Porto Novo
Friday, February 21, 2025 Cotonou, Benin
Our first stop was at a remarkable place. A man named Louis Oke-Agbo who had been abandoned by his family and had grown up on the streets, has become a very successful photographer and artist, with showings at galleries in Paris. He has used his money and his success to found an NGO dedicated to street children who suffer from mental illness, physical and developmental disabilities, all of whom have been rejected by their families. His place is called the Vie et Solidarite Art Therapy Center, and runs workshops in dance, music, photography, and painting.
When we arrived, the young people there put on a drumming and dancing show for us:
Click on the arrow for video:
We then were introduced to some of them, and we examined their art as they explained what they had hoped to portray:
It was phenomenal, and very touching. Some of us bought some art. We were so impressed at what a single person can do with the motivation and the empathy Lous has.
On the way to the market, we passed this display of hair accessories. Note the mannequins are all white—something we’ve seen all over.
On the way into the market we passed the broom factory:
Our destination was the row of apothecary shops all of which carried only natural cures, and all of which claimed to be able to cure anything.
According to our guide, Noah, the belief in natural healing is powerful, which, along with appeals to voodoo spirits, can be most successful. Here are two signs from shops in the market:
We met with one of the doctors, and as we were told the natural healers sometimes work with doctors from the university, I made a medical friend:
Adjacent was a shop where the natural healer was creating some of his medicines:
There are women apothecaries, too:
Our next stop was King Toffa’s Royal Palace. In 1883, King Toffa signed a treaty with the French, agreeing to hand over the part of the country he ruled, leading to a civil war. Kings continued to reign here until 1976, at which time the last king committed suicide. Here’s the entrance:
And the door:
No photos were allowed inside, but I asked and received permission to take a photo of this sign, explaining the prominent position the postmenopausal queen mother held:
Our final stop was a voodoo temple. No one but the voodoo priests are allowed inside:
We’ve begun to learn about the voodoo beliefs and the way in which spirit belief infuses all of daily life for almost all the people, and is synchronous with the organized Christian and Muslim practices. There’s much more to learn and understand.
As we were about to leave, this school bus had filled and the back door was closing. The children were very happy to pose for a photo, and there was much glee and giggling when I showed it to them.
Tomorrow we’ll leave Cotonou for Ketou, and what we’ve
been warned, more than once, is a very basic hotel with limited if any
internet. I may not be able to post for
a couple of days.
Love the colorful clothing of the children in the van,
ReplyDeleteI find the promises of fixing dozens of medical conditions very troubling. I wonder what those doctors and the university really think of the local apothecaries. I'm not saying that there aren't SOME natural remedies, etc., that may have good and predictable effects for this or that malady. But what are the risks,, too?
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DeleteIt's all a compromise, Ralph. When the patient has a deep-seated belief in voodoo and natural medicine, and intense skepticism about science-based medicine, the scientifically trained doctors can work with the natural healers to benefit the patient. It's a way of working with the patient where they are at to get the best possible result.
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