Tourists to Ouidah, a city on the coast of the Republic of Benin,
in West Africa, typically visit a few well-known sites of
significance to the Vodun religion-the Python Temple, where Dangbe,
the python spirit, is worshipped, and King Kpasse's sacred forest,
which is the seat of the Vodun deity known as Loko. However, other,
less familiar places, such as the palace of the so-called supreme
chief of Vodun in Benin, are also rising in popularity as tourists
become increasingly adventurous and as more Vodun priests and
temples make themselves available to foreigners in the hopes of
earning extra money. Timothy R. Landry examines the connections
between local Vodun priests and spiritual seekers who travel to
Benin-some for the snapshot, others for full-fledged initiation
into the religion. He argues that the ways in which the Vodun
priests and tourists negotiate the transfer of confidential, sacred
knowledge create its value. The more secrecy that surrounds Vodun
ritual practice and material culture, the more authentic, coveted,
and, consequently, expensive that knowledge becomes. Landry writes
as anthropologist and initiate, having participated in hundreds of
Vodun ceremonies, rituals, and festivals. Examining the role of
money, the incarnation of deities, the limits of adaptation for the
transnational community, and the belief in spirits, sorcery, and
witchcraft, Vodun ponders the ethical implications of producing and
consuming culture by local and international agents. Highlighting
the ways in which racialization, power, and the legacy of
colonialism affect the procurement and transmission of secret
knowledge in West Africa and beyond, Landry demonstrates how,
paradoxically, secrecy is critically important to Vodun's global
expansion.
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