“Where the gods keep office hours”

Southeast. The destination is set. Now Elena does what Elena does best — research at thirty thousand feet, tea steaming, gods at the kitchen table.

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I find a seat in the main cabin—spacious table, panoramic window, high-grade leather. A discreet flight attendant approaches.

“A device to research Benin, please. And my notepad. A pot of black tea wouldn’t hurt either.”

Within minutes I’m settled, the engines retreating into white noise. I sink into the leather seat, tea steaming at my elbow, and turn on the device.

Benin—Vodun. The surface summary is surprisingly misleading: this is no exotic fantasy, but daily reality for most here, woven so tightly through life that everyone I’ll meet will have a story about spirits, ancestors, or the gods at their kitchen table.

Vodun is everywhere: shrines at crossroads, feathers, bones, talismans tucked in markets, children’s pockets, priestesses’ hands. I scribble notes: Vodun is Benin’s official religion—about 60% practice openly, the rest call themselves Christian or Muslim but blend everything at will.

I smirk; people do love their convenient dualities.

Mawu, the creator, is a gentle matriarch, said to govern the lesser gods—her counterpart, Legba, is both gatekeeper and trickster, ancient and almost always depicted as… well, let’s just say, unmistakably masculine.

I wonder which masks I’ll see first when I arrive—war, healing, earth, or sea.

I.Ph.

© 2026 I.Ph. de Lange All rights reserved. Published by CYcrds OÜ.