DANXOMEY: THE WEST AFRICAN KINGDOM
Article-1: The Kingdom & The Religion
THE KINGDOM
It is with special attention and affection that I write about my country Danxomey (pronounced: Dan-homey, from the Fon dialect, Dã Homè, the snake’s belly), known today as the Republic of Benin in West Africa.
It is surrounded by Burkina Faso and Niger to the North, Nigeria to the East, and Togo to the West. It is a country that played a prominent regional and global role from the 1600s to February 17, 1900, when the French took over through treachery and force — with assistance from the British in neighboring Nigeria. Its reigning king was based in Abomey, in the interior of its expanding kingdom which stretched from Aneho in modern-day Togo, to the Badagry River in modern-day Nigeria. In reality, its ethnicity stretched as far as the Volta River in modern-day Ghana. This will appear later in the The Origin of the Fon People, and in its history.
The history of Danxomey is as relevant today, as it once was over a century ago, for strategic reasons I shall explain further on.
Its history shall be part of a series of sequentially numbered articles with their respective subheadings. Each subsequent article shall contain an opening Link to the previous one, thereby breaking a long and interesting history into digestible articles for easier reading.
Abomey was connected to its natural port city Ouidah through the Mono River, where it joins the Gulf of Benin, at the Boca do Rey which the French later renamed la Bouche du Roi (the king’s mouth). The Portuguese were the first to arrive in Ouidah to trade with the Danhomeyan Kingdom, and then the Dutch, Danish, British, and French traders followed and established their outposts there. Later, the Portuguese reinforced their trading outpost into a miniature self-contained fortress in 1681. In fact, The Port Capital of Ouidah existed prior to the kingdom's flourishing, and its history shall cover an entire chapter.
In the process of writing, it is inevitable to touch on the neighboring countries that were once part of Danxomey. The Kingdom of Danxomey and the Amazon Warriors go hand-in-hand and will be covered in a later chapter under the same title.
THE RELIGION of VAUDOUN or VOUDOUN.
Abomey was identified with the Blood Religion. The entire coastal region with its center at Ouidah, was identified with the Serpent Religion of Pythons. Both religions were identified with the Danxomeyan Kingdom.
The people and their kingdom derived power and authority through their traditional connection and communication with the spirits of the after-world. What they referred to as the eternal and real world. Their entire existence rested on specific rituals for every occasion, and their history is drenched in the blood of sacrifices, both human and animal. As the life source, blood was the noblest offering to transcend into the spiritual world and appease or solicit the spirits of their deceased, or their pantheon of gods. Their hierarchy of the afterworld, corresponded to the hierarchy in this world, in a privileged and organized method. The entire concept was known as Vaudoun or Voodoo. It was practiced by the king in Abomey, or the Fa priests along the coastline. Global practitioners of this tradition like Santoria and Candomble recognize Ouidah as the world’s most potent and powerful center to this day.
Within Ouidah is the high priest or priestess, who still looks after the Temple of the Sacred Pythons. Ironically, it is in the public square, exactly opposite the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception opened to the public in 1909. Perhaps it was intentional and symbolic of the Queen of Heaven crushing the Serpent’s (Satan’s) head with Her Heel, as it is written in the Book of Revelations.
Within a short distance is the Sacred Forest with an array of sacred entities and Sacred Trees which are edified, and no one dares touch them, except for traditional rituals in the presence of the Fa.
On January 10, 1996, Vaudoun Day was formally recognized as the official religion of modern Benin and celebrated as a national holiday. It is celebrated annually in Ouidah in all its occultic pomp and pageantry, with attendance by visitors from around the world.
In the case of a king’s death, several human sacrifices were offered in his honor, mature men and women who were meant to serve him in the afterworld. Death was the only passage to the eternal. To communicate with his ancestors, the king usually selected a male member of the royal family that he would personally kill. The family was honored to have one of their members selected by the King as a spiritual intermediary. At regular intervals and for less important rituals, the same sacrifice was carried out. These human sacrifices were always buried with cowrie shells and a bottle of tafia (alcohol extracted from corn syrup or sugarcane syrup), for the cost of their journey.
In the case of a death occurring in the community, if the defunct was a peasant, he was laid in the wild pasture to ‘rest’. If he were rich, he was highly honored with ceremonies and traditional rituals, and buried under his death bed. The ritual involved the decapitation of an innocent child over his grave in homage to the god Liba, the Guardian of the Dead.
They all venerated the souls of their ancestors and the spirits in nature that surrounded them, who were all considered Secondary Spirits. Then there was the spirit of each town, the Serpent Spirit referred to as Dangbey. But they all dreaded contacting the King of Holy Spirits who was the greatest of all their gods.
For benevolent kindness, a dog, monkey, or caiman was maintained. For those who lived at the seashores, they honored the deity of the waves. They venerated the spirits of great people. They venerated their own spirits not when those spirits “descended into the body”, but only when “they rose to the head”, gently “rocking” their ideas. Every object had its soul just as it had its physical effect. With the advent of the “red skins” (the effect of the sun on the white skin), they included firearms and canons, but most especially the Crucifix. They considered them part of their Vaudoun also. A religion that was to eventually spread across the world through the uprooted slaves. They made particular reference to their brothers in Haiti, Cuba, and Brazil. Vaudoun became the slaves’ sacred expression of identity and connection.
These rituals were, and continue to be represented throughout all echelons, and locations in communities. They remain inherent in all aspects of daily life. They can be seen in local clay pots or stylized milestones, covered with palm oil, the dry blood of chicken sacrifices (flying feathers attached to them), and edible offerings replenished every now and then. In the past, they would offer corn cakes which were replenished daily, to reinforce their supplications. These can be found in front of homes, at major crossings where accidents occur, or further afield under designated trees in farmlands.
To write the history of my country, I had to personally visit the highest priest in Ouidah, the Fa, and request for a session with him. Despite his modesty and simple setting, he is surrounded by pictures of his visits throughout the world to other high priests in Cuba, Brazil, the US, and other Caribbean countries. For the exceptional session he conducted, he invited his mother to participate with him. She appeared to be close to 100 years old or more. Apparently, becoming a Fa is hereditary and passed down from one generation to another, by selecting the gifted offspring from childhood. For the reader’s information, such a session requires a ritual prior to, during, and after the session itself.
We conclude the following of the traditional spiritual beliefs. They did believe in:
o The after-life that is an eternal life.
o Their ancestors belong to that life. To obtain their blessings, they had to invoke them.
o The existence of a higher spiritual order of various echelons which corresponded to their social echelons.
o These spirits had to be invoked daily in their daily lives and on particular occasions as well. They were invoked through blood sacrifices, the highest order of physical life force.
o They respected nature, considering that every existence had a soul, and was protected by a holy spirit or deity.
o Respecting the spiritual order of spirits, imposed its reflection on their society as well.
Sammy RNAJ — sammy.rnaj.writer@gmail.com
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