Voodoo Festival January 10

Beginning with the slaughter of a goat in honor of the spirits, the festival is filled with singing, dancing and drinking, especially gin.

Vodoun (meaning spirit in the Fon, Gun and Ewe languages, pronounced ) is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana and Nigeria.

Vodou cosmology centers on the vodun spirits and other elements of divine essence that govern the Earth, a hierarchy whose power ranges from the major deities governing the forces of nature and human society to the spirits of individual streams, trees, and rocks, as well as dozens of ethnic vodun, defenders of a particular clan, tribe, or nation. The vodun are the center of religious life.

The patterns of worship follow various dialects, spirits, practices, songs and rituals. The divine Creator, variously called Mawu or Mahu, is a female being. She is an elderly woman, and usually a gentle and forgiving mother. She is also considered the god who owns all other gods and even if there is no temple made in her name, people still pray to her, especially in times of distress.

In one tradition, she had seven children. Sakpata: Vodun of the Earth, Xêvioso (or Xêbioso): Vodun of Thunder, also associated with Divine Justice, Agbe: Vodun of the Sea, Gû: Vodun of Iron and War, Agê: Vodun of Agriculture and Forests, Jo: Vodun of Air, and Lêgba: Vodun of the unpredictable.