How dark histories turned into tourism hot-spots
From the Sèmè border, with the vehicular and human traffic, it is very clear the beehive of activities that go on in the Bènin’s centre of commerce where Nigerians love to visit for business and other purposes. On either side of the frontier, there is a feeling of nostalgia. There is a feeling of familiarity […]
From the Sèmè border, with the vehicular and human traffic, it is very clear the beehive of activities that go on in the Bènin’s centre of commerce where Nigerians love to visit for business and other purposes. On either side of the frontier, there is a feeling of nostalgia. There is a feeling of familiarity and similarity of experiences shared in the swift way business is conducted, such as in the way individuals park their cars; the buzzing noises from okadas conveying people; seeing commodities peculiar to Lagos found on the Cotonou side and vice versa. A visible difference though is Cotonou appears to be the softer side of Lagos without the chaos, dirt and disorganization which make Lagos unique.
Going from the lonely and bare Badagry Beach which is suffering from rare visits and lack of care, the Cotonou beach is always an exotic spot for international tourists as it is for the locals. Major features on these coastal waters include fishermen pulling their nets ashore from a bountiful harvest while the women chit-chat to buy off the catch. Ships which light up the coastal line in the evenings as they berth on the ports are sights to admire. One cannot help falling in love with their glistening rays that reflect on the waters. Young girls and boys hawk half-mature coconut fruits, soft and very juicy that are consumed by hand after they have been neatly scooped leaving the shells clean for other uses including craftwork. Being washed ashore every now and again is a variety of shells which many collect for decorative pieces on their mantles back home.
The Republic of Benin boasts of no fewer than 17 certified tourist locations, which include Abomey, Tanougou Waterfalls, Kota Falls, Parakou, Grand-Popo and Pendjari National Park amongst others. Beyond these is one destination, Ouidah, about half an hour’s drive from Cotonou which for many is the highpoint of their visit to the one time French colony.
Ouidah is a small town on the coast of Atlantic Ocean on the Bènin axis and is the ideal target for travelers who want to experience the historical flavour of Bènin. It is home to major sites:
The Sacred Forest which houses the Temple of Pythons with a six-hundred year-old Iroko tree said to have been planted at the disappearance of the founder of Ouidah, prehistoric King Kpasse. Surrounded by smaller shrines in blue and white colours is the main temple painted in same shades, into which only the high priest is allowed, from where he takes up the supplications of worshippers to the ancestors through prayers and sacrifices.
Right opposite the Temple of Pythons is the first church in Francophone West Africa, The St. May’s Catholic Church.
Open on a daily basis is the Voodoo Museum (Musee d’historie d’ Ouidah) which houses Dahomey’s ancient history and also hints of its slave operating history.
There is also the military museum which was once a fort and still holds cannon balls and other evidences of territorial protection ammunitions against invaders as well as cemetery of then serving foreign military officers.
Chacha Place is home to the Forgetting Tree around which male slaves had to go nine times and females seven times to cut all emotional and memory ties from loved ones and homeland before heading on to unknown destinations. Behind the Forgetting Tree is the family house of the De Souza’s from where the first Chacha, Dom Francisco Félix de Souza, emerged.
The Slave Route (Route des Esclaves) is the actual route taken by the slaves upon leaving the Chacha place to get to the sea coast to board the ships. To get to the coast three villages have to be crossed and there is a memorial that has been erected at the last village. Today, this roué serves as some sort of pilgrimage spot as every January the Walk of Repentance is held in the town in request of forgiveness for all Africans who were sent as slaves to the Americas. Participants are not only the slaves’ descendants from Benin and the United States, but they are also descendants of slave merchants.
The Door of no return (La Porte de non retour) was the final contact slaves had with their homeland. Built today, is a gigantic monument embellished with sculptural pieces depicting what it was like to be a slave helplessly forced away from one’s fatherland.
With descendants of slaves returning and ensuring that the memories of their ancestors are kept alive in relics and monuments. These descendants also serve as guides who earn livelihood from educating descendants of slave-masters on the crime their fore-fathers had inflicted Africans during those ancient times. This reporter was lucky to have witnessed such tutoring when Canadian students were on excursion at the time of our visit.