Fête du Vodoun – Benin’s Voodoo Festival

The Fête du Vodoun, now formally known as Vodun Days, is an annual national holiday in Benin, celebrated mainly in the coastal town of Ouidah on January 10th. It is a public celebration of the traditional West African religion of Vodun, which remains a central part of the nation’s cultural heritage. The event is a unique blend of sacred rituals and a huge public festival, attracting both devotees and curious international visitors alike.

The festival’s major spectacles follow a traditional path across Ouidah. Activities often begin near the Python Temple and the Sacred Forest, with performances by the costumed Egungun, who represent ancestral spirits. These events lead into the main procession, which features the Zangbeto, or ‘Night Watchmen’—towering, spinning cones made of woven plant fibers. This great gathering culminates at the Door of No Return on the beach, where high-ranking priests perform the grand ceremony, making offerings to the deities near the ocean.