Editing West African Vodun

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em; width:320px;"
! colspan="2" | West African Vodun
|-
! Family
| African traditional religion
|-
! Origin region
| Benin, Togo, Ghana, and neighboring regions
|-
! Founding period
| Pre-modern roots; continuing living religion
|-
! Estimated adherents
| Practiced by communities in West Africa and diasporic contexts; numbers vary.
|}

'''West African Vodun''' is a West African religious tradition centered on vodun spirits, ancestors, ritual service, divination, healing, and community life, historically connected to Haitian Vodou and other African diaspora religions.

== Overview ==
West African Vodun, sometimes spelled Vodún or Vodun, refers to religious traditions of spirits or divinities especially associated with Fon, Ewe, and related peoples of Benin, Togo, and neighboring regions. Britannica notes that worship of the vodun is the source of Haitian Vodou, which emerged through African, Roman Catholic, and Caribbean religious interaction.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vodun |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/vodun |work=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=2026-05-22}}</ref>

== Key beliefs ==

* Vodun spirits or divinities mediate between humans and the sacred
* Ancestors remain important to family and community life
* Ritual, divination, and healing maintain balance between human and spirit worlds
* Sacred power may be associated with nature, lineage, and place
* The tradition has influenced several African diaspora religions

== Practices ==

* Offerings to vodun spirits
* Drumming, dance, and possession rites
* Divination and healing
* Ancestor veneration
* Initiation and priesthood in some lineages

== Places of worship ==

* Shrines
* Family compounds
* Temples
* Sacred groves and ritual sites

== Sacred texts ==

* Primarily oral traditions
* Ritual songs and praise names
* Divination systems
* Community histories

== Holidays and observances ==

* Vodun festivals in Benin and Togo
* Lineage and shrine-specific feast days
* Agricultural and community ritual days

== Branches and related traditions ==

* [[Vodou]] - Haitian Vodou developed from West African Vodun and other influences.
* [[Candomblé]] - Another African diaspora religion shaped by West African traditions.
* [[Santería]] - An African diaspora religion with Yoruba and Catholic influences.

== See also ==

* [[Religion]]
* [[Theology]]
* [[Philosophy of religion]]
* [[New Religious Movements]]

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Religions]]
[[Category:Indigenous and traditional religions]]
[[Category:African diaspora religions]]