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Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms in Benin

In Benin, children allegedly possessed by spirits can spend years in voodoo convents, but now that is changing.

Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
A chief priest takes his seat and waves a long wand of coarse white horse hair to silence the crowd. [Angela Singh/Plan International]
By Angela Singh
Published On 8 May 2016

Couffo, Benin – As the hazy morning air lifts, a group of villagers dance into focus, kicking up dust as they make their way down a sandy road. Clad in bright beads, colourful African prints and white cloth, villagers chant and contort their bodies. At the front are a group of children, dancing and singing as if possessed by the beat. They are followers of voodooism – a religion that is part and parcel of the culture in the tiny West African country of Benin.

They march towards a small mud hut, located in the Couffo region of southwest Benin, aglow from the hot morning sun. Villagers filter in, filling every corner of this little orange compound. Beads of sweat trickle down faces etched with scars. In the middle lies a small shrine. A wooden post wrapped in old rope sits on top of animal bones.

A chief priest, draped in a white gown, an ornate crown perched on his head, takes his seat and waves a long wand of coarse white horse hair to silence the crowd.

This is just one of Benin’s many voodoo convents: places where children allegedly possessed by spirits are sent to be healed.

Children can spend up to seven years in these convents, completely disconnected from the outside world. As part of their daily routine, they are made to sing, dance and learn a new language.

Once the oracles consider them healed, they are released in a coming out ceremony. But by then, they have missed out on an education and have little hope for a bright future.

Now, child rights organisation Plan International is working with local NGOs and chief voodoo priests in villages in Couffo to support children caught up in this tradition. As a result, hundreds have been released from the convents.

