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West Africa, Ouidah Vodun Priestess,1797

Jeune Pretresse de Juida. Young Priestess of Juida. Vodun is practiced by the Fon people of Benin, and southern and central Togo; as well in Ghana, and Nigeria. The high priestess is the woman chosen by the oracle to care for the convent. Priestesses, like priests, receive a calling from an oracle, which may come at any moment during their lives. They will then join their clan's convent to pursue spiritual instruction. European colonialism, followed by some of the totalitarian regimes in West Africa, have tried to suppress Vodun, but because the vodun deities are born to each clan, tribe, and nation, and their clergy are central to maintaining the moral, social and political order and ancestral foundation of its village, these efforts have not been successful. Ouidah or Whydah, formerly the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Republic of Benin. Whydah troops pushed their way into the African interior, capturing millions of people through tribal wars, and selling them to the Europeans and Arabs. By 1716, the Kingdom of Whydah had become the second largest slave port in the Triangular trade. Costumes of Different Countries, hand-tinted engraving by Labrousse, published by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur, 1797.

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Title: West Africa, Ouidah Vodun Priestess,1797

Caption: Jeune Pretresse de Juida. Young Priestess of Juida. Vodun is practiced by the Fon people of Benin, and southern and central Togo; as well in Ghana, and Nigeria. The high priestess is the woman chosen by the oracle to care for the convent. Priestesses, like priests, receive a calling from an oracle, which may come at any moment during their lives. They will then join their clan's convent to pursue spiritual instruction. European colonialism, followed by some of the totalitarian regimes in West Africa, have tried to suppress Vodun, but because the vodun deities are born to each clan, tribe, and nation, and their clergy are central to maintaining the moral, social and political order and ancestral foundation of its village, these efforts have not been successful. Ouidah or Whydah, formerly the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Republic of Benin. Whydah troops pushed their way into the African interior, capturing millions of people through tribal wars, and selling them to the Europeans and Arabs. By 1716, the Kingdom of Whydah had become the second largest slave port in the Triangular trade. Costumes of Different Countries, hand-tinted engraving by Labrousse, published by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur, 1797.

Personalities: BÉNIN (16th century)

Credit: Album / Science Source / Los Angeles County Museum

Releases: ? Model Release: No - ? Property Release: No
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Image size: 3215 × 4800 px | 44.2 MB

Print size: 27.2 × 40.6 cm | 1265.7 × 1889.8 in (300 dpi)

Keywords: 1797 • 18TH CENTURY • 18TH CENTURY, THE • 18TH CENTURY. • 18TH • AFRICA • AFRICAN CONTINENT • AFRICAN • ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE • BÉNIN • CLOTHING • COLONIAL AFRICA • COSTUME • HISTORY • JACQUES GRASSET DE SAINT-SAUVEUR • KINGDOM OF WHYDAH • LABROUSSE • MANDINKA • NATIVE AFRICAN • NATIVE DRESS • PRIESTESS • RELIGION • TRADITIONAL • TRIBE • VODUN • WEST AFRICA • XVIII CENTURY