aay so like after hanging out with those cool guys at the Python Temple
we went on a tour with a guide and visited the Slave’s Road, like from the time where there was colonisation and slavery
We learned a lot about kings, slaves, their treatments and the europeens who came to buy those (french, denmark, england, netherland and portugal)
i won’t talk about the europeens because who cares so anyways
we followed the road and saw multiple stone statues who for the most part were king’s symbol, i only go two picture though because like it was raining pretty heavily after that
(it’s not very visible but like this is the statue of a hyena who has a sheep in it’s mouth)
like this isn’t really a symbol but yeah the statue was inspired by a story from the King
Badohoun, like he told the story of a Lion (who was his symbol) who had a sheep he liked very much, one day it disappeared and so he invited all of the animals and asked them who stole it, no body responded, so the lion was like “ok, anyways have some of this water” and every animal drank and the Hyena vomited the sheep and was killed, it was his way of saying that he’ll find anyone of his enemies and kill them!! so yeah i liked the story!!
then i have the picture of this one!
(it’s a picture of a bird and a tam-tam)
it’s the symbole of the King Gangnihessou!! like i took it because if was original, most of the time it was like big and ferocious animal but this king choose a bird and a tam-tam because “we can’t stop the bird from singing nor the tam tam from resonating” thus describing his reign as something unstoppable, i just really like his way of thinking!!
then we had several other Kings and a Queen whose name is Hangbé!! (like she was the twin of a king, so when he died she took his place!! i also learned that in vodoun twins are celebrated (like the tour guy even said that they are venerated so ye it explains why she was able to like govern for a while), other honorable mention is that one King whose symblole is a chameleon!! i don’t remember his name but the tour guy said that he was old when he became king and the king said that slowly but surely he will expend his Kingdom just like slowly but surely the chameleon walks!! so yeah
(Oh and yeah something to notice is that Kings who were opposed to the slave trade were killed by europeens (ex: King Adandozan and King Behanzin))
Speaking of Queen!! guess what, Benin also had Amazones!!
there were two statues representating them!! the first one had a like you know those long guns?? Like the old ones?? whatever this one has a machete with her and like the tour guy said that those statues are here to remind people that women ca, fight if they are given the right tools (ironic considering just how mysogynistic the society is), he said that the amazones would promise the king that they would at least bring back one head of their enemies if not they would cut their own heads off!! oh and like they would bind or cut off one of their breast to be able to shoot more accurately (i think i saw a tumblr post on them once i don’t remember) so yeah bottom line is Amazones aren’t white
we saw a lot more especially on the topic of slave’s treatment but yeah i think that this post is long enough as it is!! oh and i also learned the “Vodoun festival” (that’s just a litteral translation of what the tour guy said in french) is the January 10th!!
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