READ MORE: Luna, the horse, delivers books in Indonesian village

Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
Wearing bright beads, villagers chant and contort their bodies. At the front are a group of children, dancing and singing. [Angela Singh/Plan International]
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Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
Children who frequently fall ill with common complaints such as stomach aches and can't be treated elsewhere are referred to the voodoo convents as a last resort. Upon arrival, their names are changed and they are taught a new language. Chief priest Togbe Efio Eugene Djakotomei, who succeeded his father to become head of his convent, says: 'We believe death has already taken these children, but we can still take the child from death, so we give them another identity to stop evil spirits from approaching them again.' [Angela Singh/Plan International]
Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
Children between the ages of two and 18 can be sent to the convent for healing. They are supervised by a collective of male and female voodoo priests as well as by elders, a number of whom are former residents. Houndedji Sowalos, 62, right, is one of the elders who looks after the children. 'When children arrive it is a painful situation to witness. They are kept in one of the shrines within the convent for three months. A shrine is a tiny dark room, where the place of worship lies – often made up of animal bones,' she says. 'Children aren't allowed out and nobody can see them.' Depending on the nature of the child's illness, scarification is used to assign each child to a specific voodoo god for healing. 'We give them tribal markings with knives or razors based on the god who is healing the child,' says Houndedji. [Angela Singh/Plan International]
Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
Madeleine, 10, lived in a convent for two years. 'I had to undergo scarification,' she says. 'There was so much blood. It was everywhere. I didn't like it in the convent because I wasn't allowed to go to school. Every morning, I would wake up at 7am, sweep the compound and wash dishes. I didn't learn anything apart from singing and dancing. For me, the worst part was the lack of food. We weren't allowed outside and we had no money. There was no one to go and buy us food even if we needed it. There are no toilets in the compound. If I needed the toilet at night. I had to find a bush. It was so dark I couldn't see." [Angela Singh/Plan International]
Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
Elise, 15, lived in this convent in Couffo. "My mother used to live here. When she came out, she promised to offer her daughter to the voodoo gods. My mother didn't keep to her promise and I fell sick. The oracles soon revealed my mother's promise and demanded I should be given to the god of the water to be healed. I lived in the convent for three years and I suffered a lot. If I was having trouble learning traditional songs or dances, I was beaten severely. Sometimes, I was even made to kneel on palm kernel shells as punishment." [Angela Singh/Plan International]
Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
Medewaou Djissode, 38, was suffering from ill health. 'I went to many hospitals for help, but they were unable to cure me so I was sent to a convent to be healed. I lived here for seven years. When I left, I wanted to have a baby, but I couldn't. Voodoo helped me conceive and I made a promise that if I had a daughter I would give her to the gods. When I refused my daughter, Hounmavo, fell sick. Priests told me it was because I did not uphold my promise. I did not want Hounmavo to go there, but I had no choice. She was little and tender. It was a time when children should be playing with their friends. Luckily, she only lived there for a few months. Thanks to Plan International Benin's initiative Hounmavo was able to come out within a year. She is now seven and free.' [Angela Singh/Plan International]
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Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
Djofin Assou Gilbert, second left, is a project coordinator for ReSPESD, a network of national NGOs working for child rights in Couffo, Benin. Together with Plan International, they are working on the project 'Zero Children in the Convents'. Last year, Djofin saw a group of children outside a convent and wanted to find out more. 'I am not a follower of voodoo ... but I wanted to know why these children weren't going to school,' he says. 'I'd heard of these convents, but I didn't know what was happening inside. One of the elders told me what was going on, so I went to see the president of voodoo convents in Couffo. We discussed the situation and he agreed that the time children spent inside needed to be reduced.' [Angela Singh/Plan International]
Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
Together with Djofin, Plan International has been working with the voodoo priests in the Couffo region for a year now. Following many consultations, the voodoo priests have agreed to release the children after only three months. According to Aissi Anita, a child protection officer from the local government: 'When children are set free from voodoo convents, it's like they've been set free from slavery. They are scarred, tired and unable to talk. Voodoo has become part and parcel of our local culture. There is no way we can shun this practice. I only wish the voodoo convents are reformed so children are able to get the education they deserve.' [Angela Singh/Plan International]
Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
Mama Hounza Tognon Mahouchi, 85, is president of the voodoo priests in Couffo. 'I am the most powerful of all chief priests. Where others can't, I can. I am the god of thunder, earth, air, water and snake .... Children used to stay in my convent for up to eight years. They were tired, their hair was shaven and they were unable to go to school or learn any trade. I let this go on because I was ignorant. Several months ago, I received a message from Plan International asking me to meet and discuss the time children spent in convents. As a result, a decision was taken to reduce the time children spent there. I told the other priests how children were living in convents for far too long. They didn't resist and were able to see the importance of education.' [Angela Singh/Plan International]
Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
'While I was in the convent, I was half naked for most of the time. I didn't like living there at all,' says Eric, 13, who was released recently. 'After one year, I was told I was allowed to leave. I felt so happy. I am able to go to school and learn again .... I want to continue with my education and I want to be president of Benin one day.' [Angela Singh/Plan International]
Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
'Children learn traditional voodoo songs and dances while they are in the convent, so when they return to school it is a completely different world. It is a huge task to bring them up to speed, so we offer extra classes to support their reintegration,' says teacher Djokpoui Dodji Michel, 50. 'I have been very impressed at the progress of six-year-old Reine [right] .... [She] is now the best student in her class.' [Angela Singh/Plan International]
Swapping voodoo convents for classrooms ?in Benin/ Please Do Not Use
"Voodoo convents have posed a unique challenge for a very long time," says Plan International Benin's country director, Rheal Drisdelle. 'Voodooism is a religion people firmly believe in. This is part of their spirituality and part of their beliefs.' Last year, there was a formal ceremony where all the priests and the hierarchy of the voodoo religion in this area came together to sign an agreement .., promising they would release children from the convents and send them back to school.' More than 300 children have so far been released. Some 280 of those have returned to school and 30 have gone into apprenticeships. "For voodoo priests to allow their convents to be opened up and let children leave to get an education is a major change and a huge transformation," says Drisdelle. '... Through negotiations and consultations a generational change is being achieved in communities across Benin where voodoo is widely practised.' [Angela Singh/Plan International]

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