Armanda Komlan

Through my personal project on Vodun Days 2026, I wanted to take a sensitive and authentic look at a major event that deeply questions our beliefs, our spiritual practices, and our relationship with ancestral heritage. Vodun Days is a space for meeting, transmission, and recognition of Vodun traditions, in all their richness and diversity.

Documenting Vodun Days means highlighting the plurality of cultural and religious practices from initiatory societies, from the Gulf of Guinea to the diaspora, united by the cult of ancestors and collective memory. This project is part of an effort to promote the spiritual roots of our peoples, promote the values that found them, and safeguard essential intangible heritage that is often unknown or misunderstood.

Having covered the Black Deities Festival, I witnessed a major cultural event that deeply questions our beliefs, customs, and traditions.

This festival highlights the great diversity of practices of African initiatory societies, the diaspora, and other peoples sharing the cult of ancestors.

Celebrating the Black Deities means reaffirming the foundational roots of our peoples, valuing their traditions, and promoting a common heritage. It is also a strong act of preservation and safeguarding of our cultural and religious heritage, a pillar of our identity and our collective memory.

As part of the account for the BB Brewery of Lomé, I produced a documentary on the Evalas rites in the Kabyè region, in northern Togo. Through this work, I sought to highlight much more than a traditional competition: the Evala is a true initiation rite that structures Kabyè society and marks the passage to adulthood.

Covering the Evalas rites means diving into the heart of the values of courage, discipline, solidarity, and respect for elders. This documentary aims to contribute to the valorization and transmission of a living cultural heritage, deeply rooted in Togolese identity and essential to the collective memory of our peoples.