Zangbeto

Traditionally, the Zangbetos were the policemen of Benin

and were the main guardians of law in the country before
the ocial law establishment. They are said to form a se-
cret society which can only be strictly attended by Zang-
betos, and when in a trance are said to have magical abili-
ties, such as swallowing splinters of glass without coming
to any harm and scaring away even witches.[1] In a trance,
the Zangbeto are said to evoke a power that inhabited the
earth long before the appearance of man and provide a
source of wisdom and continuity for the people of Benin.

2 References
[1] Butler 2006, p. 32.

3 Bibliography
Butler, Stuart (2006), Benin, Guilford, Connecticut:
Bradt Travel Guides, The Globe Pequot Press, ISBN
1-84162-148-X

4 External links
A Zangbeto on YouTube

Zangbeto are the traditional voodoo guardians of the

night in the Yoruba religion of Benin and Togo which are
known as the Nightwatchmen. Similar to Egunguns,
they are highly revered and act as an unocial police
force patrolling the streets, watching over people and
tracking down criminals and presenting them to the com-
munity to punish. [1] Originally created to scare the en-
emy away, Zangbeto will wander around the streets to de-
tect thieves and witches, and to provide law and order.

1 Description
Zangbeto are men in a costume that resembles a haystack.
They are able to fall into a trance which, according to
tradition, enables their bodies to be inhabited by spirits
who possess special knowledge of the actions of people.
[1]
However Yoruba legend tells that there are no humans
under the costume, only spirits of the night.

1
2 5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

5.1 Text
Zangbeto Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zangbeto?oldid=688011644 Contributors: ShelfSkewed, Dr. Blofeld, Demmy, Jusdafax,
XLinkBot, Addbot, LilHelpa, Citation bot 1, RjwilmsiBot, EmausBot, Rosasdeagua and Anonymous: 2

5.2 Images
File:Wiki_letter_w.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0 Contributors:
? Original artist: ?
File:Zangbeto.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Zangbeto.jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Contributors: Orig-
inally uploaded to Flickr as part of the Zangbeto set Original artist: Grete Howard
File:Zangbeto3.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Zangbeto3.jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Contributors:
Originally uploaded to Flickr as part of the Zangbeto set Original artist: Grete Howard

5.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0