Benin
Benin, officially the
Republic of Benin, is a country in
Western Africa,
formerly known as Dahomey or Dahomania. It has a small coast line with the
Bight of Benin in the south, borders
Togo in the west,
Nigeria in the east, and
Burkina Faso and
Niger in the north. (It has no particular connection to
Benin City or the
Kingdom of Benin)
The African kingdom of
Dahomey originated in Benin. By the
17th century, the kingdom, ruled by an
oba, stretched beyond the borders of present-day Benin, covering a large part of West-Africa. The kingdom was prosperous and established slave trading relations with the
Europeans (mostly
Portuguese and
Dutch) who first arrived in the late 15th century. The coastal part of the kingdom became known as the
Slave Coast.
Dahomey was known for its distinct culture and traditions. Starting in 1729, Dahomey started a female army system, with legislation stating that all females would be inspected by the authorities at the age of 15. Those that were determined to be beautiful would be sent to the Palace to become royal wives while those that were ill or physically unattractive were executed, and the remainder were trained as
soldiers for a period of two years.
Human sacrifice was a common practice; on holidays and special occasions, thousands of slaves and prisoners of war were sacrifices for gods and ancestors.
The slave trade was active for almost three hundred years. Dahomey had the habit of going inland for slave hunts every month, they ravaged villages and captured slaves for domestic use (also sacrifices) or to export to European countries. Due to the amount of Human sacrifices, the amount of slaves exported decreased from 20,000 in the end of the seventeenth century to 12,000 in the beginning of the 1800's; the decline is partly due to many colonial countries declaring slave trade illegal. This decline continued until 1885, when the last
Portuguese trade vessel with slaves departed from the coast of present day Benin.
By the
18th century, Dahomey started to fall apart, enabling the
French to take over the area in
1892. In
1899, the land became part of the
French West Africa colony, still as Dahomey. In
1958, it was granted autonomy as the Republic of Dahomey, and full independence started on
August 1,
1960.
For the next 12 years, ethnic strife contributed to a period of turbulence. There were several coups and regime changes, with three main figures dominating -
Sourou Apithy,
Hubert Maga, and
Justin Ahomadegbé - each of them representing a different area of the country. These three agreed to form a presidential council after violence had marred the
1970 elections. In
1972, a military coup led by
Mathieu Kérékou overthrew the council. He established a
Marxist government under the control of
Military Council of the Revolution (CNR), and the country was renamed to the People's Republic of Benin in
1975. In
1979, the CNR was dissolved and elections took place. By the late
1980s, Kérékou abandoned Marxism after an economic crisis and decided to re-establish a parliamentary
capitalist system. He was defeated in
1991 elections by
Nicéphore Soglo, becoming the first black African president to step down after an election. He returned to power after winning the
1996 vote. In
2001, a closely fought election resulted in Kérékou winning another term. His opponents claimed there were some election irregularities.
President Kérékou and former Presisdent Soglo did not run in the
2006 elections, both being barred by the constitution of Benin from running again due to their age and President Kérékou's two recent terms as president. President Kérékou is widely praised for making no effort to change the constitution so that he could remain in office or run again, unlike some African leaders. An election, considered free and fair, was held on
March 5,
2006, and resulted in a
runoff between
Yayi Boni and
Adrien Houngbédji. The runoff election was held on
March 19 and was won by Yayi Boni, who assumed office on
April 6. The success of the fair multiparty elections in Benin won high praise, and Benin is widely considered a model democracy in Africa.
Politics of Benin takes place in a framework of a
presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the
President of Benin is both
head of state and
head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system.
Executive power is exercised by the government.
Legislative power is vested in both the
government and the legislature. The
Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The current political system is derived from the
1990 Constitution of Benin and the subsequent transition to democracy in
1991.
For decades Benin was divided into six
departments or provinces, each of which was split in two in 1999. The provinces are divided into 77
communes.
The twelve provinces of Benin are:
*
Alibori (from north Borgou)
*
Atakora*
Atlantique*
Borgou*
Collines (from north Zou)
*
Donga (from south Atakora)
*
Kouffo (from north Mono)
*
Littoral (the region of Cotonou, split from Atlantique)
*
Mono*
Ouémé*
Plateau (from north Ouémé)
*
ZouStretched between the
Niger River in the north and the
Bight of Benin in the south, Benin's elevation is about the same for the entire country. Most of the population lives in the southern coastal plains, where Benin's largest cities are also located, including
Porto Novo and
Cotonou. The north of the country consists mostly of
savanna and semi-arid highlands.
The climate in Benin is hot and humid with relatively little rain compared to other West African countries, although there are two rainy seasons (April-July and September-November). In the winter the dust winds of the
harmattan can make the nights rather cold.
The largest city and commercial capital is
Cotonou. The name
Cotonou is from the
Fon phrase
'at the lake of the dead', from the adjacent lagoon. This is a reference to the belief that falling stars represent the souls of those who have just died falling to the underworld. It is said that when Cotonou was founded, the lights of the lacustrine village of
Ganvié across the lagoon were reflected in the waters, suggesting fallen stars at the bottom. Ganvié is a fishing village sitting in the water on stilts at the western shore of the lagoon.
The town of
Ouidah is the spiritual capital of vodun, and is known locally as
glexwe. It was a major slaving port under
Portuguese occupation. The town of
Abomey is the old capital of the Fon kingdom of
Dahomey, and the Fon king continues to reside there.
In Atakora province, Betamaribe settlements straddling the Togolese border are called
tata somba 'Somba houses'; they are famous for their fortifications, with livestock housed inside and the people sleeping in huts among the granaries on the roofs.
The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture,
cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise has offset much of this increase.
Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on
tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The
Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for speeded-up structural reforms.
