Customs and customs in Benin

Benin is an ancient country in Africa. As early as around the 16th century, many small kingdoms and chiefdoms appeared in its territory. In the 18th century, the Abomey Kingdom was at its peak. Although Benin is only a small African country with a population of more than 5 million, there are more than 40 ethnic groups in the country, with diverse customs and etiquette and unique characteristics. The composition of names of Benin people is diverse. There are generally several situations in which a name is selected: according to the ranking, for example,"Volu" of the Nago ethnic group is the first child, i.e. the eldest child;"Oinlola" is the second child, i.e. 0; and "Bio" is the third child, i.e. the third child. Named based on time of birth. Take the names of relatives and friends. Take the name of the one you worship. Taking French names, such as "Celestan", many people are proud to add a French name to their names because this country has been influenced by French culture for a long time. Analyzing the characteristics of names in Benin, the basic contents of a person's name are similar, namely surname, given name, and patronymic name. What is different is the order of these basic contents. For example, the surname of the Nago people comes first and the first name comes second, such as "Sabi Oinlola Selesdan," Sabi "is the surname," Oinlola "is the first name, and" Selesdan "is the French name.

Most of the names of Benin residents have certain meanings. For example, the names of the Somba people often contain the meaning of "God." For example,"Winderbuse" means "gift from God","Winderbuse" means "gift from God","Winderbuse" means "God is truth","Giswindersepa" means "God is right." When meeting, the Somba people always call each other's name when greeting each other, such as "Hello Winderbuze","Winderhuni, have you been healthy recently?"

The appellation of Benin people also has distinctive national characteristics. For example, the word father is not only used to address father, but also used to address men of the same age as father, uncle, uncle; similarly, the word "igi" is not only used to address mother, but also used to address aunt, aunt, etc. who are of the same age as mother. The word "Allah" is used to address people of his own generation, such as brothers, sisters, cousins, and great-aunt, etc.;"Okoli" is used to address all men of his own generation;"Obilee" is used to address all women of his own generation. "Egbon" can be used to address men of his own generation but older than himself, such as brother, cousin, eldest brother, etc.;"Ablo" can be used to address men of his own generation but younger than himself, such as brother, cousin, etc. "Omo" can be used to refer to younger generations, children, nephews, nephews, children of cousins, etc. regardless of gender, and can also be used to refer to servants, employees, attendants, etc. "Dad-la" is the name of grandfather, great-uncle, and great-uncle;"Iki-la" is the name of grandmother, great-aunt, and great-uncle. The Ewe people call their fathers "Buddha" and their mothers "Iki","Da" and "Da".

Benin people are hospitable and hospitable. When meeting foreign guests, they always appear polite and pay attention to politeness, calling each other "sir,""sir,""madam,""miss", etc. They always shake hands and greet male guests when they see them, and smile, nod, and bow to express their greetings and welcome to female guests. When foreign guests meet Benin people, whether they know the other person's name or not, they can call men or women "Sir" or "Madam","Madam" and "Miss" respectively. In social occasions, you can take the initiative to reach out to shake hands with a local man and bow slightly to express greetings to a lady; if the other person is a friend you are familiar with, you can also call the other person by his name when greeting, such as "Winderborough, long time I haven't seen you. How are you recently?" If the other party expresses a hug and kiss, they should hug and kiss the other party enthusiastically. However, the way foreign guests kiss is to gently touch their cheeks on the other party's cheek. It is very impolite to refuse the other party's warm hug and kiss. behavior.

Two-fifths of Benin's residents believe in traditional fetishism. This country is unique from other African countries in terms of religious practices. Almost all people who believe in fetishism regard their ancestors as objects of worship. They believe that everyone has a spiritual element called "plug", which brings people the continuity of life and the courage to overcome difficulties., the power to turn evil into good fortune, and protection from diseases and disasters. Once something happens to a person's "plug", disaster will befall that person. All ethnic groups that believe in fetishism have the custom of sacrificing ancestors, and almost all ethnic groups have their own folk witchcraft. This kind of witchcraft is called "Aze", and wizards are called "Azeto". "Aze" believes that there are two types of ghosts attached to people. One is to do good to help people secretly fight against various enemies; the other is to do evil, which can mysteriously kill people, or quietly turn people into animals, or suck people's blood while they are sleeping, or bring diseases to people.

