​​​ Lost Paradises - Africa 

BENIN - Voodoo is still alive

Benin is considered as the birth place of this religion, and the name ‘Voodoo’ itself means ‘spirit’ in the local Fon language. It has been suggested that Voodoo in West Africa evolved from the ancient traditions of ancestors and animism. The forms of Voodoo practiced today, however, are the results of one of the most inhuman episodes in modern history – the African slave trade that took place between the 16 th and 19 th centuries.  When African slaves were brought to the Americas to work on plantations, they brought Voodoo with them. The practice of African religions were prohibited, and all white masters tried to Christianize their slaves. Although the slaves accepted Roman Catholicism, they did not give up their traditional beliefs either. Instead, the old and the new were syncretised, producing some unique results. Many of the Catholic saints were identified with traditional Voodoo lwas (spirits) or held a double meaning for the practitioners of Voodoo. Today there is many kinds of Voodoo practices depending of the country : Louisiana (USA), Haiti, Domenican Republic..