spirit world. In the 20th century, the Oba still carry on old traditions. They bless and anoint their people during the Benin’s Igue Festival.
Here is a list of other gods and goddesses worshiped in Benin 1:
| Age |
God of
animals. Revered by hunters in the savannah regions. Benin, West Africa
|
Age Fon
|
Revered by
hunters he is the god of animals
|
Agwe
|
Mother of
the sea Benin
|
Agwe
|
She is the
mother of the sea
|
Aida Wedo
|
A goddess
of the rainbow & fresh water Aida Cuedo, Aido Wedo, Ayida, Ayida Cueddo
|
Avrikiti
Fon
|
Goddess of
fisherman Benin
|
Behanzin
|
Fish god
who was invoked by fishermen to ensure a bountiful catch. Benin
|
Behanzin
Fon
|
The fish
god
|
Bo
|
God of the
Ewe people in Benin. He was a protector of warriors.
|
Dan
|
Goddess of
order and the rainbow. Benin/Mahi
|
Dan
|
A goddess
of order & the rainbow
|
Ebore
|
Sky god.
Nigeria and Benin
|
Esu
|
The dark
side of God. He is an independent entity and timeless. Benin/Yoruba
|
Esu Edo
|
A god of
passage that stands at the gates of home of the gods
|
Gleti
|
Goddess of
the moon Benin
|
Legba Fon
|
God of fate
Benin
|
Loko
|
God of
trees. Fon Benin
|
Loko Fon
|
A god of
trees
|
Mawu
|
Goddess of
peace, joy, motherhood. happiness, and the sky Benin/Fon
|
Mawu Fon
|
Goddess of
the moon Benin
|
Nesu Fon
|
Tutelary
god of royalty Benin
|
Ogiuwu Edo
|
The
harbinger of death who is supposed to own the blood of all living things.
Benin
|
Ogun Edo
|
A god of
war that was sent to cut up the land to allow crops to the planted
|
Osandobua
Edo
|
A benign
creator god that controls prosperity, health & happiness
|
Sogbo
|
The god of
thunder, lightning and fire. Benin
|
Sogbo Fon
|
A storm god
of rain
|
2Belcher, S.P. (2005). African Myths Of Origin (100-103). New York: Penguin Books
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