Mewi and Yovó: Blackness and Whiteness in Benin and Vodun

The article examines how discourses of race and ancestry interact with both everyday life and the Vodun religion in southern Benin. The researcher uses ethnographic methods to illuminate how discourses of race are unfolding within the racially homogenous country of Benin in West Africa. The researcher examines the Fon terms mewi (Black or African) and yovó (White or non-African) to analyze how Beninese work to situate themselves within larger racial and continental categories. The researcher is also reflexive of her experiences as an African-American in Benin to understand the nuances of Black racial identity. The author argues that Beninese are consistently engaged in their own racialization processes of those who fall outside of the mewi category. Moreover, the Vodun divinities themselves are also able to categorize those who are or are not mewi. This work highlights how ideas of ancestry are relevant to both Black racial identity and Vodun.