NO WHITE VISITORS ALLOWED IN DAHOMEY?
Dahomey, not current day Benin but Suriname of South America, is a town occupied by the Maroons. Maroons are enslaved Africans who ran away from the plantations they were assigned to work on. It was a matter of life and death in the plantation due to the inhuman treatment they received by their masters. They took a chance and ran into the jungle settling in the inlands, the village of Dahomey, where no white person is allowed. Interestingly, they were unaware of the Dahomey of Benin until Wodemaya’s visit.
A holy entrance is an entrance into Dahomey. It is a symbol made up of branches and two sticks designed in a shape of a door. Its spiritual purpose is to ward of negative energies and allow only positive. This prohibits a lot. First, cameras are not allowed in the town. No cameras are allowed in the town. The team had to go back to seek permission from the chiefs before a grant was given to the team for a shoot. A woman on her period is not allowed to use the entrance. No cameras are allowed in the town, making it a very well-hidden place, away from the global lens. The more intriguing fact was that no white man was allowed to enter the village.
Wodemaya’s interest led him to ask questions about why the village had this tradition. One of the elders of the village indicated that during slavery, there was a man named Kumuka from Dahomey, a powerful spiritual man, who did a lot of spiritual things. His spiritual activities is believed to be a factor that helped the people flee the plantation. He claimed that the spiritual man was not alive when the peace treaty between the colonial masters and slaves were signed. Therefore, nothing around him will make peace including his spiritual activities.
No white man since then is allowed in because of the impact of the slave trade on the people. As to what happens when one does, it is instant death. Including that, women have designated areas during their menstrual period. They are not allowed to mingle with the town folks. Before their time of worship, one is not allowed to be part when he or she involved in sex a day before or after. Also, certain clothes can not be worn in certain parts of the community.
Interestingly the people of Dahomey practice voodoo, pour libation and make incantations just as seen with the people of Benin, who are greatly invested in witchcraft and sorcery. Indeed, the Kingdom of Dahomey(Benin), Africa annex is alive in Suriname.
