Arts customs and culture of South Benin 17th-19th Century

In his treatise on history civilization or barbarism Cheick Anta Diop stressed the need for Africans to study their own history and civilization in order to gain a better understanding of themselves and render all cultural weapons obsolete grotesque and henceforth inoffensive. Aware of the importance of rewriting African history which has been somewhat falsified for ideological reasons these young researchers are attempting to retrace the continent's history drawing on oral and archaeological sources and travellers' accounts. They are tackling themes that have proved to be the poor relations of Beninese historiography. This first attempt is the beginning of a series of scientific articles that will attempt to forge a historical consciousness in the minds of young Africans.