Voodoo updates rituals, seeks openness

About 140 km inland from Benin’s coast in the city of Gomey stands a temple dedicated to unusual rituals in Voodoo. 

The mysterious and secretive Voodoo services of western Africa are evolving practices that resemble a more classical church service or Mass in Christianity, including prayers, worship, communion and, of course, collecting of offerings.  

This place of worship, called a “Sèdèho" in the congregation’s language of Fon, is distinguished by its simplicity and also by its conical shape. It is evident from the first glance that this is a place created for Voodoo.

Every Sunday, practitioners of this indigenous religion arrive here to express their faith, give thanks and call upon the gods for protection.

At half past seven, the worshipers are all present in their sacred place. They greet each other and remove their shoes before entering the temple. All move towards the center of the building and prostrate themselves before the altar, which is a small circular tank containing holy water used for disinfection.  Several snails have found their way into the tank and attached themselves to the bottom. 

Everyone then takes one of the seats arranged in a circle around the periphery of the temple. Some worshipers are dressed in white tunics with a yellow jacket worn over it.

Those who are wearing the specially designed tunics, says Dah Todaho Houndadjo Démahu Mahunon, spiritual leader of the congregation ("dah" means leader or chief), are learners at the school "Tounhouidé," a Fon word meaning "know yourself."  Tounhouidé school teaches Voodoo through literacy programs.

"Their clothing reflects their level in the curriculum that we've created," he says.

The rhythmic music of Djidéhoun can now begin. This music is performed to celebrate all of Voodoo, to proclaim their unity and give thanks. This celebration lasted about an hour. With adoration complete, the congregation begins its first rite, Adofon. There is a praise offered in honor of each deity in order to awaken the spirits. You could then hear songs of praise to Tohouiyo, the god of ancestors.

Then comes the sermon, and the theme is on "ayi jo bo Essou do," which means "growing up without acquiring wisdom."  At this stage, the worshipers may also ask questions about a particular concern. At the end of the sermon, with a gesture similar to cheering three times, the congregants thank the priest for his words.

Following the worship, the celebrant and the worshipers pray pressing their faces to the ground, orienting themselves toward the altar for "Fifondè," or prayer. It is a collective prayer of praise.

Following this, the worshipers offer a series of prayers for peace and humanity.  During this time, those who have private and personal requests come with 105 CFA francs to seek the intercession of God in his favor, for the benefit of the petitioner's family and the blessing of all. 

The spiritual leader of the community says that the altar in the center of the Sèdèho represents all the Fon ethnic group's Voodoo divinities together.  This way everyone who enters this sacred place can identify with a deity of the community. For him, the introduction of Sunday worship aims to demystify what is hidden.
The second rite is the "Kosso Kodji sin." This ceremonial practice uses prayer to appeal for the peace of departed souls.  "Dega," a prayer for the prosperity of mankind, follows next.

This form of participatory preaching promotes knowledge sharing among the group. For the faithful, when the celebrant speaks alone, it can give the impression of the leader being the sole holder of knowledge.

"The sense of understanding of things is not the same in all people. We want to have a global understanding and not scattered by an individual," says Dah Todaho.

The second stage of the celebration is to distribute small paper containing prophecies about the future. Then follows the distribution of golo, a local fruit used in ritual celebrations.  This exercise could easily be compared to the communion service in a Catholic church, but Dah Todaho states that the fruit undergoes a special preparation called "Nu dida" to protect against the evil eye.  

A prayer of repentance follows for the remission of sins that have been committed unconsciously, perhaps under the influence of anger.  According to the spiritual leader, Todaho Nudémahu Mahunon, this query calls on the spirits who have left them and whose work the living sustain to forgive offenses without unconscious taboos.

Finally, the participants are asked to deposit a sum of 105 francs CFA in the basket as they go around the altar dancing.

Dah Todaho, says his church is an example of the rehabilitation of indigenous religion.  Voodoo had declined in previous years because many practitioners had moved on to Christian churches.  The idea of conducting a weekly celebration came to him in 1955 while his late father, the great Chief Vaudoun, sent him to funeral ceremonies.

According to him, the rite is rather practiced to glorify Voodoo. Its goal, he says is to make the practices of Voodoo more accessible to the wider public so that there is less mystery around Voodoo customs.