Photo trip West African culture and religion
Animist beliefs and fetishes are an integral part of local culture in West Africa. Important ingredients of voodoo during practice are dance, music and the most diverse rituals. This photo trip offers you the opportunity to capture unique images of the various ceremonies during the large annual Voodoo festival in Benin, under the inspiring guidance of professional photographer Nand Fiems. After this bustling festival, take a tour of Togo and Benin. You will be introduced to authentic populations such as the Tamberma and Somba who live in the isolated Atakora Mountains, you will enjoy the beautiful nature and experience the dynamics of African life with its many traditions and customs.
ABOUT NAND FIEMS
Nand Fiems (1947) studied interior art and then photography at the Sint-Lucas Institute in Ghent. As a professional photographer he specialises in reportage, studio and aerial photography and teaches technical and aesthetic photography. Since 1990 he travels annually to Asia, Africa and the Americas to capture the splendour of these continents.
Departure date: January 8, 2016, so you can attend the first voodoo ceremonies on January 9th!
Tips & tops of photo trip Togo-Benin:
- Transport during entire journey in private minibus with professional driver
- The markets in the bustling city of Lomé; the labyrinthine and colourful Grand Marché and Le Marché des Feticheurs where all the ingredients for the voodoorituelen can be found, from snake heads to porcupine skin
- The pile village of Ganvié, called the Venice of Africa for a reason
- Interesting ethnographic museum in Porto-Novo
- A glimpse into the history of Abomey, the former capital of the Kingdom of Dahoney and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985
- Making a wish at the Thanksgiving fetish. If this wish comes true, you have a reason to return and make the 'sacrifice' that you promised while making the wish...
- Visit to many original villages and populations: the beautifully fortified houses of the Tamberma and the Somba
- The spectacular spectacle of the fire dance, in which dancers walk in trance over piping hot coals
- Sarakawa Park, one of the few nature reserves in Togo with a rich wildlife life. Buffalo, zebras, antelopes, hartebeest and waterbuck, near the river crocodiles and hippos and an extraordinarily rich bird life
- The natural cultural richness of the Kpalimé region is impressive. You will visit the cocoa plantations and in Centre Artisanal you will see craftsmen at work with looms, batik, wood and gourd
- Guaranteed departure!
