a little ginger goes a long way: A Village on Stilts

The Venice of Africa

In 1717, the Kings of Dahomy were busy scouring the countryside picking off anyone smaller and weaker than themselves, which meant just about everyone, to be sold as slaves. King Abodohoue of the Tofinu people was in one of these smaller and weaker groups and he was not at all keen on having himself and his subjects packed off to the Americas. So, doing what we'd all do in a similar situation, he turned himself into an egret and flew across the countryside looking for a suitable hiding spot for his people. He finally came upon a series of small, mud islands in the heart of Lac Nakoue and knew at once that he had discovered the answer to his prayers. This was because of a religious ruling that meant the Dahomaians would go anywhere but over water in their pursuit of human prizes. All Abodohoue had to do now was build a town out on the lake and get his people there, but how? Well, if you can turn yourself into an egret than you can also turn yourself into a crocodile and that is exactly what he did. He asked the other crocodiles of the lake for their help to transport his people out to the site of their new home. Carrying a supply of wood with them on the crocodiles' backs the Tofinu people built their new houses on stilts above the lake waters and what land the small islands offered was turned over to agriculture - and here they have lived, safe from harm, happily ever after.

The 30,000-odd inhabitants of Ganvie make their living primarily from fishing and a very small-scale tourist industry. Nowadays the crocodiles aren't so common though. In fact their reward for helping out was local extinction.

(from Benin: The Bradt Travel Guide by Stuart Butler)