Culture Report by Andrew Gordon

Cultural Ideals and Stigmas

The ideal qualities for the Fon seem to be harmony in the community, a good social standing, and prosperity.

The ideal man has a respectable job and makes good money. He sees to all the needs of his wife - feeds her well, takes her to the dispensary when she's sick, procures the proper care for her when she's pregnant. A polygamist must not diminish the standing - nor the monetary income - of his first wife when he marries a second.

He has many children, and he takes good care of his children. He feeds and clothes them well. In order to help the children succeed in life, he sends them to school. If a child doesn't do well in school, a good father will find him an apprenticeship and pay his way until liberation. He makes demands on his children which they are incapable of carrying out. If a child disobeys his father, the father has the right and obligation to correct him. For instance, if a father tells his son to go to the field to catch a rat, and the child refuses, the father will beat him so that the child learns that he must work to succeed in life.

The ideal woman basically fulfills her duties to her husband and children without causing disharmony in the family. She feeds her husband at the right time and takes care of his clothes. She teaches her children to work around the house so that the children will not have a bad character when they are grown. If the children refuse to learn, the mother has the right to beat them.

Children are simply expected to obey their parents.

The stigmas in Fon society are, of course, the opposite: disruption in society and poverty.

For instance, a man will neglect his family and refuse to work hard. He may steal or beat his wife or children without cause.

A woman will disobey her husband, and her bad example will teach the children to act in the same way. She will neglect her duties and lie and steal. She will also argue with her husband, shouting at him and perhaps even striking him (one man said: "She gets in the first slap or punch."). If there are other wives, she may treat their children differently from her own.

A child will disrespect his parents. When told to do something, he may refuse, shouting, crying, or even running away.

The ideal, then, is for everyone to do his duty toward one another without contention. This assures that life in the family and community will be harmonious, and that the family will be wealthy and successful. Anything which disrupts this harmony, and thus prevents material or social success, is undesirable.

Thought Patterns

When asked what is the goal of life, the informants replied: "We don't want our name to disappear." This led to a discussion of what seems to be a dominant factor in Fon worldview. "If the name exists, the person exists." One can assure that his name will continue to be remembered in two ways: by doing something great that will be remembered, or by having many descendants who will remember him. Thus, survival can be said to be the basic drive behind much of the life of the Fon.

Another foundational drive that seems to control Fon society is jealousy. When one family member becomes successful, particularly in terms of having many children or material gain, other members of the family will attempt to bring this person back down to "their level."

It would seem that the concept of limited good would either be at the source of, or intensify, these characteristics. However, when I questioned an informant concerning this, he denied that there was such a concept.

This desperation to survive and this prevalence of jealousy combine to make the search for power the controlling value in Fon culture. Related to this is a constant aura of suspicion. One always seeks more power in order to insure his survival, and he always suspects that someone is trying to take power away from him or gain power over him. Power is sought in order to become successful. For instance, we have heard rumors that a store owner in Bohicon became rich by killing her baby and using the body as a magical object (whether this is true or not, it reflects the Fon view toward power). If someone becomes successful, he suspects that others are jealous, so he must seek power to protect himself from them. Those who are jealous seek power to destroy the one who has become successful. We have been told that some of those who have become successful after leaving Azozoundji are afraid to donate large amounts of money to help build a school in that village, because they fear the villagers will kill them with sorcery.

The idea of harmony within the society may be a way in which the people have learned to control the way in which these tendencies are manifested in order that the whole society does not destroy itself. Acceptable means of gaining power, and of defending oneself from enemies, are in place in society. These include working hard to get ahead; using dishonest methods to make more profit;, to using "white" magic to insure success or protective magic to ward off bad luck or the effects of sorcery; marrying more than one wife to have more children; or appealing to spirits or "gods" for success, or to avert their wrath.

Other methods of seeking power are unacceptable in Fon society. These include theft and sorcery.

This quest for power and feeling of suspicion are also evident in the relationship of the people with the gods and the spirits of the ancestors. In their view, these gods and spirits are the source of great power. To gain power, a person can make an idol and "give" himself to this idol. He "controls" this idol by sacrificing chickens, sheep, and goats (and according to one informant, occasionally humans) to the idol. However, if he neglects these sacrifices, he will die.

It is much the same in the cult of the families ancestral spirits. Family members must perform the necessary rituals to transport the spirit of the dead person to the realm of the dead. If not, the spirit will remain in the community as a "ghost," and torment the family. He will cause a family member to become sick and die. These ceremonies are very expensive; thus, one can only assure that he can avert the wrath of these spirits if he is wealthy (and thus, powerful) enough to perform these ceremonies. The goal is not so much to gain power, as it is to avert the destructive power of such a spirit.

Related to this is a fear of death. I asked several people what happens to a person when he dies. Each time, the respondents began talking about the specifics of the ceremonies, but never about the actual person who has died. I persued this with one respondent, and his answers were vague. Either he was reluctant to discuss it or he really didn't know. When I asked him whether he thought about it much, he said that he did. Then I asked him what emotions he felt when he thought about what happens after death. He said, "Our conscience is troubled. We no longer find ourselves in the body. It brings us sadness, discontent."

Thus, not only do the Fon suspect that their fellow man wishes to do them harm, but they also are constantly worried that the spirits and "gods" will punish them if they don't perform the necessary rituals on time, or if their gifts and sacrifices aren't costly enough.

The Fon attitude toward bettering their condition in life is reflected in the following: I asked an informant how she would react if someone gave her today a moped that needed repairs. She said she would be very happy. Then I asked her how she would feel if someone offered to give her a good moped in two weeks. She immediately said that two weeks was too long to wait. She would prefer the used moped right away. She said that, in two weeks, someone could convince the owner not to give her the moped.

In the area of history, there seem to be three epochs: ancient times, an intermediary period, and modern times. The reign of Benhanzin seems to mark the last years of the ancient times. One informant told me that Benhanzin reigned about 1,000 years ago. Agoli-Agbo (who was the next king of Dahomey) is in the intermediary period, as his reign was about 120 years ago. This was also the time of the informant's grandfather. Her father lived during the time of the canton chiefs, about 80 years ago.

Heros

The only persons mentioned as heros in this society were the kings and the canton chiefs. They were heros because of the great power they weilded. The unanimous choice for greatest hero was Benhanzin. The reason? "He had great power. He had supernatural power. Whatever he commanded, the people did." Augmenting his esteem in the eyes of the people is the fact that he defended the kingdom against the French.

Identity Confusion

Roles and expectations in Fon society seem to be well-defined for its members. Thus, there is not much room for identity confusion. This is especially true in the villages. In the cities, where life is influenced more profoundly by Western ways, more identity confusion would be expected. The higher percentage of foreigners, the newer types of occupation and social classes, the greater number of people dislocated from their families, the greater degree of anonymity, create a tendency toward identity confusion. However, the effect of these factors in creating identity confusion is minimized by the high level of tolerance of the Fon for outsiders and the strength and widespread geographical distribution of the extended family.

The multiplicity of types of societies (family, covens, social or volonteer groups, non-evangelical churches) does not seem to create a great deal of identity confusion. The overriding loyalty, to which all others must take a back seat, is to the family. In such a context, it would appear that membership in an evangelical church would create conflict with family loyalties and thus result in identity confusion. We have seen this especially with the Renaissance Church, where rejection of everything traditional seems to be expected and encouraged, resulting in hostility with family. We have also seen this with the young Church of Christ in Azozoundji, whose members are seeking ways to be faithful to Jesus while at the same time fulfilling their roles and duties as members of the greater society. This is especially evident in the area of ceremonies, particularly funerals.