The connotations of fetishism among various ethnic groups are naturally varied. For example, the Feng people believe that the human body is attached to an invisible soul, called "Landong". Once "Landong" is separated from a certain human body, this person will reappear in the underworld, stay with relatives and friends who have passed away, and continue to live life in the world. He or she) has property and will also feel hungry and cold, but his or her) habits are exactly the opposite of those in the world, such as walking not forward but backward, speaking with his or her nose. The tables and chairs are inverted. The day in the world is their night, and at night they will come to the world of the world to live with their fellow beings. In order to show their respect for the dead, the Feng people never clean at night. They always sprinkle some water into the yard at night, and shout "Aguo" and "Aguo" while they sprinkle it means "pay attention","pay attention"). In order to allow the dead who came to visit at night to find food, the Feng people always left some soup in the pot after dinner, and the tableware always left it after dawn the next day before washing. In the eyes of China, these are purely feudal and superstitious activities, but they are customs that actually exist in the area. Pay attention to respecting these customs. For example, when you see Benin throwing water into the yard at night or leaving food in the rice pot, don't ask. Even if you ask repeatedly, they will always keep their mouths shut, which is just asking for trouble.

Many customs and habits in Benin are also related to agricultural production, and the oil palm cutting competition is a prominent example. Benin is located on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. It is hot and humid, has abundant rainfall, and plants grow luxuriantly, especially oil palm trees. When you come to this country, you can see tall and straight oil palm trees everywhere. Oil palm is the most important cash crop in Benin. Palm oil and palm kernels are important export materials. 80% of the country's fiscal revenue comes from oil palm. Therefore, this country is known as the "Oil Palm Country." Oil palm, also known as oil palm, commonly known as "oil seed", is about 4 meters to 10 meters high. The leaves grow concentrated on the top of the trunk. The leaves are huge, like a huge long fan hanging upside down. Oil palm trees have a high economic value. They start to bear fruit four or five years after planting. They are rich between 10 and 30 years, and each tree produces 30-50 kilograms of fruit a year. The oil content of the fruit core is as high as 85%, which is several times higher than that of peanuts and soybeans. Therefore, the oil palm tree is also known as the "World Oil King". Oil palm flower juice is a first-class raw material for making wine and sugar. Oil palm fruit oil can be used to make margarine and industrial oils. It is highly antiseptic and not easy to corrode. The people of Benin get great benefits from oil palm trees every year. They have a special love for oil palm trees. Therefore, every time the oil palm fruits mature, they hold a unique oil palm fruit cutting competition.

According to local tradition, participants climb the tree with two ropes. At the beginning of the competition, the contestants first tied a rope to the tree trunk to form a slip knot, and then used the other end of the remaining rope to form another slip knot on the slip knot. In this way, the rope formed two rings, one tied to the tree trunk and the other hanging upside down. Immediately afterwards, the contestants continued to tie another rope to the tree trunk to make two other slip knots. After the rope is tied, insert a sharp axe with a short handle upside down in your shorts, place one foot in an inverted rope slip knot at the lower end, stand up close to the tree trunk, and use your hand to move the other rope tied into a slip knot on the tree trunk. Move up to a certain height, hold the tree trunk tightly with both hands, move the rope at the lower end up to a certain height, then use your feet to stand in the rope collar at the lower end, and move the rope at the upper end up again. Repeat this method until you climb to a place where oil palm fruits grow at the top of the tree trunk. At this moment, the competitor quickly stepped on the collar of the lower rope and untied the other rope at the upper end. One end was tied to the tree trunk and the other end was tied to his waist. The human body is fixed to the tree trunk by these two ropes. The competitor drew a short axe from behind him, cut off the palm avocado, and threw it to the ground under the tree. After all the oil palm fruits on the tree were cut and picked, he still stuck the short axe upside down behind his back, untied the two ropes, put them on his shoulders, and slid down the tree trunk with both hands and feet until he returned to the ground. Whoever completes the entire process of climbing, picking and getting off the tree first, and picks more fruits than others will be the winner.

The competition is generally held in natural villages, and the number of participants is unlimited. Most of the competition times are in the early morning or evening, because the weather is cooler at this time. The competition was hosted by the village chief. Before starting, the chief would check one by one whether the contestants were physically strong and whether the ropes they were wearing were strong. When everything was ready, the chief gave the order to start the game. The contestants quickly climbed the tree and struggled to climb upward. The men, women and children watching on the ground applauded vigorously, cheered loudly, waved flags and shouted, and beat drums to cheer. Immediately afterwards, oil palm fruits flew down from the end of the tree like raindrops. The scene was very spectacular. For an experienced racer, the entire race from going up to down is less than a cigarette. This competition for picking palm oil fruits is naturally closely related to the local production season. Due to the hot and humid climate, oil palm fruits need to be picked, processed and exported as soon as possible after they mature. Otherwise, once mildew occurs, the oil yield will be reduced and the sales price will be affected. Carrying out this interesting competition can mobilize the villagers 'enthusiasm for production and strive to pick oil palm fruits as quickly as possible in the shortest possible time. This kind of competition can not only cultivate people's quickness, courage, and flexibility in doing things, but also promote exchanges and friendship between people and is deeply loved by local villagers.