Ouidah

This past Saturday I, along with some good friends from gateway in Texas, went to Ouidah to see what we could see in the 4 hours we had use of a vehicle. It took a bit more than an hour to get there, sharing the road with thousands of zemedjans, so we didn't have nearly enough time to really see Ouidah, but we were able to get oriented and get a feel for the place. Ouidah is known in Benin for being the capital of Voodoo and for its history as a major port for the slave trade. There is a Slave Route in Ouidah now marked by monuments at several points that the slaves passed through on their way to the sea to board ships bound for the New World. We passed by the slave market where the route begins and by the other points on the 3km dirt road to the sea and to the final point on the route, the Gate of No Return (pictured above). Below is a photo of another memorial monument on the beach nearby. In between the slave market area and the Gate of No Return are the Tree of Forgetfulness (photo below - with not just some random Englishman, that's Sam!), the actual tree of which is no longer there, or if it is it doesn't amount to much. It is said that this tree had magical powers and as the slaves circled it, they would have forgotten their identity. Later down the road is the place where slaves were placed in a dark room called the "Zomai" for months so that when they emerged they would be broken and not be able to struggle. The people who did not survive the Zomai ended up in the mass grave which is now marked by a memorial. Further down the road there is the Tree of Return which, upon circling, would guarantee that the souls of the slaves would find their way back to their homeland. (Some of the above info came from "Benin - The Bradt Travel Guide" by Stuart Butler.) In our limited time we didn't find the Zomai or the Tree of Return, but the other points were clear. On the road to the beach we also passed by many not so attractive voodoo statues and a beautiful lagoon where there were men fishing. We didn't go to the python temple in Ouidah, but we did glimpse a voodoo ceremony in progress on the way out of town as could be recognized from the brightly colored garb and covered faces of the entranced participants. We didn't linger there.

Voodoo is an animistic religion. There apparently is a belief in a Supreme Being who is helped by lesser gods. People pray to these lesser gods and also engage in sacrifices and rituals to them in hopes that they will pass the messages on to the Supreme Being in their behalf. As this is basically a polytheistic religion, then, in which there is no direct contact with the creator, nothing could be much farther away from Christianity where Jesus is the supreme sacrifice and opened the doors to direct relationship with God. Nevertheless, it is said here that Benin is x% Muslim and x% Christian, but is 100% Voodoo. The spiritual darkness is palpable here, but we know that we walk in the light and need not fear it. It is our prayer that the light of Christ will continue to shine in the darkness here.

John

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14