Revenants Ceremony

I recently had the tremendous honor of being invited to a traditional Voodun ceremony with my friend Abdoul, my Beninese cultural liason. This ceremony had begun five days before with the sacrifice of three sheep and several roosters as an offering to the ancestors. The Voodun leaders performed rituals in seclusion for five days to raise the spirits of local ancestors. On the 24th, a crowd gathered in the streets awaiting the appearance of their family spirits, "les Revenants". The Voodun culture generally distrusts cameras for fear that their soul may be captured. However, the leaders of this ceremony kindly offered me the chance to photograph the event, and it's with great respect for their rich culture that I share these images:

On this occasion thirteen individual spirits appeared.

Drummers accompanied each spirit.

I especially enjoyed the spinny-wheel whirly spirits.

As the ceremony heated and the crowd grew in numbers, the spirits wielded whips to strike individuals as a form of repentance. Most Voodun believers accepted the whippings but feared contacting the spirits or their clothing. I put away my camera gear as people began running in a stampede of sorts.

Thank you to the Voodun leaders who invited me in sharing their extraordinary tradition.