Benin's Voodoo believers struggle to protect sacred forests and their perceived spirits

Voodoo began in Benin and is one of the oldest religions in the world. Followers believe the country's forests are sacred and home to spirits for priests to pray to.For many people in Benin, the forests empowered them before they were born, or in the first months of their lives.

Benin is home to thousands of sacred forests, which believers say are vital to a religion rooted in nature. They see the forests as homes for spirits, which priests pray to and seek guidance from.But for decades the West African nation’s forests have been threatened, initially by anti-Voodoo attacks and then by the expansion of farming and urbanization.

Some 50 years later, he sits on the gravel road where the forest once stood, beside the two remaining trees the community salvaged. They’re cordoned off behind a concrete wall in hopes they won’t be touched. In the West, Voodoo is sometimes regarded as evil, or conflated with witchcraft. In Benin, Voodoo priests say the religion is grounded in positivity, based on tolerance and acceptance, and abides by a strict set of rules.

During an October visit to several sacred forests in southern Benin, The Associated Press heard what sounded like intense swirling wind emanating from two forests after Voodoo priests called to the spirits. Standing in front of a sacred tree, priest Gilbert Kakpo said women with childbirth troubles go there for help.

Earlier this year in the village of Ouanho, residents said the government destroyed part of the forest to construct roads without notice. Now the spirits, which need protection, are too exposed by the fading forests, residents say.

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