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By Okorie Uguru
Ouidah, an ancient town in Benin Republic, always holds a certain fascination. It is a place steeped in history. The town is located about 40 kilometres from Cotonou, the country’s commercial capital. It lies by the Atlantic Ocean. The attraction here is that it was a major port in the 16th, 17th and early 19th centuries for the shipment of slaves from West Africa to the new world, Americas.
Ouidah carries an image of a town existing in the 21st century but tenaciously clinging on to the past. It is a town intertwined with the past so that, being there, one continuously feel like being drawn into the vortex of a time capsule that keeps transporting one between the past and present interchangeably. In one breath, one is caught in the primitive Passe Sacred Temple which looks like the Forest of a Thousand Demons, the next one is gazing at the futuristic Vodun (Voodoo) Theatre by the ocean front built for the annual celebration of the Vodun festival.
The first surprise heading back to Ouidah after so many years is the road. The road into Ouidah is currently being upgrade by the country’s government. According to the tour guide, the President of Benin Republic, Patrice Talon, who happened to be from Ouidah, is spending massively on infrastructure, especially to develop tourist sites. This has seen the erection of man-made attraction like the Amazon sculpture in Cotonou and current improvement in the road network into Ouidah.
Relics of the town’s activities as a major slave trading port in the 17th to the 19th century are scattered all over the town. The town, just like its sister town, Cape Coast in Ghana, was at different times controlled by the Portuguese, French, Dutch, and British, all of whom participated in the transatlantic slave trade. The relics of this ignoble trade are among what attract tourists to the town.
Added to this, Ouidah is the centre of the Vodun religion. Vodun is the national religion of Benin Republic and this is celebrated annually in country on January 10. Ouidah is regarded as the headquarters of Vodun religion, although it is practised across Togo, Ghana and few other West African countries and the Caribbean.
The first place visited was the Kpasse Sacred Forest. According to the tour guide, Kpasse Sacred Forest is a very sacred and spiritual place of worship for the Vodun adherents. The forest is about four hectares with lush pristine trees. It is kept very clean and tidy. Tourists pass through the gate and enter after paying a fee. There are two groups of people normally found inside. There are tourists who came just to see and have the experience, and Vodun worshippers who believe that whatever supplications made at the forest will be granted by the gods. Although there are also non-worshippers who come to make supplications, believing in the supernatural powers the forest possesses.
The Kpasse Sacred Forest also habours different kinds of sculptures expressing different religious experience. These sculptures are located in stations for supplications for adherents.
The most popular attraction for many is Ouidah Pythons Temple. The python temple is built like a hut, round with the roof made of asbestos. The temple’s keepers would purify visitors with water before being allowed to enter the temple that houses different sizes of python, more than 50, just looking at them.
According the keepers, both male and female pythons are kept there. The female pythons are called Dagbe Kpohoun while the male are called Dagbe Dre.
The pythons are part of the religious worship of Voodo in Ouidah. The python worshippers in Benin Republic have special marks on their face that they can easily be recognised with. There are about 10 incisions on their face.
Opposite the Python Temple is the ancient Catholic Church, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. According to the story, in the olden days, the king of Ouidah, to satisfy the colonial lords, would attend the mass at the cathedral.
From the Pythons Temple, the next port of call is the Slave Route (La Route des Esclaves), a four-kilometre trail that retraces the path enslaved Africans were forced to walk from the city to the beach. At the beach with its natural harbour, there will be a boat conveying them to the slave ship.
There is also the point of forgetfulness. It is alleged that every captured slave that walked round the point seven times would automatically have his memory erased, thereby forgetting where he or she comes from.
Currently, the Benin government has widened the slave trail for easy accessibility to the beach front where a massive concrete and bronze arch memorial has been built in honour of millions of captured slaves. It is called Door of No Return.
Beside the Door of No Return, the government has added an amphitheatre for the celebration of the annual voodoo. There are also accommodation facilities on the beach.
The Ouidah Voodoo Festival attracts thousands of local and international visitors, featuring dances, rituals, animal sacrifices, and processions.
About a kilometre or two from the Door of No Return is the eco-friendly Casa Del Papa built by the beach front in 2002. More than 20 years after, it is still the best resort in Benin Republic. The resort has both ocean and lagoon view rooms. The environment is clean and spotless and a dining area that overlooks the ocean. The cuisines are well crafted and leave guests asking for more. There are also ocean side swimming pools. Casa Del Papa is, any day, a perfect getaway for relaxation and refreshing.
Ouidah goes beyond a leisure vacation spot. It is a place that captures the magic of the past, and points to the future. It is a place to get immersed, not just in history, but African spirituality.
