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Mask Festival Brings 'Buzz and Beauty' to Benin's Capital

Paradegoers pose with an egungun, a traditional Yoruba figure, at the Porto Novo Mask Festival. Yanick Folly / AFP
Paradegoers pose with an egungun, a traditional Yoruba figure, at the Porto Novo Mask Festival. Yanick Folly / AFP
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Mask Festival Brings 'Buzz and Beauty' to Benin's Capital

Paradegoers pose with an egungun, a traditional Yoruba figure, at the Porto Novo Mask Festival. Yanick Folly / AFP
Paradegoers pose with an egungun, a traditional Yoruba figure, at the Porto Novo Mask Festival. Yanick Folly / AFP

Spectators poured into Benin's capital for a new festival celebrating traditional masks over the weekend as the West African country seeks to attract visitors and showcase its cultural heritage.
The three-day Porto Novo Mask Festival drew participants from across Benin as well as neighboring Togo and Burkina Faso, said AFP.
There was excitement in the crowd as spectators caught sight of some masked and costumed figures rarely seen outside their respective regions.
The main street hummed with traditional music while officials and members of the public watched displays of acrobatics and stilt-walkers perched on eight-meter (26-foot) poles.
Benin's government and city authorities launched the event to replace the Porto Novo International Festival, usually held in January, and there were both secular and religious masks on show.
Voodoo, known locally as Vodun, is widely practiced in Benin. It worships gods and natural spirits while showing respect to revered ancestors.
"I'm very moved -- I saw masks I'd never had the chance to see before," said Vodun religious dignitary Severin Alode, 43. "I've never seen such a buzz. It's a first."
The festival's main attractions were Gonouko, towering masked figures from Porto Novo, alongside an array of other masks and appearances from Zangbeto, traditional Vodun guardians of the night.
Even the rare Hounve mask was on display, as Vodun dignitary Adanklounon Ado Setondji explained.
"Our parents knew how to hide the Hounve, but as we are in the mindset of promotion, we have to take the masks out and show them to the public," he said.
Before the festival, rituals took place away from spectators.
Bale Atchade, a 65-year-old Vodun dignitary, said there were ceremonies centered on resolving social problems and others linked to infertility.
'Source of pride'
Ayaba Collete Dossou, a member of the national Vodun rites committee, said the Porto Novo festival showed "the beauty of our culture and our wealth."
The city's mayor Charlemagne Yankoty said the event "puts Porto Novo in the spotlight."
"The mask festival will enhance Benin's culture and reveal its full value in terms of heritage and culture," he said.
Earlier this year, the government revamped another of Benin's cultural celebrations -- its famous Voodoo festival -- in a bid to attract more visitors.
"Vodun is of economic interest to us, since tourism is an important sector," said President Patrice Talon at the festival in January.
He said he hoped that event would help explain "what Vodun is and how it is practiced" to domestic as well as foreign tourists.
There were signs his wishes were being fulfilled at the mask festival in Porto Novo, too.
Frederica Nzamba, a 30-year-old visitor with Beninese roots, told AFP she came to "better discover and understand Benin's culture" after 16 years living abroad.
The festival, she said, was a "source of pride."

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Hurricane Debby to Bring Heavy Rains and Catastrophic Flooding to Florida, Georgia and S. Carolina 

A truck drives through high water in the the Shore Acres neighborhood located on the Tampa Bay while Tropical Storm Debby moves up the gulf coast in St. Petersburg, Florida, US, August 4, 2024. (Reuters)
A truck drives through high water in the the Shore Acres neighborhood located on the Tampa Bay while Tropical Storm Debby moves up the gulf coast in St. Petersburg, Florida, US, August 4, 2024. (Reuters)
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Hurricane Debby to Bring Heavy Rains and Catastrophic Flooding to Florida, Georgia and S. Carolina 

A truck drives through high water in the the Shore Acres neighborhood located on the Tampa Bay while Tropical Storm Debby moves up the gulf coast in St. Petersburg, Florida, US, August 4, 2024. (Reuters)
A truck drives through high water in the the Shore Acres neighborhood located on the Tampa Bay while Tropical Storm Debby moves up the gulf coast in St. Petersburg, Florida, US, August 4, 2024. (Reuters)

The center of Hurricane Debby is expected to reach the Big Bend coast of Florida early Monday bringing potential record-setting rains, catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge as it moves slowly across the northern part of the state before stalling over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina.

Debby was located about 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of Tampa, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). The storm was moving north at 12 mph (19 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday evening.

Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.

Forecasters warned heavy amounts of rain from Debby could spawn catastrophic flooding in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia.

The storm was expected to make landfall around midday Monday in the Big Bend area of Florida, about 16 miles (26 kilometers) south of Tampa, the hurricane center said. A tornado watch also was in effect for parts of Florida and Georgia until 6 a.m. Monday.

“Right now, we are to trying secure everything from floating away," said Sheryl Horne, whose family owns the Shell Island Fish Camp along the Wakulla River in St. Marks, Florida, where some customers moved their boats inland.

The sparsely populated Big Bend region in the Florida Panhandle also was hit last year by Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane.

“I am used to storms and I’m used to cleaning up after storms,” Horne said.

Debby was expected to move eastward over northern Florida and then stall over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, thrashing the region with potential record-setting rains totaling up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) beginning Tuesday.

Officials also warned of life-threatening storm surge along Florida’s Gulf Coast, with 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 meters) of inundation expected Monday between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers.

“There’s some really amazing rainfall totals being forecast and amazing in a bad way,” Michael Brennan, director of the hurricane center, said at a briefing. “That would be record-breaking rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for both the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we got up to the 30-inch level.”

Flooding impacts could last through Friday and are expected to be especially severe in low-lying areas near the coast, including Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina. North Carolina officials were monitoring the storm's progress.

Officials in Savannah said the area could see a month’s worth of rain in four days if the system stalls over the region.

“This is going to a significant storm,” Savannah Mayor Van. R. Johnson said during a press conference.

Debby's outer bands grazed the west coast of Florida, flooding streets and bringing power outages. Sarasota County officials said most roadways on Siesta Key, a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, were under water. The hurricane center had predicted the system would strengthen as it curved off the southwest Florida coast, where the water has been extremely warm.

At a briefing Sunday afternoon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned the storm could lead to “really, really significant flooding that will happen in North Central Florida.”

The storm would follow a similar track to Hurricane Idalia but would “be much wetter. We are going to see much more inundation,” he said.

A hurricane warning was issued for parts of the Big Bend and Florida Panhandle areas, while tropical storm warnings were posted for Florida’s West Coast, the southern Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas. A tropical storm watch extended farther west into the Panhandle.

Tropical storms and hurricanes can trigger river flooding and overwhelm drainage systems and canals. Forecasters warned of 6 to 12 inches (15 centimeters to 30 centimeters) of rain and up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) in isolated areas of Florida.

Storm surge expected to hit Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay Flat Florida is prone to flooding even on sunny days and the storm was predicted to bring a surge of 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) along most of the Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, with a storm tide of up to 7 feet (2.1 meters) further north in the Big Bend region.

Forecasters warned of “a danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation” in a region that includes Hernando Beach, Crystal River, Steinhatchee and Cedar Key. Officials in Citrus and Levy counties ordered a mandatory evacuation of coastal areas, while those in Hernando, Manatee, Pasco and Taylor counties called for voluntary evacuations. Shelters opened in those and some other counties.

Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast estimated 21,000 people live in his county’s evacuation zone.

Residents, businesses prepare for flooding Residents in Steinhatchee, Florida, which flooded during Hurricane Idalia, spent Sunday moving items to higher ground.

“I’ve been here 29 years. This isn’t the first time I’ve done it. Do you get used to it? No,” Mark Reblin said as he moved items out of the liquor store he owns.

Employees of Savannah Canoe and Kayak in Georgia said they were busy tying down their watercrafts, laying sandbags and raising equipment off the ground. Mayme Bouy, the store manager, said she wasn’t too concerned about the forecast calling for a potential historic rain event.

“But we do have some high tides this week so if the rain is happening around then, that could be bad,” Bouy added. “I’d rather play it safe than sorry.”

Governors declare emergencies ahead of landfall DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 61 of Florida’s 67 counties, with the National Guard activating 3,000 guard members. Utility crews from in and out of state were ready to restore power after the storm, he said in a post on X.

In Tampa alone, officials gave out more than 30,000 sandbags to barricade against flooding.

“We’ve got our stormwater drains cleared out. We’ve got our generators all checked and full. We’re doing everything that we need to be prepared to face a tropical storm,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster made their own emergency declarations.

The Northeast coast is also preparing for storm conditions. Emergency managers in New England and New York were monitoring the path of the storm for the possibility of remnants striking their states.

Northeast states including New York and Vermont have been hit by heavy rain and thunderstorms in recent weeks and were still coping with flooding and saturated ground.