Fetes de igamnes

We are waiting for the king.

It is not uncommon in Benin for things to not start on time, but no one complains about sitting under a tent in the sun for two extra hours when the person you’re waiting for is the king. Although here, kings are plentiful. Tradition runs deep and the kings have continued to pas power to their heirs regardless of any lines Europeans have tried to draw.

This is my first ceremony with a king. This one reigns over Savalou, a commune in the western center of Benin. I’m glad I decided to wear one of the two dresses I have had made here. I didn’t realize beforehand that besides myself and other PCVs, the Prince of Uganda, diplomats from Morrocco and the Central African Republic, as well as kings of other communes of Benin would also be in attendance.

We are here to celebrate the igamne, a potato-like tuber that is a staple crop in this part of Benin. It is the start of this year’s harvest, thus it is necessary to offer the first igamne of the harvest to the ancestors.

Like many Beninoise ceremonies, we are going to celebrate by dancing. For the next hour and a half, drummers will tap the beat of dances. My favorite will involve a more rhythmic and artistic version of pounding of the igamne into a popular dish in the area called igamne pile.

After, the guardians will cut open the new igamne, douse it with red palm oil and place it on a platter for those who have lived and tilled this land before us.

Now, though, we stand. A procession of dancers and singers enter the courtyard in front of the palace. The king is ready.