Togo’s annual Voodoo festival has ushered in a new ancestral year with the unveiling of a sacred white stone, traditionally interpreted as a sign of peace, purity and prosperity.
The ceremony, known as Epe-Ekpe or Ekpessosso, took place at Glidji-Kpodji Square near the southern city of Aneho, drawing hundreds of Voodoo priests, priestesses and devotees.
The annual ritual dates back to 1663 and was introduced by settlers from the former Gold Coast, present-day Ghana. It marks the beginning of a new ancestral year for the Guin people.
At the centre of the ceremony is the unveiling of the sacred stone, whose colour is traditionally believed to provide an indication of what the coming year may bring.
Wlomo Nomo Combietey VIII Nii Labite, guardian of the sacred wood, said a white stone represents peace and prosperity, while sky blue is associated with abundant harvests.
A red stone, he explained, is traditionally viewed as a warning of famine, war and misfortune, while a multicoloured stone may signify disease or a major epidemic.
This year’s white stone was therefore welcomed by devotees as a positive omen for the year ahead.
The ceremony began with the mystical Aklima tam-tam drum being carried by canoe across Lake Togo to the sacred wood, where traditional rites were performed before the stone was brought out.
Hundreds of worshippers, many dressed in white loincloths and decorated with strings of beads, sang and danced for hours. Some devotees entered trance-like states during the rituals.
A select group of believers eventually emerged from the sacred wood carrying the oval-shaped stone, prompting chants of “Helu-lo, helu-lo,” a Mina expression meaning a call against evil spirits.
A Voodoo priest, cradling the stone, proclaimed that its white colour heralded “a year of purity, peace and prosperity.”
“The gods have answered our prayers,” said Pierrette Ahouefa, a priestess wearing multicoloured beads.
Another priestess, Jeanne Sika, said preparations for the festival had begun in June, with rituals carried out in Voodoo convents and the sacred forest according to established traditions.
Voodoo remains deeply rooted in Togo, where the belief system has multiple forms. The tradition is believed to have emerged in the late 16th century in Tado, a town on the Mono River bordering present-day Benin.
Followers worship a supreme deity, known as Mahu or Segbo-Lissa, through more than 200 other deities.
The annual Ekpessosso ceremony remains one of the most important traditional religious events for the Guin people, combining ancestral worship, communal celebration and predictions about the year ahead.
