Villagers perform whirling Zangbeto voodoo ritual in the night with music and dances in the village of Grand Popo, Benin

The village of Grand Popo, Benin, Africa; November 8, 2019; People are devoted to the worship of  Zangbeto, traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Ogu or Egun religion of Benin, Togo and Nigeria which are known as the night watchmen. Zangbeto are a costume that resembles a haystack. Zangbeto comes out in the darkness of the night making an eerie humming noise with his deep and guttural voice. He dances by spinning around fast, he jumps high and then crawls.

Villagers perform whirling Zangbeto voodoo ritual in the night with music and dances in the village of Grand Popo, Benin

The village of Grand Popo, Benin, Africa; November 8, 2019; People are devoted to the worship of  Zangbeto, traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Ogu or Egun religion of Benin, Togo and Nigeria which are known as the night watchmen. Zangbeto are a costume that resembles a haystack. Zangbeto comes out in the darkness of the night making an eerie humming noise with his deep and guttural voice. He dances by spinning around fast, he jumps high and then crawls.

Villagers perform whirling Zangbeto voodoo ritual in the night with music and dances in the village of Grand Popo, Benin

The village of Grand Popo, Benin, Africa; November 8, 2019; People are devoted to the worship of  Zangbeto, traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Ogu or Egun religion of Benin, Togo and Nigeria which are known as the night watchmen. Zangbeto are a costume that resembles a haystack. Zangbeto comes out in the darkness of the night making an eerie humming noise with his deep and guttural voice. He dances by spinning around fast, he jumps high and then crawls.

Villagers perform whirling Zangbeto voodoo ritual in the night with music and dances in the village of Grand Popo, Benin

The village of Grand Popo, Benin, Africa; November 8, 2019; People are devoted to the worship of  Zangbeto, traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Ogu or Egun religion of Benin, Togo and Nigeria which are known as the night watchmen. Zangbeto are a costume that resembles a haystack. Zangbeto comes out in the darkness of the night making an eerie humming noise with his deep and guttural voice. He dances by spinning around fast, he jumps high and then crawls.

Villagers perform whirling Zangbeto voodoo ritual in the night with music and dances in the village of Grand Popo, Benin

The village of Grand Popo, Benin, Africa; November 8, 2019; People are devoted to the worship of  Zangbeto, traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Ogu or Egun religion of Benin, Togo and Nigeria which are known as the night watchmen. Zangbeto are a costume that resembles a haystack. Zangbeto comes out in the darkness of the night making an eerie humming noise with his deep and guttural voice. He dances by spinning around fast, he jumps high and then crawls.

Villagers perform whirling Zangbeto voodoo ritual in the night with music and dances in the village of Grand Popo, Benin

The village of Grand Popo, Benin, Africa; November 8, 2019; People are devoted to the worship of  Zangbeto, traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Ogu or Egun religion of Benin, Togo and Nigeria which are known as the night watchmen. Zangbeto are a costume that resembles a haystack. Zangbeto comes out in the darkness of the night making an eerie humming noise with his deep and guttural voice. He dances by spinning around fast, he jumps high and then crawls.

Villagers perform whirling Zangbeto voodoo ritual in the night with music and dances in the village of Grand Popo, Benin

The village of Grand Popo, Benin, Africa; November 8, 2019; People are devoted to the worship of  Zangbeto, traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Ogu or Egun religion of Benin, Togo and Nigeria which are known as the night watchmen. Zangbeto are a costume that resembles a haystack. Zangbeto comes out in the darkness of the night making an eerie humming noise with his deep and guttural voice. He dances by spinning around fast, he jumps high and then crawls.

Villagers perform whirling Zangbeto voodoo ritual in the night with music and dances in the village of Grand Popo, Benin

The village of Grand Popo, Benin, Africa; November 8, 2019; People are devoted to the worship of  Zangbeto, traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Ogu or Egun religion of Benin, Togo and Nigeria which are known as the night watchmen. Zangbeto are a costume that resembles a haystack. Zangbeto comes out in the darkness of the night making an eerie humming noise with his deep and guttural voice. He dances by spinning around fast, he jumps high and then crawls.

Villagers perform whirling Zangbeto voodoo ritual in the night with music and dances in the village of Grand Popo, Benin

The village of Grand Popo, Benin, Africa; November 8, 2019; People are devoted to the worship of  Zangbeto, traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Ogu or Egun religion of Benin, Togo and Nigeria which are known as the night watchmen. Zangbeto are a costume that resembles a haystack. Zangbeto comes out in the darkness of the night making an eerie humming noise with his deep and guttural voice. He dances by spinning around fast, he jumps high and then crawls.

Villagers perform whirling Zangbeto voodoo ritual in the night with music and dances in the village of Grand Popo, Benin

The village of Grand Popo, Benin, Africa; November 8, 2019; People are devoted to the worship of  Zangbeto, traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Ogu or Egun religion of Benin, Togo and Nigeria which are known as the night watchmen. Zangbeto are a costume that resembles a haystack. Zangbeto comes out in the darkness of the night making an eerie humming noise with his deep and guttural voice. He dances by spinning around fast, he jumps high and then crawls.

Snakes (Pythons) inside the Temple of Pythons in Ouidah, Benin

The Temple of Pythons, Ouidah, Benin; November 9, 2019; The Temple of Pythons is a small room of twelve square meters that houses 50 adult royal pythons. They had a roundhouse full of pythons who stay inside during the day then go out at night to feed on rodents. Residents of Ouidah respect the pythons and return them to the temple if found on the streets. Benin is known for its alternative ideas such as Voodoo. Ouidah is known for its role in the 17th- to 19th-century Atlantic slave trade.

