The Coronation of a King

One of my first weekends after moving to Parakou I was invited to Péréré to participate in the festivities for the coronation of the new village king.  Ryan, a former Peace Corps volunteer, has been living in this village for 14 years now--a small, rural Bariba community that he has become a part of.  After being placed in Péréré for his service, his work partner unexpectedly died, leaving behind a home full of children that needed caring for.  Since then, Ryan has taken in 10-15 kids (I can't remember the exact number) and has been putting them all through school and acting as the father they are all missing.  He is an incredibly gracious host and made the weekend incredible for the 6 of us who came out.

Saturday was spent touring the town, playing with the mobs of children excited about seeing new white people, and visiting the village elders and king-to-be as they perform all of their pre-coronation rituals.  The entire village was celebrating, so everywhere we went there were huts filled with families and friends and music playing in the streets.

Sunday was the big celebration.  The morning started off with parades coming in from all the nearby villages.  Groups of women would march in behind drum troops, stopping every now and again to dance, in the center would be a few with basins on their heads filled with gifts for the new king and topped with bizarre decorations--baby dolls, inflatable Santa Clauses, photos of deceased relatives, rubber ducks, etc.  All the women of Péréré were out making food and dancing to the drums.  Later in morning, the village kings made their entrance on their elaborately dressed horses to march through town, ending at the king's hut.  All the dancing and drumming troops ended up there, setting down their gifts in a row.  A young boy sat in the middle and was publicly washed by women as he prepared to take the old name of the new king.  Becoming the king, he leaves his old identity behind--passing along the name to a younger relative-- and accepting his new identity as chief.

The photos are a peek into the weekend's festivities.  Such an incredible experience and glance at traditional Bariba culture.  All photo credits go out to Eric Newton