Largest voodoo festival

On Voodoo Day, celebrated at the peak of the annual 10-day voodoo festival in Ouida, Benin - the West African home of this ancient religion - upwards of 10,000 worshippers gather for sacrifices, blessings and prayers. An estimated 60% of Benin's population practice voodoo (more accurately referred to as Vodun), which worships and honours a supreme God, as well as ancestors and ancient spirits (loa), each of which is associated - and invoked - with a particular song and dance. Benin was the centre of the African slave trade, and the port town of Ouidah - the departure point for slaves sold overseas - the home of Vodun. The religion was exported to the Americas with the slaves, whose relatives today still celebrate in Haiti, Dominican Republic and other parts of the Caribbean and the southern states of the USA. The voodoo leader in Ouidah is Daagbo Hounon - "The one with the sea" - who leads the celebration from his palace. Blood-letting is common, with devotees breaking bottles over their heads or slicing themselves with blades, and animal sacrifices are offered to the gods - then later consumed in community feasts after the rituals are complete.