Benin has launched a major initiative to formalize and promote its Vodun spiritual heritage, with a national workshop held in Grand-Popo on Saturday, October 11, 2025.
Organised by the Vodun Rites Committee of Benin, the event brought together dignitaries and practitioners from across the country to examine, harmonize, and validate rituals, symbols, and temple architectures for official recognition.
The workshop is part of a broader effort to give Vodun a normative and cultural framework, preserving its authenticity while integrating it into religious and heritage tourism.
Professor Mahougnon Kakpo, head of the committee, highlighted the significance of the project in strengthening Benin’s cultural identity and correcting often-caricatured perceptions of Vodun.
“When we denigrate Vodun, when we systematically treat the Beninese as sorcerers, it is the entire Republic that is wounded,” Professor Kakpo said, linking respect for Vodun with national dignity.
He also called for ethical and aesthetic reforms, condemning practices that could harm the credibility of the religion, including unhygienic rituals, the public display of blood, sacrifices at crossroads, and the repeated use of ritual blades by multiple initiates.
The committee president criticised the commercialization of sacred practices on social media.
“How many serious doctors advertise their remedies on TikTok? None. Yet, we, the Hounnon, Vodunnon, use these platforms to extol the virtues of this or that magic potion.
This practice harms our spirituality,” he said, advocating for the adoption of a common emblem for all Vodun cults, harmonization of temple architecture, the promotion of national languages, and the rejection of imported symbols.
Established by presidential decree in September 2023, the Vodun Rites Committee aims to position Benin as a global reference in spiritual tourism.
The Grand-Popo workshop marks the first stop in a national program that will extend to northern regions, including Borgou, Alibori, Atacora, and Donga.
This initiative complements flagship projects such as the Vodun Convent Route and the planned International Vodun Museum in Porto-Novo.
By standardizing rituals and promoting ethical practices, Benin is seeking to modernize Vodun while asserting it as a source of national pride and cultural identity, positioning the country as a hub for research, pilgrimage, and the preservation of ancestral heritage.
About The Author
