Dec 23 Day #3 Pythons

Day 3: Continued! Ouidah, Benin : Voodoo & Pythons & Kpasse’ Sacred Forest

December 23, Friday

Day 3 continued with more exposure to African traditional beliefs at interesting sites in Benin’s voodoo capital. The voodoo religion is deeply rooted in the country’s culture and traditions. It is not a belief system, but an entire way of life in which animals play an important part.

Among the city’s numerous sacred sites is Kpasse’s Sacred Forest, a pristine patch of holy woodland that offers an authentic glimpse into local traditions and religious beliefs. The area is frequented by Vodun adherents where ritual practices, divine inspiration and initiation ceremonies are held. It is named and dedicated to King Kpasse, the 16th century ruler of the kingdom of Whydah.

Legend says that during a brutal conflict with a neighboring kingdom the king fled for his life after hundreds of ferocious warriors were ordered to capture and kill him. Kpassé ran into a close-by forest, where he turned himself into an Iroko tree. Today there stands a tree which allegedly holds the spirit of the famed monarch. It serves as the centerpiece of the forest and is the reason for its sacred status. Voodoo worshipers and locals who visit the forest, strongly believe that if the tree is touched while making a wish, the wish will come true. 

Pictured below is a ceremonial area and the sacred Iroko tree which according to legend hosts the spirit of King Kpassé.

Among the many sculptures in the forest are gods of war and blacksmiths, divinity of illness and smallpox, and promoters of harmony and dialog between people.

But, why the pythons?? It has been said that during the hunt, the Dahomean ruler’s troops who were looking for Kpassè, were suddenly faced with an unexpected challenge, when massive swarms of pythons attacked them and ultimately halted their offense as they made their way into the sacred forest where the fugitive king was hiding.

As a gesture for their protective role, several monuments where the formidable serpents are worshiped and revered were erected all over Ouidah, including a concrete hut for rituals with snakey murals in the forest itself, and the city’s Temple of Pythons, where dozens of live pythons are kept. The man dressed in yellow in the picture at the top of the page cares for the snakes. He was gentle and polite but had a very distinct and dark countenance about him. Look at his eyes. I was glad to leave the world of voodoo. There was no spirit there.