There are several dozen
ethnolinguistic groups in Benin, representing three of Africa's language families:
Niger-Congo,
Nilo-Saharan, and
Afroasiatic. The later is represented by
Hausa living mostly as merchants in the north, while Nilo-Saharan is represented by the , descending from the
Songhai Empire. The
language predominates along the
Niger River in the far north, and is used as a
lingua franca in Muslim areas throughout the north, in Alibori, Borgou, and Donga provinces. Of the Niger-Congo family, five branches are represented:
*
Mande by the
Boko or Busa, now in the far eastern corner (southern Alibori-northern Borgou), but previously more widely spread before being largely absorbed by the Bariba
*
West Atlantic by the nomadic
Fulbe scattered across the northeast
*
Benue-Congo by the
Yoruba of Collines and Plateau provinces, such as the old kingdom of
Sakete, and the capital city of
Porto-Novo, having expanded west from and in the 12th to 19th centuries
*
Gur (Voltaic) languages predominate in the four northern provinces, with the
(Bariba) of the old
Borgou (Bariba) Kingdom occupying most of the countryside in its successor provinces of Borgou and Alibori, as well as the provincial captital of
Parakou; the
Yom throughout much of Donga province and its capital
Djougou; and several groups in the Atakora, including the
of the Otammari country around the provincial capital of
Natitingou, the
Biali, the
Waama of
Tanguiéta, and the
Gulmàceba.
*
Kwa, especially the
Gbe languages spoken by the
Tado peoples in the southern and central provinces: the
Aja who established themselves in Kouffo province from neighboring
Togo and gave rise to the other Tado peoples of Benin, except for the
Mina of Mono province, who arrived separately from Togo or
Ghana: The
culture centered in Zou province around the old capital of
Abomey, but also dominant in
Cotonou and southern Atlantique areas such as
Ouidah; the
Maxi in central Collines, especially around
Savalou; the
of central Atlantique (
Allada); the
Xwla and
Xueda in the lagoons of the coast; the
of Ouémé; and the
Gun of Porto-Novo. Other Kwa languages are spoken by the
Anii in southern Donga in the region of
Bassila, and the
in western Donga near the town of
Ouaké.
Numerically, the most important people are the Fon, with 1.7 million speakers of the Fon language (2001), followed by the various Yoruba groups (1.2 million), the Aja (600,000), the Bariba (460,000), the Ayizo (330,000), the Fulbe (310,000), and the Gun (240,000). Near the ports in the south can be found people of lighter skin who are descended from returned
Brazilian slaves. There are also small numbers of Europeans, principly
French, and Asians, principly
Lebanon and
Indians.
Indigenous religions are followed by a majority of the people and include local
animistic religions in the Atakora (Atakora and Donga provinces), and
Vodun among the Yoruba and Tado peoples of the center and south of the country. The town of
Ouidah on the central coast is the spiritual center of Beninese vodun.
The Yoruba and Tado pantheons correspond closely:
*The
Mawu (in the Fon language) or
Olodumare (in Yoruba)
*The god of the earth and smallpox,
Sakpata or Cankpana
*The god of thunder,
Xevioso or
Cango*The god of war and iron, Gu or
OgunThe principal
introduced religions are
Islam, introduced by the Songhai Empire and Hausa merchants, and now followed throughout Alibori, Borgou, and Dango provinces, as well as among the Yoruba, by 10-15% of the population; and
Christianity, followed nominally by another 10-15% throughout the south and center of Benin and in Otammari country in the Atakora. Most Christians, however, continue to hold Vodun beliefs and have incorporated the Christian pantheon into the Vodun.
It is believed that
Vodun (or "Voodoo", as it is commonly known) originated in Benin and was introduced to
Brazil, the
Caribbean Islands, and parts of North America by
slaves taken from this particular area of the
Slave Coast. The indigenous religion of Benin is practiced by about 60% of the population. Since 1992 Vodun has been recognized as one of Benin's official religions, and a National Vodun Holiday is celebrated on January 10.
Many Beninese in the south of the country have
Akan-based names indicating the day of the week they were born on. Twins are important in south Beninese culture, and special names for twins are also used.
Local languages are used as the languages of instruction in elementary schools, with French only introduced after several years. Beninese languages are generally transcribed with a separate letter for each speech sound (
phoneme), rather than using
diacritics as in French or
digraphs as in English. This includes Beninese
Yoruba, which in
Nigeria is written with both diacritics and digraphs. For instance, the
mid vowels written
é è, ô, o in French are written
in Beninese languages, whereas the
consonants written
ng and
sh or
ch in English are written
ŋ and
c. However, digraphs are used for
nasal vowels and the
labial-velar consonants
kp and
gb, as in the name of the Fon language
Fon gbe , and diacritics are used as
tone marks. In French-language publications, a mixture of French and Beninese orthographies may be seen.
*
Communications in Benin*
Foreign relations of Benin*
List of cities in Benin*
Military of Benin*
Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2004: 27 out of 167 countries
*
Scoutisme Béninois*
Transport in Benin*Adam, Kolawolé Sikirou and Michel Boko (1983),
le Bénin. SODIMAS, Cotonou and EDICEF, Paris.
Government
*
Benin Government Portal official site
News
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allAfrica - Benin news headline links
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L'Araignee (in French)
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Allafrica news - Benin*
benininfo (news in french)
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sonagnon.net (news in french)
*
quotidien le martinal *
LC2 international TV (Live TV )
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(news in french)
Overviews
*
BBC News - Country Study:
Benin*
MBendi - Information for Africa*
US State Department - Benin includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
Directories
*
Columbia University Libraries - Benin directory category of the WWW-VL
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Open Directory Project - Benin directory category
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Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: Benin directory category
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Yahoo! - Benin directory category
Tourism
