By far the most interesting – apart from being nearly the only – cultural phenomenon we’ve experienced here in Benin is La Fête de Chicotte, or Whipping Fête. Phoebe and I went at the invitation of another volunteer, who is in Badjoudè, and had a great time. Pictures are up on her picasaweb page.
Every year around October (I conjectured it might have something to do with the full moon last month), villages of the Lokpa people in northwestern Benin and Togo celebrate the rite of passage of their young men through dancing, singing, and organized violence. Crews organize by neighborhoods, and the boys range in age from 16-20; though, it seems there is a role for both younger children and already-initiated men. Each neighborhood hosts bouts that involve a whip, which is a long root or twig attached to the end of a stick, and a shield, which is basically a bundle of sticks with a handle. The boys face off, with apparently three strikes making the winner. Happily, even the losing boys are celebrated for their attempt. And, the bouts are controlled – more so at the Togo fête, where the cops were present – by older men, who stop kids from killing each other, which apparently has happened in the past.
After the neighborhood bouts, the crews move to a main terrain, which was the high school soccer pitch in Togo and was the lawn of the Centre Culturel in Badjoudè, where they engage in inter-neighborhood matches. At the end, no winner is declared, but everyone gets to talk for the years to come about who did the best, which matches were greatest, and the like.
The night before the matches, the crews dance through the village, singing/chanting, stomping their feet, dancing, and asking for small cadeaux, similar to the way kids in the states go trick-or-treating or a group might go caroling. In the morning, the crews are received by the king of the village, as well, and all-in-all, the festivities go on for a few days.
Another important and fun aspect is dress. There are traditional outfits – one looks like a woman’s shawl, another is a big headdress à la Plains Indians – and there are nontraditional outfits – i.e., drag. Yes, the men who are not yet men dress up as girls and get together to beat each other up. Younger boys wear grass skirts. The hilarity of many outfits comes from the strange juxtaposition of men’s leather dress shoes, hot pants, and bras, and is combined with white or black paint and baby powder on the head and shoulders and chest.
You might think the fighting would be unsettling to watch, and I suppose it is, but perhaps only in the way that boxing is. And, whereas US boxing is for profit and often involves corruption, this is about as “wholesome” an event as one can have, with the full support of the village and everyone’s understanding of its importance in the boys’ lives. Too, it’s at the right age. While boys in the States might spar informally in the streets or after school, here the aggression is channeled and controlled. It should also be said that we’ve never met a more laid-back, easy-going, friendly, hospitable people than the Lokpa.
At any rate, it was fun and one of the best experiences we’ve had here in Benin. And us PCVs were the only white people there!
