The tradition & historical record
2 min read · 1 sourceThe International Festival of Vodun Arts and Cultures, also known as the Ouidah Festival, was first held in Ouidah, Benin in February 1993, sponsored by UNESCO and the government of Benin. It celebrated the transatlantic Vodun religion, and was attended by priest and priestesses from Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and the United States, as well as by government officials and tourists from Europe and the Americas. The festival was sponsored by the newly elected president of Benin, Nicéphore Soglo, who wanted to rebuild the connection with the Americas and celebrate the restoration of freedom of religion with the return to democracy. Artists from Benin, Haiti, Brazil and Cuba were given commissions to make sculptures and paintings related to Vodun and its variants in Africa and the African diaspora. The festival was mainly commercial in nature, aiming to attract tourists and gain attention from the international art market. However, Vodun art can still be efficacious when produced for sale, and the Vodun spirits were propitiated at the start of the festival. The festival acknowledged the role of the Beninese in the slave trade, and was meant to serve a healing role and a welcoming home of the people of the African diaspora.
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International Festival of Vodun Arts and Cultures is recorded in open cultural data. The structured record cited below does not describe the practice, and this entry has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. 1
The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. 1