Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
##common.pageHeaderLogo.altText##

Articles

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2023): Revista Estud(i)os de Dança 2

The trance state of a Vodum adept body in Benin, as inspiration in a creative process

DOI
https://doi.org/10.53072/RED202302/00205

Abstract

This article is based on the creative process of Guillaume Niedjo, a Beninese choreographer and dancer, Hounnon of Vodun, in the creation of the artistic performance Affôtè, experienced and developed both in the context of Vodun ritual ceremonies, conducted in the Hounkpamins, and within artistic training and creation labs, in Benin. The purpose of this article is to reflect about the elements that characterize the use of the trance state as an inspiration within the creative process, of a Vodun adept. This creative journey involves the transmission of knowledge from the practitioner's mentors and ancestral roots to the manifestation of an innovative artistic creation. Understanding the principles and fundamentals that enable the construction/deconstruction of the corporeal configuration existing in the trance state is essential in the creation of the performance Affôtè. Methodologically, our approach involved fieldwork conducted in Benin, between 2018 and 2022. The methodology encompassed the observation of the artistic work and the administration of semi-structured interviews to the dancer, Vodun adepts, and Hounnous. This research was undertaken within the scope of a doctoral research study in Dance at the Faculty of Human Kinetics. As the primary and conclusive trend, it is emphasized that Guillaume Niedjo consistently reinterprets the Vodun culture he has learned and embodied. This reinterpretation involves the incorporation of ancestral behaviours (Schechner, 1985), adhering to the implicit rules and customs of his cultural background. Niedjo navigates the nuanced decision of allowing or refraining from using the trance state as a source of creative inspiration. In the performance Affôtè, he transposes and interprets the deconstruction of the trance state into a ceremonial context. This is achieved through a form of "making believe" or "pretending" (Zenícola, 2001), where he meticulously respects the established rules governing what can or cannot be exposed. These decisions are rooted in the artist's self-reflection, both artistically and socioculturally, reflecting a conscientious consideration of the boundaries within the Vodun cultural framework.

References

  1. Araújo, A. L. (2009). Caminhos atlânticos memória, patrimônio e representações da escravidão na rota dos escravos. Howard University.
  2. Aubrée, M. (1996). Transe: entre libération de l’inconscient et contraintes socioculturelles. In M. Godelier (Dir.), Meurtre du père, sacrifice de la sexualité, (pp. 173-192). Arcanes.
  3. Azevedo, E. L. (2021). Affôtè - processo criativo de um bailarino beninense numa cerimónia e numa criação artística do vodum. In A. Midori, A. M. Pereira, J. Nascimento, M. L. Gomes, & M. I. Barreira (Eds.), Desassossegos: Ata expandida do 8.º EPRAE (pp. 113-121). i2ADS edições. https://i2ads.up.pt/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/DESASSOSSEGOS_Ata-Expandida-do-8oEPRAE_web.pdf
  4. Bairrão, J. F. M. H., & Coelho, M. T. Á. D. (2015). Etnopsicologia no Brasil: teorias, procedimentos, resultados. Edufba. http://repositorio.ufba.br/ri/handle/ri/18029
  5. Bastide, R. (2001). O candomblé da Bahia: Rito Nagô. Companhia das Letras.
  6. Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. University Press.
  7. Bourdieu, P. (1990). O poder simbólico. Editora Bertrand.
  8. Brand, R. (1974). Initiation et consécration de deux Vodun dans les cultes vodu. Journal de la Société des Africaniste, 44(1), 71-91.
  9. Brivio, A. (2012). Il vodu in Africa Metamorfosi di un culto. Viella.
  10. Freixe, G. (2017). Le Corps, ses dimensions cachées - Pratiques scéniques. L’université de Franche-Comté (Unité ELLIADD), de l’Institut Supérieur Des Beaux-Arts de Besançon et de La Région Occitanie.
  11. Gbegnonvi, R. (2020). Le Vodun ne fait pas rever. Editions Continents.
  12. Harisdo, V. (2020). Le Võdù autrement: Le Võdù démystifié. Copymedia.
  13. Herskovits, M. J. (1938). Dahomey: An ancient West African kingdom, vol. 2. J. J. Augustin.
  14. Hounkpe, A. D. G. (2008). L’éducation dans les couvents vodous au Bénin. L’éducation en débats: Analyse Comparée, 5, 1–13.
  15. Jackson, M. (1989). Paths toward a clearing: Radical empiricism and ethnographic inquiry. Indiana University Press.
  16. Kakpo, M., & Ananou, B. (2018). Sens et fonction du nom dans le Vodun : Une anthroponymie des initiés de Sakpatá chez les Fon. In M. Kakpo (Ed.), Jogbe – La Revue des Humanités vers une Heuristique des Recherches sur le Vodun (pp. 123-142). Les Editions Diasporas.
  17. Kakpo, M. (2013). Vodun Sakpata et épidémie de variole dans la littérature orale sacré du golfe du Bénin. Ponti/Ponts - Langues Littératures Civilisations des Pays Francophones, 13, 13-34.
  18. Kakpo, M. (2010). Introduction a une poétique du Fa (2.ª Ed.). Presses universitaires de Yaoundé.
  19. Kligueh, B. G. (2001). Le vodu à travers son encyclopédie: La géomancie Afà. Editions AFRIDIC.
  20. Métraux, A. (1955). La comédie rituelle dans la possession. Diogène, 11, 26-49.
  21. Monsia, M. (2003). Religions indigènes et savoir endogène au Bénin. Flamboyant.
  22. Navarro, G. (2000). O corpo cénico e o transe: Um estudo para a preparação corporal do artista cênico. Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
  23. Parés, L. N. (2016). O rei, o pai e a morte. Editora Schwarcz.
  24. Rouget, G. (1990). La musique et la transe. Gallimard.
  25. Roy, C. (2005). "Kokuzahn (voodoo)" Traditional Festivals. A Multicultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, 231-232
  26. Santos, B. (2008). Do pós-moderno ao pós-colonial: E para além de um e outro. Travessias Ed.
  27. Schechner, R. (1985). Between theater and anthropology. University of Pennsylvania.
  28. Schechner, R. (2013). Performance Studies: An Introduction. Routledge.
  29. Schott-Billman. (1977). Corps et possession. Le vécu corporel des possédés face à la rationalité occidentale. Bordas.
  30. Warnier, J.-P. (2001). A praxeological approach to subjectivation in a material world, Journal of material culture, 6(1), 5-24.
  31. Zenícola, D. (2001). Dança das Iabás no Xirê: Ritual e performance [Tese de Mestrado em Teatro – Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro UNIRIO]. Bibliografia Crítica do Teatro Brasileiro. https://bctb.eca.usp.br/obra.php?cod=17758