Voodoo Festival (Fête du Vodoun)

Benin's National Voodoo Day celebration, held annually on January 10th in the coastal city of Ouidah — the spiritual heartland of West African Vodoun. The festival features elaborate ceremonies, offerings, drumming, dancing, and processions honoring the Vodoun spirits (lwa/orisha) that form the foundation of the religion.

Benin is the birthplace of Vodoun, which spread to the Americas through the slave trade to become Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, and Brazilian Candomblé. This festival celebrates the religion at its source and challenges the widespread misrepresentation of Vodoun in Western media.