Others have vaunted the religion’s environmental credentials. The country has a large network of sacred forests, which while shrinking under the pressure of urbanization, have long protected Benin’s ecology.
“Voodoo is the first religion to protect the environment. It was doing so long before the arrival of colonialism and national park authorities. Some trees are considered sacred. Noone can cut them down. There are also animals like panthers, pythons, pangolins and caymans, which are considered totems that protect communities. You cannot do bad things to them,” said Kakpo.
In recent years the government has turned towards Voodoo in a bid to boost tourism to the country. “We are going to reveal our rich, intense, beautiful Voodoo heritage to the world. Everyone will delight in discovering it,” announced President Patrice Talon in a speech following his election in 2016.
Construction of an 18 million euro international Voodoo museum in the capital, Porto Novo, is set to be complete by the end of 2024; the culture ministry is in the process of developing a ‘Voodoo convent route’ that tourists can follow to learn about the religion in five towns and cities across the country; and January marked a first edition of Voodoo Days, a two-day festival aimed at drawing tourists from around the world with music concerts and ceremonies.