It gives me great pleasure to welcome all visitors to my Kingdom of Dahomey blog. It will be our pleasure to share our memories and treasures from our once in a lifetime experience. Showcasing the work of a few little known artists of an African country allows us the opportunity to revisit their world. Like other visitors, we purchased souvenirs by which we could remember our time there. We want to show them off on this blog.
Much has happened in Dahomey since 1969. The most obvious change is the name. The country is now called Benin. For those who are not familiar with Benin, it is a small West African country, an ancient kingdom with a long history of kings, who reigned from the 1600's to 1900's. Over one million people were enslaved from 1513 to 1886. Many were taken to Cuba. There the people practiced their voodoo religion.
Bounded by Nigeria, Togo, and Niger, today the country extends far beyond the ancient kingdom. As you would expect, the coastal climate is very hot and humid. Beyond the shore lies a series of lagoons and lakes.
