Healing through discovery,culture,and experience.
Egungun, in the broadest sense is any Yoruba masquerade or masked, costumed figure. More specifically, it is a Yoruba masquerade for ancestor reverence, or the ancestors themselves as a collective force. Eรฉgรบn is the reduced form of the word egรบngรบn and has the same meaning.
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Growing up with multiple nationalities is filled with beautiful complexities.. I was recently asked "what language do you think in?" Hmm
Caught the 'Aziza' art expo featuring the numerous works of classic and contemporary artists Cyprien Tokoudagba, Jean-Dominique Burton, Ishola Akpo, Jeremy Demester, David Adebayo (D-Vider), George Lilanga and more..
Culture.
Egungun celebration in Ouidah during Vodun festival.
Egungun is a Yoruba masquerade that provides an important connection between the worlds of the living and the dead. They are actual representation of the ancestors. This is culture. Book your tour with us now for more ancestral cultivation!
๐๐ง๐ฏ Benin
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instapassport
Sliiidin thru the city on moto taxi aka Zemidjan somewhere in Benin ๐ต๐จ๐จ
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At the Benin premiere of "Restituer?" A Nora Philippe produced art doc about the looted works of art from Benin.
๐จ๐ญ๐ฃNow showing as part of the exhibition: "Art of Benin yesterday and today, from restitution to revelation" at Palais de la Marina in Cotonou,Benin
The works shown here are Gรจlรจdรจ masks by Beninese artist Kifouli Dossou. This is a must see exhibition if youโre currently in Benin!
A couple in wax print.
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This is in Ouidah,Benin right next to my grandparents home where I was born. Ouidah was historically known to have been 1 of the biggest slave ports of the Transatlantic slave trade. Centuries ago men and women were branded and sold at this very place. That big tree behind me is where they (Portuguese and Brazilian) colonizers auctioned off the captives and enslaved them en route to new world (Europe, North and South America)..The colonizers couldnโt have caught the men and women without some help from local African Kings and their men who were accomplices to this tragic crime against humanity. Part of my job now today is to help bridge that divide between black America and Africa because the truth is weโre all dealing with residual trauma from the Transatlantic Slave Trade. We got work to do. This is heavy. Be sure to follow my page
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Experience Culture, History, and Healing through an African lens. Book now!!
The Great Mosque of Porto-Novo with its Afro-Brazilian architectural-style is one of the remnants of colonial Benin fka Dahomey. The construction of the mosque started in 1912 and completed in 1925.
Come see Ganvie, Africaโs largest lake village through the lens of the experience.
Vodun Festival 2022. Ouidah,Benin
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๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ค
Our services provide a 10 day discovery of cultural landmarks, including a variety of outings to UNESCO world heritage sites like the Royal Palaces of Dahomey in Abomey, historic Ouidah (the largest slave port of the transatlantic slave trade and birth place of vodou,) the modern museum Zinsou, & Ganvie in Lake Nokouรฉ, (the largest lake village in Africa, where the only means of transportation to and from the village is through wooden boats.)
Book now your travel:
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๐๐ฅ๐๐-๐๐ฑ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐.๐จ๐ซ๐
๐ง ๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
@๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ
Our mission is to bridge and heal the divide between America and Africa. We believe there can be healing through acknowledging and confronting the darker aspects of our collective historical truths. ๐๐ฝ
This is what the ALFA journey is about.
Reserve your spot now!
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๐๐ฅ๐๐-๐๐ฑ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐.๐จ๐ซ๐
๐ง ๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
@๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ
๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎโ๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ.
West Africa is full of fascinating traditional cultures and lifestyles, and one of the most interesting ones during our tour travels will be the village of Ganvie. Ganvie is a village built on stilts in the middle of Lake Nokouรฉ in southern Benin, close to the city of Cotonou. The village was founded in the 17th century by people looking for peace and safety during the slave trade. 400 years later, Ganvie has a population of some 30,000 people and the village even includes a hospital, post office and school.
๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐ป๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
Book now your travel:
๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ
๐๐ฅ๐๐-๐๐ฑ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐.๐จ๐ซ๐
๐ง ๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
@๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ
Discover ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ง-๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ (๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง) in ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ง: A monument to the more than one million enslaved Africans deported from the port of Ouidah.
Get in Touch:
๐๐ฅ๐๐-๐๐ฑ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐.๐จ๐ซ๐
๐ง ๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
@๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ
#๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง #๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ
Benin is the birthplace of Voodoo, this most mysterious of religions, and it exists here in its purest form. Some 60 percent of Beninese follow the Voodoo religion and many aspects of it spill over into the wider culture, too. As a tourist in Benin, it is impossible to avoid the herbal medicines, the roadside shrines, the statues of voodoo gods and the festivals and ceremonies that take place, particularly around Ouidah, Voodooโs spiritual home.
Don't miss the chance to experience culture and indigenous African spirituality.
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๐๐ฅ๐๐-๐๐ฑ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐.๐จ๐ซ๐
๐ง ๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
@๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ
๐
๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ฌ, ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐-๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ โฅ
One of primary goals of Alfa Cultural Exchange is to bridge the gap between Africa and the African diaspora. Tomorrow is not promised to us all, so why not explore and fulfill our life purpose?
Discover the real Africa ๐ก
Book now your travel:
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๐๐ฅ๐๐-๐๐ฑ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐.๐จ๐ซ๐
๐ง ๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
@๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ
๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ, & ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐
We accommodate you from our selection of hotels and villas all located in the center of Calavi, a suburb of Cotonou. Markets, stores, and food are all within walking distance.
Our services provide a 10 day discovery of cultural landmarks, including a variety of outings to UNESCO world heritage sites like the Royal Palaces of Dahomey in Abomey, historic Ouidah (the largest slave port of the transatlantic slave trade and birth place of vodou,) the modern museum Zinsou, & Ganvie in Lake Nokouรฉ, (the largest lake village in Africa, where the only means of transportation to and from the village is through woOur services provide a 10 day discovery of cultural landmarks, including a variety of outings to UNESCO world heritage sites like the Royal Palaces of Dahomey in Abomey, historic Ouidah (the largest slave port of the transatlantic slave trade and birth place of vodou,) the modern museum Zinsou, & Ganvie in Lake Nokouรฉ, (the largest lake village in Africa, where the only means of transportation to and from the village is through wo boats.)
Book now your travel:
๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ
๐๐ฅ๐๐-๐๐ฑ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐.๐จ๐ซ๐
๐ง ๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
@๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ
Save the dates ๐
๐๐จ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง ๐
๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ , ๐๐๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐-๐๐, ๐๐๐๐
The extraordinary Voodoo Festival which takes place in Ouidah, Benin every year, this year starts at on January 10-12, 2022 is a once seen, never forgotten experience.
Itโs the must attend event in the Voodoo calendar โ a celebration of the voodoo religion and the cults associated with it โ and draws fe**sh priests, adepts, traditional chiefs and onlookers from far and wide. There are ritual sacrifices, plus dancing, drinking and the constant pounding of drums. Devotees assume the identity of gods, dressing up and transforming into that god as they do, with the realm of the magical close at hand. The Zangbeto look like giant, walking grass skirts, while the Egungun โ the most powerful โ are covered.
Book now your travel:
๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ
๐๐ฅ๐๐-๐๐ฑ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐.๐จ๐ซ๐
๐ง ๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
@๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐
๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ง-๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐. We are here to demystify the African experience for all those that wish to reconnect with their ancestral past.
๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐?
