Benin, pearl of Africa

The jungle is reflected on the mirror surface of the Black River of Adjarra. The boat glides noiselessly among the palm trees as the daylight fades. The silence is total. The calm, exquisite. Isaac, my guide, promised me wonder once I set foot on Beninese soil. I am won over.

Nestled between Togo and Nigeria, Benin is a French-speaking country in West Africa still little known to tourists. A godsend for those, like me, who like calm and prefer meeting people. The Black River, which owes its name to the leaves that have fallen to the bottom of the water and the earth that mixes with it, takes me to a village where I learn how to make raffia palm wine and oil. palm (a beautiful red color, it replaces animal fat in Beninese cuisine). I admire the dexterity of the women weaving raffia to make baskets. I stop to chat for a moment with a painter-sculptor who is developing the land where his paintings dry to make an art center.

For this first discovery of the country, I decided to take my time. Also, I will stay for this trip to the South. Cotonou, Ganvié, Dassa-Zoumé, then going down, Abomey and Ouidah. I will sometimes leave the road to explore villages and towns that can be reached by boat.

I found the support of a guide necessary. I chose Isaac Abissi and his local agency Voyages modestes. Many encounters and discoveries were only known to him or to initiated locals. Without a guide, I would have missed a lot of things.

Driving (especially after the rainy season) can be very complicated. Knowing which other path to take and knowing how to maneuver on rutted paths is a definite asset.

Benin in arts

There are many artists and entrepreneurs in the country and I will have many opportunities to admire works on rock, stone, wood, clay, textiles or skin, and to see development projects arise. This improvised thread offers me a face of Benin that is both traditional and surprisingly modern.

Adjarra is known for being the city of drums and the air rustles with the rhythms that the men strike on their djembe that they have made. In the evening, I stay in the Ouadada artistic and cultural center. The atmosphere is peaceful and the works exhibited are atypical. We let ourselves be won over in the interior courtyard by the desire to create, compose and dance.

In the village of Abegui, in the commune of Pobé, it is on their bodies that the women have had real works of art created. Uniquely designed tattoos cover their stomachs and are a sign of seduction, just like the pearls that surround their bodies. I find these ornaments on the huge frescoes near the Place de l’Amazone in Cotonou which represent Beninese women wearing or assembling them. I observe them on young Fulani girls in a Wodaabe camp. Pearls are sold in the colorful and lively markets that I visit on my way to Dassa-Zoumé. They are expertly threaded to create bright and original necklaces, like those offered to me by a young designer on the beach of Grand Popo.

Jewelry, loincloths, braids and headdresses adorn the women. Peasant, entrepreneur, artist, walking with a jar on her head or with a baby strapped to her back, making pottery or managing a restaurant with a smile on her face, the Beninese woman is flirtatious and elegant.

Other works punctuate my trip to southern Benin: the paintings of temples dedicated to Voodoo culture, the sculptures and paintings of the Unik museum near Abomey, the masks worn during rituals, such as that of All Souls’ Day. which I was able to witness, in the work on rock of the artist Okuta, embodied in monuments dedicated to the slaves taken to the West Indies in Ouida, in the music that Isaac listens to at the wheel of the car which takes me where he alone knows the intimate treasures of his country.

If the Beninese fascinate me with their creativity, their History and their kindness, the nature of Benin also appears to me as a timeless masterpiece. The red of its land which contrasts with the emerald of its dense forests, the cottony clouds which are reflected in the surface of the lagoons, the anthracite stones sculpted and pierced by the rains in the hills of Dassa-Zoumey, the colorful wild flowers vivid colors that shimmer under the rays of the sun, the juicy fruits with their stunning scent, the songs of the birds, the ballet of the canoes on Lake Nokoué in the lakeside town of Ganvié… So many assets that make me promise to return to Benin, to explore the center and north of the country.

Know before you go

To get there: the airlines Air France, Royal Air Maroc and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines operate flights (with stopovers) between Montreal and Cotonou.

Formalities and health: vaccination against yellow fever compulsory, anti-malaria treatment strongly recommended, entry visa (can be obtained online), valid passport.

When to go to Benin: it is best to avoid the rainy season and travel between November and the end of April.