TOGO: Voodoo worshippers gather to celebrate New Year

Voodoo worshippers in Togo have gathered for special ceremonies to mark their New Year. Among the many rituals that are performed during the festival are a purification ceremony and consulting a sacred stone that will indicate the community's fortunes in the coming year. Dressed in white cloth, with bare chests and feet, voodoo worshippers started gathering at dawn on Thursday (September 6) for their New Year ceremony near the sacred forest of Glidji, 45 kilometres from the Togolese capital, Lome. For more than 300 years the Guin people have gathered here for the Epe Ekpe festival, a tradition they brought with them when they first moved from the shores of Lake Togo. "It's a ceremony in which the sons of our people are purified and are given a divine blessing, but most of all, it's to celebrate the arrival of the New Year," said Togbe Combey Yako, a voodoo priest. The special day starts with various purification ceremonies which are punctuated by chanting, rituals and dancing. Worshippers are ritually cleansed using a liquid mixed with several local herbs. "It's a very important annual ceremony for us because it allows us to receive the blessing, I never miss it," said Kayi Lawson, one of the voodoo worshippers. The festival with divinations from a sacred stone carefully carried from the forest. Voodoo worshippers believe the stone will tell them what to expect in the New Year. They also believe that the stone changes colour every year. This year, the stone was a 'dirty' white, which according the priests, indicates a prosperous year. "The stone says that there will be an abundance in agriculture, it will be a good year if we follow the recommendations very seriously," said Foly Gbossou, leader of the Guin people in South Togo. The first signs of voodoo culture in the region date back to the end of the 16th century, on the shores of the Mono River, which divides Togo from Benin. Religious practice of voodoo includes worshipping all-powerful gods and various deities, many consisting of small pieces of soil and a collection of metals, bone, or other materials.

ITN Source | September 8, 2007

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