Room V · 5 of 7 on the tour
Every 15 August, the new yam enters the town: the festival of first fruits marks the end of the lean season and allows the new harvest to be eaten. Royal rites, vodun ceremonies and popular celebrations — the 2024 edition drew more than 15,000 visitors. This room celebrates the queen of crops and those who grow her.
Room texts
Provisional texts based on the project presentation document (v3.2) — awaiting approval by the royal court and the town hall of Savalou.
Every 15 August, Savalou becomes the epicentre of the yam festival, or "festival of first fruits", which marks the end of the lean season and allows the new yam to be eaten. Rooted in the ancestral practices of the Mahi, Idaatcha, Nago, Ifè and Fon peoples, it combines royal rites, vodun ceremonies, pounded yam with peanut sauce and popular celebrations. Now a national tourist attraction, its 2024 edition drew more than 15,000 visitors.
A deeply agricultural land, Savalou grows maize and cashew, but it is the yam that made its name: the commune is nicknamed the "capital of the yam", and its market, held midweek, is one of the largest in Benin. At its table: pounded yam with peanut sauce, tchapalo, and gari sohoui — a fine, roasted gari, the commune's emblematic artisanal product.
The collection
A collection in the making: each label shows the status of its piece — collection, research, or review by the royal court and the town hall.
01 · Festival of first fruits
Rooted in the practices of the Mahi, Idaatcha, Nago, Ifè and Fon peoples, it combines royal rites, vodun ceremonies, pounded yam and popular joy.
Savalou
Photo reportage · audio recordings · notice FR/EN
02 · Living place
Midweek, yams from all over the Collines country converge on Savalou. Portrait of a market that is also an institution.
Savalou
HD photographs · ambient sound · notice FR/EN
03 · Know-how
A fine, roasted gari, the commune's emblematic artisanal product and Savalou's pride. From the cassava field to the bag, a know-how the room documents gesture by gesture.
Workshops of Savalou
Photo reportage · notice FR/EN · Mahi audio
04 · Savalou's table
Pounded yam with peanut sauce and tchapalo make up the fare of feast days. Recipes, gestures and the words of the cooks.
Households of Savalou
Photographs · recipes FR/EN · audio testimonies