Oral tradition relating to slavery and slave trade in Nigeria, Ghana ...

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The advent and practice of the transatlantic slave trade
The stories of the conquest ventures of the kings of Abomey
and its association with the Trans-Atlantic slave trade have come to be
greatly incorporated into the cultural repertoire of the people of
Benin.
The Quidah slave route, which has been developed by
UNESCO as a Heritage project, is a major source of oral dissemination
of the events relating to slavery and the Trans-Atlantic slave
trade. Slaves were usually transported during the night and mostly on
dark nights.This was because the dealers wanted to avoid being seen
by the public.
When going, they were made to stop by the tree of ‘forgetfulness’
It was also called ‘Yemaja’ in Fon language as derived from
‘Yenma’ which means ‘getting mad’.This was because the slaves were
likened to mad dogs when chained and denied of freedom.The slaves
were associated with the expression ‘Yenma’ that means in Fon language,
‘getting mad’.
The women were made to go round the tree of ‘Yemoja’ seven
times and the men go round it nine times.Traditionally, female members
of the community are associated with the numeral number seven
while the men are associated with number nine. This is traditionally
explained in line with the belief that women have seven ribs while
men have nine.
The act of going round the tree of forgetfulness was to cause
the slaves to forget everything pertaining to their past. From that
time, they were believed to forget their origin, and natural identity.
However some are of the opinion that the odd person amongst
the slaves will not be taken over by the corporate submission
demanded by this act and belief. The example of Alex Haley (Kunta
Kwente), the former slave who traced his root after diverse vicissitudes
of life, as depicted in a re-enactment of his experience as a slave
in the film and book titled ‘Roots’ was brought to mind in the citing
of this example. It was narrated that if Kunta Kwente had fallen prey
to the tree of forgetfulness aspect of the journey, he would not have
been able to remember where he came from, nor consequently decide
to trace his ancestral roots in Africa. Today, however, the tree is no
longer there but is represented by an effigy of Yemoja, a nymph like
creature as a reminder of the part played by this important tree.
Along the route, there was a hut called ‘Zomayi’ which means
literally,‘the place without light’.The slaves were kept in this hut until