by Tony Hemrix

Last night, Agbodrafo pulsed with the rhythms of ancestral traditions, offering spectators a spectacle where entertainment and the sacred became one. The festival, a vibrant showcase of the village’s cultural identity, immersed each participant—whether local or foreign—in a mystical Africa deeply rooted in its beliefs and age-old rituals.

Giant Puppets and Stilt Walkers: The Village Parade

The evening began with a captivating procession. Towering puppets with stoic faces and vibrant garments roamed the village streets, accompanied by stilt walkers defying gravity. Their majestic march, punctuated by greetings and dances, was followed by a lively brass band, enveloping Agbodrafo in collective euphoria.

Villagers and visitors crowded along the pathways, enthralled by this parade where performance art met tradition. But beneath this festive animation, a deeper force was stirring, preparing to take the stage—a force that would shift the atmosphere into another realm.

The Call of the Drums: A Sacred Prelude

As the procession reached the main square, the traditional drums began to resonate. Their deep beats, at times slow and mysterious, at other times frantic and exhilarating, infiltrated the minds of every spectator. It was not merely background music—it was an ancestral voice, a summons to the sacred.

The drummers, dressed in colorful outfits and adorned with cowrie shell necklaces, struck their instruments with fervor, transforming the night into a space of connection between the visible and the invisible.

As the percussion intensified, a respectful silence fell over the crowd. The moment had come.

The Arrival of the Zangbeto: When Mystery Takes Form

From the darkness, a strange figure emerged. A mass of straw, adorned with traditional patterns, began to spin, undulate, and defy all human logic. The Zangbeto had arrived.

Guardian of the night and protector of the village, it moved forward, yet no one could discern who—or what—was beneath its structure. Some whispered that there was no one inside, that it was the spirit itself taking form before the astonished eyes of the spectators.

The Zangbeto danced, whirled, fell only to rise again, animating the scene with an enthralling and mystical presence. Foreign visitors, immersed in this discovery, felt the full power of an age-old heritage—a world where the invisible converses with the living.

A Night of Wonder and Cultural Transmission

Between the mesmerizing performances of puppeteers and stilt walkers, the trance-like movements of traditional dancers, the commanding beat of the drums, and the sacred aura of the Zangbeto, the night was a gateway into the soul of Agbodrafo.

The festival was not just about entertainment—it was a deep immersion into the Africa of myths and traditions, an Africa that continues to live, to be passed down, and to reinvent itself. Last night, every spectator, whether local or foreign, left with a piece of that ancestral magic engraved within them, a privileged witness to a world where tradition remains the beating heart of African identity.