Next: 10 Jan 2027
Vodun Day at Ouidah
Benin's national day of its indigenous religion, with processions, masked figures and offerings on the Atlantic shore.
About Vodun Day at Ouidah
Since 1996, 10 January has been a public holiday in Benin to honour Vodun, the religion of the Fon, Ewe and related peoples, and the home of the practices that went on to form Haitian Vodou and Brazilian Candomble. The main gathering is at Ouidah, on the coast, where priests, devotees and visitors meet at the beach near the Door of No Return, and sacrifices and libations are made to the deities and the ancestors. Masked figures such as the Zangbeto, the night guardians, and the Egungun, who embody the dead, appear, and drumming and dancing continue through the day. The holiday was a political move to restore the religion's public standing after decades of suppression and of pressure by missionaries.
Entries tied to it
Also part of it, and being written: West African Vodún (The religion honoured.), Egungun (The masquerades of the ancestors.), Ouidah (The town of the gathering.).
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "West African Vodún" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family, and are described as belief and practice. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.