Benin

One of those skinny countries of West Africa, bordering Togo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Niger, with a narrow piece of coastline in the south. Benin celebrates its independence on 1 August. Independence? Yes, from France in 1960. Hail Beninese Independence Day!

The country was once known as Dahomey—the name change came in 1975, and comes from the Bight of Benin, the body of water that Benin borders in the south. With over fifty linguistic groups, and about as many ethnic groups it was decided that the name was neutral—Dahomey was derived from the ancient Fon Kingdom.

What is now Benin was formed from the different ethnic groups on the Abomey plain, adopting a military culture—young boys were apprenticed to older soldiers, learning the customs of Benin’s military. Oh, and they let women participate in this military culture—long before debates about whether or not to allow women into the military in the western world, combat or non-combat positions aside, there was an female soldier corp in Benin, which in English was known as the Dahomean Amazons.

Beheading was a ritual affair, historically, into the nineteenth century—apparently there was a belief that these beheadings increased the prestige and power of the king, as well as the king’s warriors.

Prior to full independence, in 1958 the French gave the country autonomy. Following full independence a period of ethnic “strife” ensued. The familiar story of coups and regime changes unfolded. Eventually the three major figures (each represented a different ethnic group) formed a presidential council, following violent elections in 1970. Another coup followed in 1972, and it was under the Military Council of the Revolution—or the CNR—that the country’s name-change took place. In 1979, elections returns, and in the following decade the country moved away from the CNR’s Marxism toward capitalism.

The constitution has restrictions on both the age of presidential candidates and the number of terms the president may serve—the fact that the president’s of the 1990s didn’t seek to change the constitution in order to hang onto power has been a source of praise.

Following a runoff election in 2006, Yayi Boni assumed the presidency, and these days Benin is held up as a model of African democracy. George W Bush’s visit to Benin earlier this year was the first by a major head of state.

Oh, and it’s believed that Vodun (more commonly known as Voodoo, and the religion of around 17 percent of the Benin’s population) originated in Benin, and was transported to the Caribbean by slaves taken from this area.

Today’s poem, by Emile Ologoudou, comes from The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry, and I found the poem online here.

Liberty

The white carcases
of
ships
sought desperately
the visible island with its golden mist,
the native isle of insurrection,
stage at evening of the most tragic adventures,
we were tossed
on the waves of the same sorrow,
and discord
had not yet blown towards us the sands
of
its evidence,
exuberance still reigned over the happy bay,
that day when we made long funerals
for all the things
we had to bury…


— Emile Ologoudou