The sacred forest of Kpassè, or Kpassèzoun, is a patch of forest in the heart of Ouidah, in Benin, named after Kpassè, the founder of the kingdom of Ouidah, said to have vanished there and reappeared in an iroko tree. Long the place of worship of one lineage, it became in 1993 a place for the whole town, both a living shrine and an open-air museum.
At the temple of Sakété, what I know of Kpassè
Direct observationWêtê Agbonon, vodun priest and bokonon of the Fâ, at the temple of Sakété
The sacred forest of Kpassè is a place I deeply respect. But I want to be honest on one point: I will not invent here a family link or a personal function that I do not have at Kpassè. I know this place as a vodun priest and as a Beninese, and I know the importance it holds in the tradition of Ouidah[1].
Key points
- The forest of Kpassè is a religious space before being an open-air museum.
- It belongs first to the lineage of Kpassè, whose head, the Kpassènon, is in charge of it.
- Visitors follow the authorised path, listen to their guide and respect the closed spaces.
When you enter a sacred forest, you behave as a guest[1].
King Kpassè and the iroko
The forest bears the name of Kpassè, the founder of the kingdom of Ouidah. According to tradition, the king vanished mysteriously and became embodied in an iroko at the heart of the forest, hence its sacredness. The tree is called Kpassè loko, “the iroko of Kpassè”, loko meaning the iroko[2][3]. The date of the episode varies between stories, from the fourteenth to the middle of the seventeenth century[4].
I insist: this is what the tradition tells. I do not present this transformation as a historical event that could be proven by the ordinary methods of history. For those who belong to the tradition, the story carries deep meaning: it explains why this forest is sacred[1].
From a lineage place to a place for the whole town
The historian Dominique Juhé-Beaulaton, who studied the forest for years, showed how it changed in nature. Originally it was a consecrated family heritage place, that of the lineage community descended from Kpassè. Its head is the Kpassènon, chief of the Adjovi community, which descends from Kpassè; the Adjovi family is also one of the three families who serve Dangbé at the Temple of Pythons[5][6].
Everything changed with the Ouidah 92 festival, held in February 1993. An official ceremony took place in the forest; with the support of the town and the town’s great religious leaders, the forest was cleared, an entrance built and sculptures made. The Kpassè community thus turned its family heritage place into a cultural site for the whole town. Since then the forest has been walled, and its monumental entrance dates from 1998[5].
The sculptures of 1992
The sculptures now make the forest an open-air museum of contemporary art. Among the oldest is a figure of Hèviosso, the vodun of lightning, made in 1992 by the Dakpogan brothers; there are also statues of Tolègba, Hêviosso Assou and Dansi Tchakatou[2][3]. See Hèviosso.
A living place of worship
Kpassè remains a major place of worship. Since the first Vodun Days in 2024, the forest has been one of the emblematic venues of the celebrations[7]. On Saturday 17 January 2026, the rituals prescribed by the consultation of the Fâ made for the country were carried out there, in the presence of a college of bokonon and the committee of vodun rites[8]. See The Benin voodoo festival.
A forest that has shrunk
Today’s forest is only a small part of the former forested area. In 2023, drone mapping carried out by Benin Flying Labs for the town of Ouidah showed that four-fifths of its original surface is now covered by houses: only about five hectares of forest remain, in the Tovè district, east of the town. The work was presented to the Council of Ministers[9]. Like many sacred groves of southern Benin, it owes its survival to its sacredness: where forests disappeared, the wooded shrines remained[10].
What visitors must understand
For me, respecting Kpassè also means respecting the trees. The forest is first a religious space. Visitors must therefore follow the authorised path, listen to their guide, not touch what must not be touched, and respect the spaces closed to them[1].
What we know, and how we know it
What comes from oral tradition
King Kpassè’s disappearance into the iroko, and its date, come from the tradition of Ouidah[4][3].
What comes from direct observation
The respect due to the forest, and the rules for visitors, come from my practice[1].
What is documented
The change of the forest in 1993, the sculptures of 1992, the national rituals of 2026 and the shrinking of the forest are established by historians, official sources and mapping[5][8][9].
What is interpretation
Seeing in sacredness the reason for the forest’s survival is a reading shared by researchers[10].
What is still debated
The date of King Kpassè’s story varies between sources, from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century[4].
Common misconceptions about Kpassè
Frequently asked questions
What is the sacred forest of Kpassè?
A patch of sacred forest in Ouidah, named after the founder of the kingdom of Ouidah, both a living shrine and an open-air museum.
Who was Kpassè?
The founder of the kingdom of Ouidah, who according to tradition vanished and became embodied in an iroko tree.
Who looks after the forest?
The Kpassènon, head of the Adjovi community, which descends from Kpassè.
How old are the statues of Kpassè?
Most date from 1992 onwards, made for the Ouidah 92 festival and after.
How big is the forest today?
About five hectares, in the Tovè district; four-fifths of its original surface is now built over.
Glossary
- Iroko: a great tree of West Africa, loko in Fon.
- Kpassènon: the head of the lineage of Kpassè.
- Kpassèzoun: the forest of Kpassè.
Notes and references
[1] Direct observation and oral transmission, Wêtê Agbonon, bokonon, temple of Sakété.
[2] JUHÉ-BEAULATON Dominique, « Forêt sacrée de Ouidah, Kpassèzoun », photographs and notes. See
[3] Cultures & Patrimoines, « Les statues de la forêt sacrée de Kpassè expliquées ». See (in French)
[4] Wikipedia, « Forêt sacrée de Kpassè », for the date of the story and the location. See (in French)
[5] JUHÉ-BEAULATON Dominique, « Processus de réactivation de sites sacrés dans le Sud du Bénin », HAL, halshs-00069347. See (in French)
[6] Government of Benin, « Destination Bénin : Ouidah, la terre hxuéda, ville à vocation historique, culturelle, cultuelle et touristique », 2020. See
[7] Government of Benin, review of the first Vodun Days, January 2024. See (in French)
[8] Government of Benin, « Vodun Days 2026 : les rituels du Tofâ exécutés dans la forêt sacrée de Kpassè », January 2026. See (in French)
[9] Benin Flying Labs, « Preserving Benin’s Sacred Forests: The Power of Aerial Mapping in Biodiversity Conservation ». See
[10] JUHÉ-BEAULATON Dominique (ed.), Forêts sacrées et sanctuaires boisés. Des créations culturelles et biologiques (Burkina Faso, Togo, Bénin), Paris, Karthala, 2010.
Sources
- JUHÉ-BEAULATON Dominique, « Processus de réactivation de sites sacrés dans le Sud du Bénin ».
- Benin Flying Labs, aerial mapping of Ouidah’s sacred forests, 2023.
- Direct observation and oral transmission, temple of Sakété, 1994–2026
Cite this entry
Wêtê Agbonon, « The sacred forest of Kpassè », dans Vodun Bénin, l’encyclopédie du vodun béninois, entry no. 016, updated on 28 October 2026. Online: https://vodunbenin.org/en/sacred-forest-of-kpasse/ (accessed on 1 November 2026). Licence CC BY 4.0.
- Last checked : 7 October 2026
- Reuse : free, with attribution, under the licence CC BY 4.0
- A mistake? Report it · Method and corrections