The Kpasse Sacred Forest with its wonderful sculptures, Ouidah, Benin

Kpasse Sacred Forest, Ouidah, Benin; November 9, 2019; Kpassezoume, or the Kpasse Sacred Forest, is a place where wonderful sculptures of the various Yoruba divinities are exhibited. Here is also a rare iroko tree, said to be the tree King Kpassé turned himself into while fleeing enemies. One finds in the forest the works of contemporary sculptors Cyprien Tokoudagba, Theodore and Calixte Dakpogan, and Simonet Biokou. Ouidah is known for its role in the 17th- to 19th-century Atlantic slave trade.

The Kpasse Sacred Forest with its wonderful sculptures, Ouidah, Benin

Kpasse Sacred Forest, Ouidah, Benin; November 9, 2019; Kpassezoume, or the Kpasse Sacred Forest, is a place where wonderful sculptures of the various Yoruba divinities are exhibited. Here is also a rare iroko tree, said to be the tree King Kpassé turned himself into while fleeing enemies. One finds in the forest the works of contemporary sculptors Cyprien Tokoudagba, Theodore and Calixte Dakpogan, and Simonet Biokou. Ouidah is known for its role in the 17th- to 19th-century Atlantic slave trade.

Weaver man weaving a scarf in a small village near Ouidah, Benin

Ouidah, Benin; November 9, 2019; Weaving is acknowledged as one of the oldest surviving crafts in the world. Weaving is one of the primary methods of textile production in Benin. Every household produced cloth for their own needs. Weaving cloth remained an activity associated with the family unit for thousands of years.

The main building of the Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá in in Ouidah, Benin

Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá in in Ouidah, Benin; November 9, 2019; The Fort of St. John the Baptist of Ouidah is a small restored fort in Ouidah, Benin. Built in 1721, it was the last of three European forts built in that town to tap the slave trade of the Slave Coast. Following the legal abolition of the slave trade early in the 19th century, the Portuguese fort lay abandoned most of the time until it was permanently reoccupied in 1865. Ouidah is known for its role in the 17th- to 19th-century Atlantic slave trade.

Many canoes anchored at the embarkation point in Abomey-Calavi ready to sail to the lake village of Ganvie, Benin

Ganvie, Benin, Africa; November 10, 2019; Ganvie is a lake village in Benin, Africa, lying in Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou. It is probably the largest lake village in Africa. Stilt houses are raised on piles all over the lake. The village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who took to the lake to avoid Fon warriors who were capturing slaves for sale to European traders. The village was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 31, 1996 in the Cultural category.

Villagers sailing on traditional canoes through the channels of the lake village of Ganvie, Benin

Ganvie, Benin, Africa; November 10, 2019; Ganvie is a lake village in Benin, Africa, lying in Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou. It is probably the largest lake village in Africa. Stilt houses are raised on piles all over the lake. The village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who took to the lake to avoid Fon warriors who were capturing slaves for sale to European traders. The village was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 31, 1996 in the Cultural category.

Villagers sailing on traditional canoes through the channels of the lake village of Ganvie, Benin

Ganvie, Benin, Africa; November 10, 2019; Ganvie is a lake village in Benin, Africa, lying in Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou. It is probably the largest lake village in Africa. Stilt houses are raised on piles all over the lake. The village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who took to the lake to avoid Fon warriors who were capturing slaves for sale to European traders. The village was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 31, 1996 in the Cultural category.

Children swimming in front of their school in the lake village of Ganvie, Benin

Ganvie, Benin, Africa; November 10, 2019; Ganvie is a lake village in Benin, Africa, lying in Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou. It is probably the largest lake village in Africa. Stilt houses are raised on piles all over the lake. The village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who took to the lake to avoid Fon warriors who were capturing slaves for sale to European traders. The village was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 31, 1996 in the Cultural category.

Local ethnic people sitting in small authentic wood boats sailing on the lake village Ganvie channels, Benin

Ganvie, Benin, Africa; November 10, 2019; Ganvie is a lake village in Benin, Africa, lying in Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou. It is probably the largest lake village in Africa. Stilt houses are raised on piles all over the lake. The village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who took to the lake to avoid Fon warriors who were capturing slaves for sale to European traders. The village was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 31, 1996 in the Cultural category.

Stilt houses in the lake village Ganvie, raised on piles all over Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou, Benin

Ganvie, Benin, Africa; November 10, 2019; Ganvie is a lake village in Benin, Africa, lying in Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou. It is probably the largest lake village in Africa. Stilt houses are raised on piles all over the lake. The village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who took to the lake to avoid Fon warriors who were capturing slaves for sale to European traders. The village was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 31, 1996 in the Cultural category.

Stilt houses in the lake village Ganvie, raised on piles all over Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou, Benin

Ganvie, Benin, Africa; November 10, 2019; Ganvie is a lake village in Benin, Africa, lying in Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou. It is probably the largest lake village in Africa. Stilt houses are raised on piles all over the lake. The village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who took to the lake to avoid Fon warriors who were capturing slaves for sale to European traders. The village was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 31, 1996 in the Cultural category.

Children living in small mud houses in rural Benin, west Africa

Rural Benin; November 11, 2019; This West African village in Benin doesn't have running water or electricity. The houses are mainly made of raw clay and have a thatched roof. Most people get here by walking barefoot along a dirt path.