Ouidah, Benin · Ten days

Immersion Vodun

Ten days, one cult a day. You attend its offering, you hear it presented by those who carry it, you see its demonstration. It is the deepest programme we open, and it has no equivalent.

Showing the true face of Vodun

Immersion Vodun is a celebration and a discovery of the Vodun religion. Our challenge is to accompany the head of state's policy, which aims to change the negative perception of Vodun and to make Benin the first historic and tourist destination of West Africa.

The project shows the world the true face of Vodun and of its pantheon, according to the dynasties and cultural areas present on the Gulf of Guinea. It gives access to the realities and the wisdom of each deity, and helps to discover the hidden facets of this spirituality without ever affecting the integrity of the sacred.

It is offered to the whole world, to every public, to researchers as much as to lovers of African culture.

Harmony

Equity

Tolerance

These are the values of Vodun as an autonomous religion, open to all. A religion that is very practical, and very effective.

Under the high patronage

Of the high dignitaries of the Vodun cult

  • FRABO, Fraternité des Bokonons, Babalawos et Olouwos

  • Palais Royal Xwédahossou Glè, Zossoungbo

  • Palais Royal Kpassè

  • Palais Adebiyi Idjèbou Odé, Nago-Yoruba de Ouidah

This list is not hierarchical.

Why the dates are not yours

Since time immemorial, Vodun rites have followed a particular calendar, known to most African customary chiefs. The Gregorian calendar does not answer to that criterion.

African culture rests on the lunar cycle and on the realities it brings: natural manifestations, the vibration of the energies around us, and the three realms, vegetal, animal and mineral.

The heart of the stay is the first day of the Vodun year. On that day the programme is entirely different, because it is a matter of drawing the fullest benefit from its spiritual potential.

The programme

Ten days, ten depths

Each morning opens with the announcement of the Fa sign of the day. Then the offering, the presentation, the demonstration. In the evening, the vigils.

  1. Day 1

    Acquaintance and presentation

    • The Fa sign of the day, announced by the Bokonon, opens the stay.
    • Presentations, blessings and meetings with the elders in the royal palaces and the sacred places: Houxwé and Xwédahossou Zossoungbo at Sogbadji, the palace of Daagbo Hounon, the Kpassè palace and the Sacred Forest at Tovè, then the Adebiyi Idjèbou Odé palace at Gbéhonou.
    • Artistic parade and ballet.
    • Torchlit vigil at Zomatchi, in the old manner, followed by the homage to the pan-African ancestors, to the deported and to the departed, in the name of peace.

  2. Day 2

    Open scientific colloquium

    • Guided visit of the stands of the Vodun village.
    • Six papers: Africanity and the return to the source, the new year according to African cultures, spirituality as a pillar of African sovereignty, Vodun as a fundamental point of development, Ouidah as historic and sacred city, and the memory of the Patriarch.
    • First part of the Vodun primer, the initiation into the language.
    • Purification session and bath at Yêhoué tɔ.

  3. Day 3

    The first day of the year

    • Departure before dawn.
    • A walk along a personalised route, with rites and offerings to Hooho, Tolègba, Gou, Aizan, Mahou Adimoula and Segbo Lissa.
    • At the bridge of Djègbadji, the city of salt, offering to the deity Nayètè, then the rite of remission and rebirth.
    • From nightfall until dawn, prayer, libation and celebration on the beach.

  4. Day 4

    The Fa and the four elements

    • End of the Vodun primer.
    • The Fa, the divinatory art.
    • The deities embodying the four primordial elements: Tohossou for water, Dan for air, Hèviosso for fire, Sakpata for earth.
    • Presentation of the other Vodun: Tohio, Hunvê, Aizan, Hooho, Gou, Legba, Tolegba, Kambada, Kokou, Azevodun, Aje, Thron.
    • Ahandoxo Zangbeto at the palace.

