Day 141: Abomey
A man who speaks English quite well and understandably is waiting for us at the tourist information office; his colleague, who we spoke to yesterday, informed him. He explains the tour alternatives and prices to us and we decide to just look at the palaces first.
6,000 CFA pp for a two-hour tour including entry, 1,000 per hour for the rental motorbike. Since we end up walking for almost three hours, the whole thing comes to 20,000 CFA (about 30 euros) – well spent compared to our Butterfly Walk.
We get a detailed explanation of the Dahomean empire, which lasted around 300 years from 1615 to the end of the 19th century. 12 regents, including one woman. The traditional story is an oral one.
Intrigues, coups, smart takeovers of power through gifts to the people (free water, for example), abandoned children, children of transformed leopards, fratricides – it's all there.
Each reign had its own symbol, which always tells a story. One of the most curious is that of the dressed buffalo. The new king was tricked into wearing clothing that was laced with a poison that irritates the skin so much that you scratch yourself bloody and die. The king resisted this. Strong as a buffalo, he defies the poisoned garment.
Each king builds a new palace; the old king's “state” remains in the old one and has to be supplied too.
The palaces are all constructed similarly: an entrance gate to a small first courtyard. A passage to a second courtyard with the visiting rooms. Behind it, in the third and largest courtyard, are the royal family's apartments. When the king died, he was buried outside – even today we don't know exactly what lies underground in the tombs. They are still sacred places and only a few people in the bloodline have access. Excavations are not permitted.
A number of round huts were then built in the old royal palace in which the king's spirit could stay and his family offered him sacrifices.
In front of a palace there is always what is known as a “fromage” tree in French. It produces a fruit with a whitish pulp at the core that can be eaten. It tastes somewhere between nutty and fruity and has the consistency of cheese. But be careful: the pink flesh surrounding the seeds is poisonous.
The whole thing was financed not only by taxes but also by the slave trade. In all conquered areas, the selection was rigorous: those who could use their skills were released, those who could not were sold as slaves.
The circle closes here, because in Cape Coast we were told that the colonial powers actually only used the structures of the locals to expand the slave trade. One of the last kings of the Dahome also found himself in financial trouble when the British decided to put an end to the slave trade. In the whole mix, it must also be mentioned that slaves from West Africa were also sold to Brazil.
We can't remember more about the tour :-)
We invite Bocco, our guide, for a cold drink and a lively discussion about politics developments with another local. Bocco has his roots in both Togo and Benin, studied in Togo and experienced the political power structure as extremely restrictive; two of his friends died. He thinks the conditions in Benin are much better. The other guest, who works at the university, probably doesn't see it that way and withdraws from the conversation. And our French hosts in Togo also had a different perspective: Benin has much bigger problems in the north with Boko Haram, for example; The government in Togo is taking tougher measures.
In the conversations we are having, a negative attitude towards French politics is increasingly evident, more or less clearly.
Oh yes: We spontaneously bought a beautiful hand-woven hammock, even if we don't know where to put it or how to fasten it...
And by the way: The wooden sculptures here are created by various local artists and are for sale. We're thinking about how we can get the hippopotamus to Germany :-)
Btw: Water seems to be a problem here. At times there is none at all. Surprisingly, this has nothing to do with the fact that there is no electricity at times.