In 1958, France granted autonomy to the Republic of Dahomey, and full independence on 1 August 1960, which is celebrated each year as Independence Day, a national holiday.
Country: Benin
The Kingdom of Dahomey flourishes in modern-day Benin
The Kingdom of Dahomey was an African kingdom that existed from about 1600 until 1894. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Platea in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century.
The Kingdom of Benin flourishes in modern-day Benin
The Benin Kingdom was “one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa, dating perhaps to the eleventh century CE”,[2] until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897.
Aja migrants found the Great Ardra kingdom in modern-day Benin
Great Ardra, also known by numerous variant spellings, was a coastal West African kingdom in what is now southern Benin. It was named for its capital, the modern Allada.
Use of the healing Iboga plant emerges in Western African spiritual ceremonies
The roots of ibogaine trace all the way back to Africa where the naturally occurring psychoactive substance has been used for thousands of years. It is especially sacred to the Bwiti tribe of Cameroon and the Gabon region where they use the substance as a natural healer and in rites of passage ceremonies.