  5. Day 5

    Zangbeto

    • Nu xu xu, the offering, at the palace.
    • Presentation and explanation of the Zangbeto cult.
    • Performance on the beach, then Guèlèdè.
    • Ahandoxo at the Abikou convent, the vigil.

  6. Day 6

    Abikou

    • Nu xu xu at the Abikou convent.
    • Presentation and explanation of the cult.
    • Artistic parade, then Abikou demonstration.
    • Ayissun, the Egungun vigil at the convent.

  7. Day 7

    Egungun

    • Nu xu xu at the Egungun convent.
    • Meeting the Egungun in the town.
    • Presentation and explanation of the cult, then demonstration.
    • Vigils at the Mawuxwê temple, for Mawu Lissa, then at the Mami-Dan temple.

  8. Day 8

    Mawu Lissa and Mami-Dan

    • Offerings in both temples.
    • Presentation and explanation of both cults.
    • Mami-Dan performance, then Mahou Adimoula.
    • Ahandoxo at the Iya Orisha temple, the vigil.

  9. Day 9

    Iya Orisha

    • Offering and libation at the temple.
    • Presentation and explanation of the Iya Orisha cult.
    • Artistic parade and performance.

  10. Day 10

    Recapitulation and blessing

    • A return over all the knowledge gathered through the stay.
    • Conference on Vodun, followed by the blessing of His Majesty.
    • Visit of the historic town of Ouidah.

The stay also includes fairs, conferences, workshops and debates on the themes of Vodun and of the development of African peoples, as well as visits to historic sites unknown to the general public and among the most sensitive of the Vodun world.

Why here, and nowhere else

Gléxwé, its original name, founded around the sixteenth century, is a town with a cultic, cultural and touristic vocation. It made its name through its singularity, through the spiritual energy it generates and through the phenomenal power of its native people, the Xwéda.

Gléxwé, whose history still remains to be explained, is the cradle of Vodun, as Saudi Arabia is for Islam, Rome for Catholics and Jerusalem for Jews.

The ambition of Immersion Vodun is to bring light to this historic town and to the residences of the Vodun Pontiffs. It extends as well to the other regions of Benin, to allow a clear understanding of this spirituality by every Beninese, and far beyond our borders.

Frequently asked questions

What is Immersion Vodun?

Ten consecutive days in Ouidah, designed to make the workings of Vodun accessible and understandable. Each day is given to one cult: you attend its offering, you hear it presented by those who carry it, you see its demonstration. It is the deepest programme we open.

When is the next edition?

The dates follow the Vodun calendar, which rests on the lunar cycle and not on the Gregorian one. The heart of the stay is the first day of the Vodun year. Write to us to be told as soon as the dates of the next edition are fixed.

Do I need to be initiated to take part?

No. The project is offered to the whole world, to every public, to researchers as much as to lovers of African culture. It is designed to discover the hidden facets of this spirituality without ever affecting the integrity of the sacred. What is reserved for initiates remains so.

Under what authority does the programme stand?

Under the high patronage of the high dignitaries of the Vodun cult: the FRABO, the Royal Palace Xwédahossou Glè Zossoungbo, the Royal Palace Kpassè and the Adebiyi Idjèbou Odé Palace. This list is not hierarchical.

How does it differ from the Vodun Days?

The Vodun Days last three days and gather hundreds of thousands of people. Immersion Vodun lasts ten days and is devoted to understanding, cult by cult, with the guardians of each. One is a national celebration, the other an apprenticeship.

Why a calendar different from ours?

Vodun rites have always followed a calendar known to most African customary chiefs, one the Gregorian calendar does not answer to. African culture rests on the lunar cycle, on natural manifestations and on the vibration of the vegetal, animal and mineral realms.

Places are counted, and the dates follow the moon.

Tell us that this programme interests you. You will be informed as soon as the dates of the next edition are fixed, ahead of any public announcement.

Tell me first →Who we are
The Fa →The FRABO →Vodun Days 2027 →