Sites significant to Vodun more broadly across West Africa, distinct from the more specific Fon grouping elsewhere in this subcategory list, and related at some historical distance to the African diaspora traditions that developed from it in the Americas. Sacred sites are grouped by tradition at a fine grain here, so a heading can be narrow without that saying anything about the tradition's own reach.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingSites of Vodun in the Bight of Benin: temples and compounds of individual vodun, sacred forests and groves, and the shrines of founding kings. Each vodun is served by a named priesthood attached to a particular lineage and locality, and there is no central authority. 2 Peoples and Traditions CoveredVodun is practised by the Fon, Ewe, Aja, Gun, Mina and neighbouring peoples across Benin, Togo, southeastern Ghana and southwestern Nigeria. It is a family of local traditions under one word, not one church. 2 Origins
Origin of the NameVodun is a Fon and Ewe word for a spirit or deity. The English "voodoo" is a distorted borrowing carrying meanings supplied by American popular culture and film, and neither the Beninese nor the Haitian tradition uses it of itself. 2 Status
Status TodayLiving. Benin recognised Vodun officially in 1996 and made 10 January a national day for it, reversing a long period of colonial, missionary and Marxist-era suppression. 2 Learn More
Vodun Sacred Sites
This small group holds a sacred site of West African Vodun, the religion of the vodun spirits practised in the region of Benin, Togo and neighbouring lands, a living tradition and an ancestor of Afro-diaspora religions.
The browser will find the site the atlas classes here. The entry describes its significance within the Vodun tradition.
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Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Sites grouped for the West African Vodun tradition.
Source Vodun in Coastal Benin: Unfinished, Open-Ended, GlobalDana Rush
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. Vodun in Coastal Benin: Unfinished, Open-Ended, Global
Dana Rush, Vanderbilt University Press, 2013on vodun shrines and their priesthoods
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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