Fon people

Fon people

:"This is an article about the Fon people; for the article about the Fon chieftains of Cameroon, see Fon (Cameroon). For an article about the company sharing Wi-Fi Internet Access, see FON"

Fon is a major West African ethnic and linguistic group in the country of Benin or Dahomey, and southwest Nigeria, made up of more than 3,500,000 people. The Fon language is the main language spoken in Southern Benin, and is a member of the Gbe language group. Closely related cultures include the Ewe, Aja and Guin peoples. The Fon are said to originate from Tado, a village in south east Togo, near the border with Benin.

The culture is patrilineal and allows polygamy and divorce. Funerals (and anniversaries of deaths) are among the most important cultural events, with mourning activities including drumming and dancing often lasting for days. The Fon believe that part of the person dies and part is reincarnated.

Most Fon today live in villages and small towns in mud houses with corrugated iron gable roofs. Cities built by the Fon include Abomey, the historical capital city of Dahomey, and Ouidah on the Slave Coast. These cities were major commercial centres for the slave trade.

Fon religion

:"See main articles Dahomey mythology and Vodou"While many Fon identify as Christian, the majority practice Benin's national religion Vodou. The Fon name for a god or spirit is "Vodu". Practise can involve drumming to induce possession by one of these gods or spirits. Fon religion is polytheistic, with a supreme (but not omnipotent) deity known as Nana Buluku.

Fon influence in the New World

:"See Afro-Latin American for general information."Many descendants of the Fon now live in the Americas as a result of the Atlantic slave trade. Together with other cultural groups from the Fon homeland region such as the Yoruba and Bantu, Fon culture merged with French, Portuguese or Spanish to produce distinct religions (Voodoo, Mami Wata, Candomblé and Santería), dance and musical styles (Arará, Yan Valu)

ee also

*Dahomey Amazons
* [http://www.fon.eu Fon.eu - The Fon People]


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  • Fon — /fon/, n., pl. Fons, (esp. collectively) Fon for 1. 1. a member of a people living mainly in Benin. 2. the Kwa language, very closely related to Ewe, spoken by the Fon people. * * * People of southern Benin and adjacent parts of Togo. They speak… …   Universalium

  • Fon — may refer to: * FON Wireless Ltd., an international company that runs a system of shared wireless networks * Fon (Cameroon), a traditional title for a ruler in Cameroon * Fon people is a major West African ethnic and linguistic group * Fon… …   Wikipedia

  • Fon language — Fon Fon gbè Spoken in Benin, Togo Ethnicity Fon nu Native speakers 2.1 million  (2000–2006) …   Wikipedia

  • Fon (Sprache) — Fon (Fɔngbè) Gesprochen in Benin, Togo Sprecher ca. 1,7 Millionen Linguistische Klassifikation Niger Kongo Sprachen Atlantik Kongo Sprachen Volta Kongo Sprachen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fon (Volk) — Die Fon sind eine Ethnie in Benin, Togo, Gabun, Ghana und Nigeria. Viele Fon leben bereits als Flüchtlinge in Europa, vor allem in Frankreich. Im Benin leben schätzungsweise 1.706.000 Fon, in Togo 55.000, in Frankreich 18.000, in Gabon 14.000, in …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • fon — ˈfän noun (plural fon or fons) Usage: usually capitalized 1. a. : a Negro people of West Africa especially in the region of Abomey, Benin b. : a member of …   Useful english dictionary

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  • FON — Infobox Company company name = FON company company type = Private company slogan = WiFi for everyone foundation = 2005 founder = Martín Varsavsky location city = flagicon|Spain Madrid location country = Spain locations = key people = Martín… …   Wikipedia

  • FON University — Infobox University name=FON University native name=ФОН Универзитет latin name= established=2003 type=Private staff=245 rector=Aleksandar Nikolovski, PhD faculty=10 students=5300 city=Skopje, Struga country=Republic of Macedonia campus=… …   Wikipedia

  • Fon — [fɒn] noun (plural same or Fons) 1》 a member of a people inhabiting the southern part of Benin. 2》 the Kwa language of the Fon. Origin the name in Fon …   English new terms dictionary

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