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Fon |
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Fon is a major West African ethnic and linguistic group in
the country of Benin or
Dahomey, and southwest Nigeria, made up of more than 2,000,000 people.
The Fon language is the main language spoken in Southern Benin, and is a
member of the Gbe language group. Closely related cultures include the
Ewe, Aja and Guin peoples. The Fon are said to originate from Tado, a
village in south east Togo, near the border with Benin.
The culture is patrilineal and allows polygamy and divorce. Funerals (and
anniversaries of deaths) are among the most important cultural events,
with mourning activities including drumming and dancing often lasting for
days. The Fon believe that part of the person dies and part is
reincarnated.
Most Fon today live in villages and small towns in mud houses with
corrugated iron gable roofs. Cities built by the Fon include Abomey, the
historical capital city of Dahomey, and Ouidah. These cities were major
commercial centres for the slave trade.
Many descendents of the Fon now live in the Americas as a
result of the Atlantic slave trade. Together with other cultural groups
from the Fon homeland region such as the Yoruba and Bantu, Fon culture
merged with French, Portuguese or Spanish to produce distinct religions
(Voodoo, Candomblé and Santería), dance and musical styles (Arará, Yan
Valu).
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