The Republic of Benin (formerly Dahomey) is known as the African source of New World Vodou and Voodoo , but the country’s religious landscape is best characterized by religious importation. Since precolonial times Beninois Vodun has exhibited ongoing amalgamation of deities introduced from neighboring peoples. This essay outlines historical Vodun imports along with more-recent spiritual influences from abroad. I argue that while Beninois people have always been accepting of foreign religions, today this process is largely motivated by the dangers and promises of witchcraft. The current constellation of spiritual traditions embodies a dynamic moment of religious transformation that prompts people to collect even more distant spiritual remedies to seemingly old problems. In this analysis we see that what scholars call syncretism is not necessarily an ideological or hegemonic process, but a product of Beninois people’s pragmatic response to life’s troubles, inequalities, and opportunities.

中文翻译：

---

贝宁的 Vodún、精神不安全感和宗教输入

贝宁共和国（前身为达荷美）被称为新世界伏都教和伏都教的非洲来源，但该国的宗教景观以宗教输入为最佳特征。自前殖民时代以来，Beninois Vodun 就展示了从邻近民族引入的神灵的持续融合。本文概述了历史上的 Vodun 进口以及最近来自国外的精神影响。我认为虽然贝尼诺人一直接受外国宗教，但今天这个过程主要是由巫术的危险和承诺所驱动。当前的精神传统星座体现了宗教变革的动态时刻，促使人们为看似古老的问题收集更遥远的精神疗法。