๐Then the ALFA experience is for you! โฅ
Book now your once-in-a-lifetime experience:
๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ
๐ง ๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
@๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ
๐๐ฅ๐๐-๐๐ฑ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐.๐จ๐ซ๐
Link In Bio
If youโre in Benin be sure to stop by Le Lab in Cotonou to peep works by the incomparable Beninese artist
Need plans for the weekend?? How about seeing some incredible art that informs. Renowned Beninese artist/sculptor Cyprien Tokoudagba is currently exhibiting works via in Cotonou (Fidjrosse)
Free Admission
Monday - Saturday
9H - 18H
โ๏ธ : +(229) 91 20 70 19
Address:
Route 2100 - Gondouana - Fidjrossรจ (Bรขtiment rouge des bureaux de la Fondation Zinsou le long du mur de l'aรฉroport)
Gแบนlแบนdแบน mask
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The Gแบนlแบนdแบน spectacle of the Yoruba is a public display by colorful masks which combines art and ritual dance to amuse, educate and inspire worship.
Gelede masks are worn with a costume consisting of layers of elaborate, colorful cloth.
The Gelede "mask" is more accurately a headdress, since it rests on top of the head and the wearer's face is covered by a cloth veil. The headdress takes the form of a human head, on top of which are motifs that are intended to entertain onlookers but, in addition, usually address social concerns that may also be expressed in songs that are part of the masquerade. The headdresses are usually brightly painted.
Within the Gelede festival there are many different headdresses being used. The most common variations being: the Ori Eniyan, or human head. Within this group there are three subcategories. Those that have hairdos, those with head wraps or hats, and those carrying small creatures or objects. This mask is the most commonly associated with the Gelede performances.
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Yoruba Gแบนlแบนdแบน ceremony.
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The Gแบนlแบนdแบน spectacle of the Yoruba is a public display by colorful masks which combines art and ritual dance to amuse, educate and inspire worship. Gelede celebrates โMothersโ (awon iya wa), a group that includes female ancestors and deities as well as the elderly women of the community, and the power and spiritual capacity these women have in society. Focusing not only on fertility and motherhood but also on correct social behavior within the Yoruba society.
Although the Gelede ceremony may be staged at any time of the year (to better the lot of an individual, to cleanse the society of pestilence, to induce rain, to enrich human fertility, to enlist the support of supernatural forces and the "powerful mothers" in wartime, and to honor the dead), the most elaborate performance occurs during the annual festival.
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(1) Royal Emblems of Kings of the Kingdom of Dahomey. (2) Vodun Festival
(3)Egungun. They all represent themes of cultural antiquity. January 10th is international Vodun(Voodoo) day in Benin! Book a cultural tour with us via our website. Link in bio
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Experience Culture, History, and Healing through an African lens. Book now!! #africanculture #africandiaspora #africatravel #healingjourney #instatravel #AlfaExchange #discoverAfrica #africa #visitafrica #thisisafrica #travelafrica #africanbeauty #travelbenin #visitbenin #alfacultureexchange #blackamericans #africanamericans #diaspora #panafricanism #panafricanism #travel #travelblogger #traveladdict #traveling #BackToAfrica #backtoafrica #travelwestafrica
Yoruba Gแบนlแบนdแบน ceremony. ***** The Gแบนlแบนdแบน spectacle of the Yoruba is a public display by colorful masks which combines art and ritual dance to amuse, educate and inspire worship. Gelede celebrates โMothersโ (awon iya wa), a group that includes female ancestors and deities as well as the elderly women of the community, and the power and spiritual capacity these women have in society. Focusing not only on fertility and motherhood but also on correct social behavior within the Yoruba society. Although the Gelede ceremony may be staged at any time of the year (to better the lot of an individual, to cleanse the society of pestilence, to induce rain, to enrich human fertility, to enlist the support of supernatural forces and the "powerful mothers" in wartime, and to honor the dead), the most elaborate performance occurs during the annual festival. ๐ธ @akinyai #gelede #yoruba #yorubaculture #alfa #africanslivingforafrica #culture #africa #panafrican #panafricanism #benin
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